Citation: McG. (2017). The babysitter [Film]. Boies / Schiller Film Group Production, Wonderland Sound and Vision. https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80164456
McG. (2020). The babysitter: Killer queen [Film]. Boies / Schiller Film Group Production, Wonderland Sound and Vision. https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81012366
The Babysitter follows 12-year-old Cole as he defends himself from his babysitter and her friends, all of whom want to sacrifice him to achieve their dreams. The Babysitter: Killer Queen confronts Cole with yet another sacrifice attempt 2 years later.
These movies are… interesting? The characters are archetypical, the plot is straightforward, and there are some problematic moments to say the least. But! The deaths are interesting, there are some good jokes, and Cole is a compelling protagonist. A genuine highlight was the implied sex scene in Killer Queen (amazing production value). Still, between the pop culture references and mean-spirited teen representation, I really couldn’t tell who the actual demographic was.
I would sooner recommend The Final Girls (Strauss-Schulson, 2015) or Fright Night (Gillespie, 2011) for solid teen horror/comedy slashers that subvert (or don’t) typical horror tropes. The Fear Street films (Janiak, 2021) are in a similar vein, while including subtle social commentary.