Director: Chris Peckover
Writer: Chris Peckover, Zack Kahn (Screenplay) Zack Kahn (Story)
Starring: Virginia Madsen, Patrick Warburton, Olivia DeJonge, Dacre Montgomery, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould
Plot: On a quiet suburban street, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from intruders, only to discover it’s far from a normal home invasion.
Tagline – You Might Be Home But Your’e Not Alone
Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Fun Throughout
Story: Better Watch Out starts as Ashley (DeJonge) a babysitter is about to leave town, she has agreed to take one more job for the Lerner family babysitting Luke (Miller). Luke happens to be madly in love with Ashley and plays to try and make a move tonight, but things take a turn into a sinister when the two get invaded by a stranger.
This night will change both their lives forever, as the night goes into a new direction as everything unfolds.
Thoughts on Better Watch Out
Characters – Ashley is the gorgeous babysitter that can get any guy she wants, she tries to treat Luke with respect as a young adult, but soon takes full control of the night in a battle to survive a game she never thought she would be involved in. Luke is the kid that has a crush on his babysitter, he wants to make his move tonight as it will be his last chance before she moves. Garrett is Luke’s best friend and has been giving him advice, bad advice how to win over Ashley, he isn’t prepared for the direction the night goes.
Performances – Olivia DeJonge is great through this film, she takes charge when needed and must do a lot of acting through her expression for certain parts of the movie. Levi Miller is fantastic in this role, he takes it to a level you wouldn’t imagine once you learn the motive of his character for the night. The rest of the cast is good throughout the film, without taking the spotlight off the leading two characters.
Story – The story follows a babysitter and the kid she is looking after as the night goes in a direction they didn’t see it going, there is a lot of foreshadowing used in this film, almost to a level where it is right on the nose. The twist is takes also gives us a new idea of where horror could go, it never takes itself too seriously and you can see how the natural character reactions play into the age of the characters involved. This is a lot of fun, doesn’t rely on twists or shocks, just follows the path to see how things could end up going wrong.
Horror/Comedy – The horror does work in the film, any gore moments are off camera, which can take away from one certain moment, but also lets you think about what could be happening. The comedy comes from the reactions to things not going right and the recovery to try and fix this, it works because the film doesn’t set out to be a comedy nor a full blown horror.
Settings – The film takes place inside one house, this works for the film because it adds shock value to what is going on with everything, there isn’t a way to communicate outside and escaping could cause death, so we know there isn’t an easy way out.
Special Effects – The effects are mostly off camera, which works and doesn’t, there is one moment that could have been one of the most shocking moments in horror this year, but it also lets you think how it could look.
Scene of the Movie – Paint can.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It needed that one moment of pure horror violence.
Final Thoughts – This is a fun horror comedy, it has laughs and goes in a direction you wouldn’t expect.
Overall: Fun Horror Comedy
Rating
