The Babysitter (2017 film)
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''The Babysitter'' is a 2017 American
teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by
McG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
and written by
Brian Duffield Brian Duffield is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He directed the 2020 dark comedy '' Spontaneous'' and films he has written include '' Love and Monsters'' (2020), '' Underwater'' (2020), and '' The Babysitter'' (2017). ...
. It stars
Samara Weaving Samara Weaving (born 23 February 1992) is an Australian actress and model. She began her career in her home country, playing Kirsten Mulroney on the drama series '' Out of the Blue'' (2008). She came to prominence with her portrayal of Indi Wa ...
,
Judah Lewis Judah Lewis (born ) is an American actor. He is known for his main roles in the films '' The Babysitter'', its sequel '' The Babysitter: Killer Queen'', and ''Demolition''. Life and career Lewis is the son of Hara and Mark Lewis, who are actin ...
,
Hana Mae Lee Hana Mae Lee (born September 28, 1988) is an American actress, model, comedian, and fashion designer. She is best known for playing the role of Lilly Onakuramara in the musical comedy ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017) and the role of S ...
,
Robbie Amell Robert Patrick Amell IV (born April 21, 1988) is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series ''The Tomorrow People'', Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm on The CW series ''The Flash'', Natha ...
and
Bella Thorne Annabella Avery Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series ''Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series ...
. The film follows a lonely 12-year-old boy (Lewis) who falls in love with his babysitter (Weaving) only to discover that she is part of a
satanic cult Satanism is a group of Ideology, ideological and Philosophy, philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 19 ...
that wants to kill him. The film was released by
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on October 13, 2017, and received mostly positive reviews from critics. A sequel, '' The Babysitter: Killer Queen'', was released on September 10, 2020.


Plot

Pre-teen student Cole is bullied by his neighbor Jeremy, but his babysitter Bee, who is one of his only two friends, stands up for him and scares Jeremy off. The following day, when his parents go out for an overnight stay at a hotel, Bee and Cole spend quality time together until he has to go to bed. Bee offers him some liquor to drink, but he secretly pours it out when she is not looking. Cole is encouraged by a text from his neighbor and other friend Melanie to go see what Bee gets up to after he goes to sleep. He sees Bee and several of her high school friends (Max, John, Allison, Sonya, and Samuel) playing a game of
truth or dare Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs, ...
formatted as a game of
spin the bottle Spin the bottle is a kissing party game commonly played by teenagers. The game was very popular among teenagers during the second half of the 20th century because it fostered "sexual" interactions between boys and girls. It has even been describe ...
. However, as Bee kisses Samuel on a dare, she pulls two daggers from behind her back and stabs him in the skull. The others collect Samuel's blood, revealing themselves to be members of a demonic cult. Cole hurries to his room where he calls 911, puts on his shoes, and finds his pocket knife. He pretends to be asleep as Bee and the cult members enter his room to draw a sample of his blood. After they leave, he tries to escape out the window, but Bee secretly hides in his room and waits until Cole passes out from the exhaustion and loss of blood. Bee and her cult question Cole, while fending off his questions by saying they needed his blood for a science project. When two cops arrive, Max kills one of them with a poker, but the other cop accidentally shoots Allison in the chest before Bee slits his throat. Cole is forced to give the cult the
police code A police code is a brevity code, usually numerical or alphanumerical, used to transmit information between law enforcement over police radio systems. Examples of police codes include "10 codes" (such as 10-4 for "okay" or "acknowledged"—sometim ...
to call off the other cops. While Allison cries over being shot, Cole rushes up the stairs; John pursues him, but is pushed over the banister, landing on a trophy that impales his neck. Cole escapes out his bedroom window and hides in the crawlspace under his house. Although Sonya finds him, he traps her in the basement and then ignites a firework rocket with bug spray, burning her to death. Max runs into Cole and shows appreciation for Cole's ingenuity. Max then hears Cole's bully egging Cole's house. Max urges Cole to start standing up for himself which results in Cole getting punched in the face by his bully. Max then chases Cole up a tree house; Max is killed when he falls and is hanged by the rope swing. Cole escapes to Melanie's house, but Bee follows him. While hiding in a room, Cole apologizes to Melanie for dragging her into this situation and assures her that he is going to take care of things. He asks Melanie to call the police, then she kisses Cole before he leaves. Cole returns to his house to find that the evidence of the night's events had been cleaned up. He also finds Allison pretending to be dead; before she can stab Cole with a kitchen knife, Bee kills her with a police officer's shotgun. Bee explains to Cole that she was once insecure like him until she made a deal with the
Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
to get whatever she wanted by sacrificing innocent people and spilling their blood on an ancient book while reciting its verses. Since then, she has been traveling from town to town, preying on young boys like him. Although she offers to let him join her cult, Cole refuses and burns the spell book. He rushes to Melanie's house to take her dad's car, and drives it into his house while Bee is distracted by the burning book. After crashing the car into her, they have one last emotional farewell before Cole climbs out of the wreckage and leaves her to die. As the police and emergency crew arrive, Cole tells his parents that he no longer needs a babysitter. Later, a firefighter going through Cole's house is attacked by Bee.


Cast

*
Samara Weaving Samara Weaving (born 23 February 1992) is an Australian actress and model. She began her career in her home country, playing Kirsten Mulroney on the drama series '' Out of the Blue'' (2008). She came to prominence with her portrayal of Indi Wa ...
as Bee, Cole's attractive babysitter and secret leader of a devil-worshipping cult *
Judah Lewis Judah Lewis (born ) is an American actor. He is known for his main roles in the films '' The Babysitter'', its sequel '' The Babysitter: Killer Queen'', and ''Demolition''. Life and career Lewis is the son of Hara and Mark Lewis, who are actin ...
as Cole, a pre-teen boy whose parents hire a babysitter when they go out. He lacks self-confidence and is often picked on, but learns to fight back when the cult tries to kill him. *
Hana Mae Lee Hana Mae Lee (born September 28, 1988) is an American actress, model, comedian, and fashion designer. She is best known for playing the role of Lilly Onakuramara in the musical comedy ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017) and the role of S ...
as Sonya, Bee's goth friend who is part of her cult *
Robbie Amell Robert Patrick Amell IV (born April 21, 1988) is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series ''The Tomorrow People'', Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm on The CW series ''The Flash'', Natha ...
as Max, Bee's jock friend who is part of her cult *
Bella Thorne Annabella Avery Thorne (born October 8, 1997) is an American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles as Margaux Darling in the series ''Dirty Sexy Money'' (2007–2008) and as Ruthy Spivey in the drama series ...
as Allison, Bee's cheerleader friend who is part of her cult *
Andrew Bachelor Andrew Byron Bachelor (born June 26, 1988), also known as King Bach is a Canadian-American Internet personality and actor who rose to fame on the now-defunct video sharing service Vine, where he had 16.2 million followers, making him the most fol ...
as John, Bee's wisecracking friend who is part of her cult *
Emily Alyn Lind Emily Alyn Lind (born 2001/2002) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress, when she was known for her recurring role as young Amanda Clarke on the ABC series ''Revenge'', and for her role as Ariel on the CBS medical drama ...
as Melanie, Cole's neighbor and friend, who secretly has a crush on him and encourages him to spy on Bee *
Leslie Bibb Leslie Louise Bibb (born November 17, 1974) is an American actress and model. Bibb first appeared on television in 1996 with minor roles in a few series, and on film in 1997 with a small role in '' Private Parts''. Her first recurring TV role wa ...
as Mom, Cole's mother *
Ken Marino Kenneth Joseph Marino (born December 19, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He was a cast member on MTV's ''The State'' and has starred in shows such as ''Party Down'', '' Marry Me'', ''Burning Love'', and ''Childre ...
as Dad, Cole's father * Doug Haley as Samuel, an unfortunate victim of Bee and her cult * Miles J. Harvey as Jeremy, Cole's bullying neighbor *
Chris Wylde Chris Wylde (born Chris Noll, August 22, 1976) is an American actor from New Jersey. Wylde is best known for his roles in the films ''The DUFF'', ''Space Cowboys'', the 2009 horror film '' The Revenant'', the 2017 horror comedy '' The Babysitte ...
as Juan, Melanie's annoying father * Carl McDowell as "Big" Carl McManus, school nurse


Production

On November 24, 2014, it was announced that Brian Duffield's horror comedy script ''The Babysitter'' had been bought by
McG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as "The 'G", is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hem ...
's
Wonderland Sound and Vision Wonderland Sound and Vision is an American production company founded by director and producer Joseph McGinty Nichol in 2001. It independently develops, produces and finances its own slate of feature films, television and digital projects. The co ...
, with McG and Mary Viola producing the film. The project was brought in by executive producer Steven Bello. In December 2014, the script appeared on the 2014 Black List of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood. Joe Lynch and
Jason Eisener Jason Eisener is a Canadians, Canadian screenwriter, producer, editor and Film director, director. Life and career ''Grindhouse'' faux trailer contest and ''Hobo with a Shotgun'' (2007 - 2011) In 2007, Eisener entered and won the ''Grindhouse (f ...
were both in talks to direct the film. On September 10, 2015, McG was attached to direct the film for
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
, while Wonderland co-financed the film, along with the Boies/Schiller Film Group.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on October 27, 2015, in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.


Release

In December 2016,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
acquired distribution rights to the film from
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after acq ...
. It premiered on the service on October 13, 2017.


Reception

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 72% based on 29 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Enjoyable if not particularly original, ''The Babysitter'' makes the most of its familiar genre ingredients with energetic direction and a killer cast." Felix Vasquez Jr. of ''Cinema Crazed'' called it: "A great horror comedy with a genuinely touching tale of growing up tucked underneath the buckets of blood, and Satanism." Matt Donato of ''Dread Central'' gave it 4 out of 5 and wrote: "McG's hilarious and gruesome occult comedy proves Samara Weaving's worth seventy-billion times over, turning her into the new genre 'it' girl overnight." William Bibbiani at
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
gave the film 4.8 out of 10, saying "Netflix's ''The Babysitter'' doesn't really work as either a horror film or a comedy." Blake Goble at
Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
panned the film, saying "McG's hyper-referential slasher comedy fails as a horror movie and meta-commentary alike." Furthermore, he called the film "heinous" and suggested various other insults to describe the film, concluding with, "It can't be stated emphatically enough – stay away from ''The Babysitter''."


Sequel

On September 26, 2019, Netflix announced a sequel to ''The Babysitter'' was being produced with McG returning as director and producer. Shortly after the announcement, it was reported that McG,
Dan Lagana Dan Lagana is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for creating the TV series ''Zach Stone Is Gonna Be Famous'' on MTV and for serving as showrunner on the Netflix series ''American Vandal''. He has won a Peabody Award. ...
, Brad Morris and Jimmy Warden would write the screenplay for the sequel. Original cast members Lewis, Weaving, Thorne, Amell, Lee, Bachelor, Lind, Marino, and Bibb also returned. The film was released on Netflix on September 10, 2020.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Babysitter (2017 film), The 2017 black comedy films 2017 comedy horror films 2010s slasher films 2010s teen comedy films 2010s teen horror films 2017 films American black comedy films American comedy horror films American slasher films American teen comedy films American teen horror films 2010s English-language films Films about bullying Films about cults Films about Satanism Films directed by McG Films scored by Douglas Pipes Films shot in Los Angeles Home invasions in film Slasher comedy films English-language Netflix original films Wonderland Sound and Vision films American supernatural horror films Films produced by Zack Schiller 2010s American films