Babysitter Wanted, 2008: Rated R- Horror!
Tagline: I’m not just a piece of meat!
Who to look for:
Jonas Barnes, Director and Writer
Sarah Thompson, damsel in distress – Good actress, and she makes innocence look appealing, so you don’t want to hate her.
Bruce Thomas: Excellent! He commands the screen when he’s on, as well as being very good-looking. Also, funny a few times, when he wasn’t terrifying
Plot Points
The first time we see Angie she is praying on her knees with her mother before she goes off to college. Willingly. I guess because she’s Catholic.
But this isn’t a Rosemary’s Baby or anything close to it! Babysitter Wanted has evil, and she is the necessary counterpoint. I didn’t even remember this scene until I watched the beginning again a 2nd time. But since the writer brought up God…it would have been interesting to see her question God at the end, after all that blood. 🙂
So Angie (Angel?!) goes off to college, meets the roommate from hell (all sympathy, Angie!), and finds a cute new boyfriend.
She spots a flyer looking for a babysitter, interviews with them, and accepts her first assignment. Then things happen.
The best part? It’s a good 25 minutes into the film, with good acting and excellent production values, a logical story, and we still don’t know exactly where we’re headed! That’s good writing!
I was truly scared by this one. And horrified. That doesn’t happen often to me nowadays. Part of it was the charismatic Mr. Thomas, who was a believable character. And his wife – they were a convincingly diabolical couple.
Screenwriters Alert!
Next time you have a lot of exposition to embellish…Add. Some. Torture. That works!
Unanswered questions and ending:
No deep thinking on this one.
Some torture will make you groan out loud. I won’t give any spoilers– it’s too good.
Other Audience Reactions
Google: 85% liked. That’s very good!
From Amazon:
Each of the characters were either fully fleshed out to understand and relate to or, they were blank slates until big reveals
Bruce Thomas is too HOT!! This may be considered a B movie, but who cares. He is the only reason I bought the movie.
The most notable thing about this movie is the plot. It seems like it is going to be a typical slasher movie, but then it is not. I mean, it is still slasher-y, but that’s not all it is… The end result works and was refreshing.
…the subplot of finding a mattress was boring. (Not a subplot, sir, but there’s a pitch for you, sir, if you’re a screenwriter!)
While writing this review, I stumbled across a real ad for a babysitter in Bored Panda!
That’s a Wrap
I gave it a lot of stars! I was so happy to find a movie that surprised and entertained me.
Recommended for gore, squeamishness and above average production value. Almost 5 Stars!
What did you think?
Set painter in studio Art Depts. Member Scriptwriters Network, script analyst.
Author, 2 hardcopy books, Barnes & Noble Calendar.
- Emma in the Night ~ Wendy Walker ~ Thriller - May 11, 2023
- Still Alice (2014) ~ Psychology Movie Review ~ Julianne Moore - January 25, 2023
- The Other Emily ~ Dean Koontz - January 23, 2023
