Better Watch Out (2017)

When the parents decide to have a Christmas night out, they hire a babysitter for their teenage boy, but what seems to be a home invasion will make their night a living hell.

The Christmas horror for the whole (15 and over) family. Expect something like Home Alone (1990) meets The Babysitter (2017). The premise, at first, is simple. The parents want a Christmas night out, so they hire the neighbourhood’s beautiful girl to babysit their teenage boy. They leave, and not long after, a home invasion shakes them to their core. From what I see, IMDb doesn’t disclose much, if anything, so I’ll make it deliberately generic and keep it as well spoilers-free.

Very well structured both in terms of script and execution. Every character and the house with all its rooms have been introduced in less than ten minutes. The inciting incident is very well disguised and shocks when it reveals itself! From then on, there is a roller coaster of incidents that occur one after the other synchronised, not very well timed to keep it real, not too messy to confuse. Overall, in less than an hour and a half, Better Watch Out brutally entertains, horrifies, and leaves you in the end with wanting some more. Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, and Ed Oxenbould have amazing chemistry and shine in front of the camera. I wish I could say more, but I will stop here.

Behind the camera, writer Zach Kahn and writer/director Chris Peckover create a mixed genre I particularly like. Comedy/horror is not easy to make. Being able to scare someone and make them laugh takes a lot of consideration and preparation, as these are polar opposite feelings. Blending them into a film, especially one that involves kids, imposes a risk on the filmmakers when pitching such a project to the producers and distributors. Why? The target audience is unclear to them, which means that it will be potentially unclear to the audience. And from what I read, it didn’t do particularly well. But don’t be alarmed by that. As I’ve said before a few times, especially this time of the year, this is the kind of fictional excitement we need from the comfort of our couch. The one outdoors is definitely the one that we neither want nor need.

I very much hope you enjoy it, as well as this festive period.

P.S. Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould play brother and sister in M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit (2015).

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Solidarity for all the innocent lives who suffer the atrocities of war!

Stay safe!