Review: The Babysitter: Killer Queen

Director: McG

Screenplay: Dan Lagana, Brad Morris, Jimmy Warden, and McG

Year: 2020

It can be argued that “The Babysitter” was the catapult that tossed actress Samara Weaving into stardom and high praise from many horror fans. After the good reception that this horror-comedy had and the compliments to her talent as an actress, Weaving went on to make “Ready or Not” and “Guns Akimbo”, two movies that can be considered as gems in the horror genre and that have served to consolidate the excellent opinion towards the actress. Now, Weaving, along with the original cast, returns for the sequel of this story.

After having survived the attack of a satanic cult two years ago, Cole faces a challenge of similar magnitude: high school. However, not only high school poses a challenge for Cole, but the demons from his past return to torment him. The young guy must fight for his life as the cult seeks his blood to finish their ritual.

There is no doubt at all that “The Babysitter: Killer Queen'' seeks to feed off the success of its predecessor and repeat the formula that ended up with such good reception. This sequel starts two years after the fateful event that almost takes Cole's life, and that his parents insist is a product of his imagination. Instantly it leaves clear that this is not a movie to be taken seriously, but one to relax and have a good time. The problem is that the script from Dan Lagana, Brad Morris, Jimmy Warden y and McG (“Terminator Salvation”), who also directs, fails in delivering what's needed to have a good time.

I understand that the absurd and campy presentation seeks to be fun, but in this movie, it doesn't have a hook and feels overwhelming. The juvenile comedy is basic and not funny, and the number of pop culture references is asphyxiating. During the whole movie, I felt that they crammed in as many jokes as references as they could, hoping that a few of them would work and that it can be considered funny but only make watching this movie feel like a task.

The editing of the movie is another problem. To a certain extent, it tries to have a unique and attractive style, but it has no logic, and like with the jokes and references, it just pitches as many ideas as it can, hoping that a few will work. Details are not given much attention, and between shots, there are notable differences, like objects that appear and disappear or character in different postures, to where it becomes a distraction.

For those who enjoy a juvenile and straightforward comedy style, “The Babysitter: Killer Queen” can be a fun movie, but this was not my experience. Instead of fun, it was a task watching it and overcoming the number of ineffective jokes and references and how predictable and unoriginal its story is. The only enjoyable part was the Samara Weaving cameo to tie it with its predecessor, and this only means a few minutes out of its ling runtime.