BETTER WATCH OUT (2016)

 

(Director/co-screenwriter: Chris Peckover. Co-screenwriter: Zack Kahn.)

Storyline

When a home invasion threatens her and the twelve-year-old boy in her care, a babysitter finds that this is no ordinary break-in.

Review

BETTER is a smart and tightly written suspense thriller with great acting, with an abbreviated set-up and touches of comedy to occasionally lighten up the dark tone of this Christmas, f**k-with-babysitter-tropes work.

The story: a babysitter (Ashley) and her twelve-year-old-charge charge (Luke) are trapped when a home invader, armed with a shotgun, breaks into Luke’s house. The suspense is at a zenith when everything turns. . . This is an all-around excellent film, with talented actors who effectively embody their characters─Olivia DeJunge plays Ashley, the sensible babysitter; Levi Miller, plays Luke, her surprisingly dark responsibility; and Ed Oxenbould plays Garrett, Luke’s equally nerdy and less intense best friend. (Quick fun note: DeJunge and Oxenbould played siblings in M. Night Shyamalan’s 2015 dumbf**k-set-up/horrible-parenting movie THE VISIT.)

BETTER is a fun, if sometimes unsettling B-level flick, an above-average work that does not reinvent the babysitter-horror genre, but plays with it in a smart-minded, entertaining way. If this film is any indication filmmakers Peckover and Kahn are a worthwhile creative mix.