Tuesday, May 11, 2021

No Filler, All Killer

Not long ago, I kinda-sorta recommended (for the right audience) the Netflix horror-slasher film The Babysitter. It wasn't exactly great, but it was made utterly without seriousness; it knew what kind of movie it wanted to be, advertised that clearly, and invited you to take it on those terms (or not). Well, if you liked The Babysitter, you're probably going to like the sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen.

Summarizing the sequel would require giving away elements of the first film -- and while plot is hardly the main draw, there is enough fun there that it seems a shame to spoil anything. I will say that it seems like Killer Queen is actually trying to have more of a plot than the original, and I don't think that actually works to the movie's advantage. It surprises me to say so. I would think that would make the sequel more up my alley, but it turns out that "just enough plot to frame the bloodshed" would have been the right amount here.

So maybe the sequel tries to be more logical than you'd expect, in a way it probably shouldn't have bothered to attempt. But it also serves up everything you'd really expect from a sequel to a loud, dumb, gory movie. It's louder, dumber, and gorier. There are callbacks aplenty, but usually only when the new film is about to one-up the original with something even more over-the-top.

I can't pretend I didn't know what I was in for here... but I think almost anyone would say that this sequel, while more brash, really isn't as good as the original. Since the original was only a C+ for me personally, that means we're now getting into territory where I wouldn't normally recommend it. Yet if you truly liked (or even loved?) The Babysitter, you'd kind of be crazy not to watch Killer Queen. It's not so much worse as to ruin any enjoyment; indeed, it's hard for me to imagine that you'd feel worlds differently about one than you did the other.

I'd call The Babysitter: Killer Queen a C. But I know I have readers I would recommend the original to, and the same goes for the bloody, wild follow-up.

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