Another Spooktober has come and gone. I will admit this year’s celebration has been a little haphazard with my colleague having to scramble to put up an entry and my deciding to put up an old (but great) Godzilla review since they were showing it in theaters here in the Philippines. However, although the middle of Spooktober was kind of random, I did have a nice start and a nice end to bookend everything all planned from the start. I started this year’s Spooktober with a review for Netflix‘s The Babysitter. And I totally knew I was going to end this year’s Spooktober with a review of its sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen.
I honestly was surprised with how much I enjoyed The Babysitter but I did have some qualms for Killer Queen. I did take a gander at its Rotten Tomato score and most people have said it’s rather underwhelming. But I did want to keep an open mind because I don’t really care that much if other people like or hate a movie. I just care if I like or hate the movie. Still, I did want to temper my expectations. Well, I just clicked off of Netflix and I just saw The Babysitter: Killer Queen. So, do I agree with the critics and general audiences?
Yeah, I kinda do. But it is weird because, in an odd way, I do think it’s a better made movie. Let me explain…
But before I do, I do have to say this is going to be a SPOILER FREE review. I bet some fans were turned off by the Rotten Tomatoes score and they may have decided to just skip Killer Queen altogether. It’s just seem right to try to explain my thoughts without revealing the plot and the many surprising twists this film takes. So, yeah. SPOILER FREE review incoming!
The Babysitter: Killer Queen takes place two years after the events of the first film. Cole is now a junior and is now more alienated than ever. This is because most people, even his parents, think he had a psychotic break and made up the events that his babysitter and the demonic cult wanted to drink his blood. The only one who believes him is his next door neighbor and crush, Melanie. Melanie invites Cole to a party by the lake but he’s surprised when the demonic cultist who supposedly died two years earlier are back from hell and are going after him again. Now, Cole and a new girl, Phoebe, a delinquient with a troubled past, must try to survive until sunrise before the resurrected demonic cultist get him and complete the ritual.
Right from the outset, I have to say I didn’t like the inclusion of Phoebe, the new girl. I don’t care if she’s played by Jenna Ortega and she does a really good job here. I also know why she was added in and she does have a very important role and a secondary protagonist. I can’t really go into details because, like I said, this is a SPOILER FREE review. But I can’t help but feel she was the Scrappy-Doo of the movie and she was added to try to keep things fresh.
Jenna Ortega’s Phoebe isn’t the only new character they introduce in Killer Queen as there are also Melanie’s boyfriend and the boyfriend’s best friend and they both feel inconsequential. Once again, they are instrumental to the plot and, if I’m being honest, I can’t figure out a way to write them out. But they don’t add anything to the movie beside rather unfunny comedic moments.
While the newcomers to Killer Queen didn’t really tickle my fancy, all of the returning characters are still very fun to watch as they retail all of their idiotic personalities and idiosyncrasies but dialed up. They also get a little more development here as we do get to see what their motivations were for getting tied up with the demonic cult in the first place. Sadly, despite this being a sequel to The Babysitter, Killer Queen doesn’t have a lot of Bee, Samara Weaving‘s character. Despite being on screen for only a few minutes, Samara Weaving still brings it.
I also do have to talk about the actor who plays Cole, Judah Lewis. He is reprising his role from the first movie but the problem is he looks like he has aged a lot here despite the film being set just two years later (and filmed three years later after the original). I understand that’s not his fault because he can’t control his genetics. Simply put, Judah Lewis may have had a babyface during his teens so he could pass off as a twelve years old in The Babysitter. But in Killer Queen, he does look like his age of twenty years old. At the very least, Emily Alyn Lind, who plays Melanie, still can pass as a teen here… which does make her scenes with Judah Lewis come off as a bit creepy even though I know she was an adult at this time.
I will say the writing in Killer Queen is much better than in The Babysitter. What I mean by that is how they use the heck out of the Chekhov’s Gun concept as there are a lot of little details that feel inconsequential but become, well, not really important but are referenced later on. Like any good sequel, Killer Queen does make a lot of callbacks to the events of the first movie. But what surprised me is that Killer Queen actually has several twists sprinkled throughout the film’s 101-minute runtime. I’m usually very good at spotting these twists but they caught me off-guard. Looking back, however, the writers do drop a lot of breadcrumbs before the reveals. This does mean eagle eyed viewers can piece things together and, for those like me who didn’t, would be able to watch the movie again to see what they missed.
As smart as the writing is, I will say Killer Queen just isn’t as creative when it comes to the more superficial elements of the story. As this is set around a lakeside, the area is much larger than the house and surrounding area of the first movie. But despite how much more expansive the location is, they never really did anything creative with it as it’s just them in a wilderness area. There’s also more focus on Cole’s parents here as well and whenever the film chooses to show them, things do slow down. The story is supposed to be about Cole trying to stay alive from the demon cultist hunting him, not how Cole’s parents are worried about him!
One of the things I complained about in the first film are the “cool” and “radical” elements the director, McG, would put in it. There are less of those moments here but the ones that still remain just feel more obnoxious now. Strangely enough, it’s because, since they weren’t in the film that often, they stick out even more! McG should have either leaned in heavily with these crazy ideas or cut them out altogether. There is one particular scene in the film that’s supposed to mimic a fighting game but it doesn’t work because, one, it comes out of nowhere and, two, they only used tiny lifebars so it looked like they really didn’t even try! I would post a clip of that scene but I can’t because this is a SPOILER FREE review. But I will say, as someone who loves fighting games, I was really annoyed by it!
I will say I did like The Babysitter: Killer Queen but I have to agree with the general consensus and say it’s just not as good as the first movie. It’s not a bad movie and the good stuff is still good. The thing is it feels like a couple of steps down from the original. I do like the unpredictability of the twists and all of the callbacks if you’re looking for them. But the creativity of the kills and a most of the newer cast members, like Melanie’s friends, just felt like them adding dead weight. If you liked the first Babysitter, you’ll like Killer Queen fine but this sequel never gets to the quality of the first.
Well, with that, we’re closing the book on this year’s Spooktober! Hope to see you again next year!
Have you seen The Babysitter: Killer Queen? How does it stack up to the first movie? Let me know in the comments section below!
