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With: Olivia DeJonge, Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould, Aleks Mikic, Dacre Montgomery, Patrick Warburton, Virginia Madsen, Beau Andre
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Written by: Zack Kahn, Chris Peckover, based on a story by Zack Kahn
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Directed by: Chris Peckover
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MPAA Rating: R for disturbing violent content, language throughout, crude sexual references, drug and alcohol use - all involving teens
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Running Time: 89
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Date: 10/06/2017
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Scary and Fright
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Just when it seemed as if nothing more could be done in the subgenre of Christmas horror films, Chris Peckover's clever, fun Better Watch Out (2017), which is streaming exclusively on Shudder, displays enough bright ideas that it earned a surprising "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 12 year-old Luke (Levi Miller) is in love with his pretty 17 year-old babysitter, Ashley (Olivia DeJonge). When his parents (Virginia Madsen and Patrick Warburton) go out for the evening, Luke sets out trying to win Ashley, which includes popping a bottle of champagne, snuggling while watching scary movies, and protecting her from a scary masked intruder. The movie starts with an almost ridiculous amount of cheery Christmas lights and decorations (Warburton is particularly proud of his loud holiday tie), as well as a hilarious opening line. All of it grows steadily darker as — ahem — other colors begin to take over the film's palette. It all takes place in a world where horror movies exist, and the characters are smarter as a result, but it also offers up a sinister twist on an old Home Alone staple, and includes plot turns that I did not see coming.
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