A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting

 


Name: A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting

Directed By: Rachel Talalay

Subgenre: PG-13* Fantasy, Comedy

Series: Spooktober 2020 entry #14; review #76

Review: We're going for another lighter, family-friendly film this time around with the Netflix adaptation of A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting. The film follows a young babysitter who is adopted into a monster-hunting order of fellow babysitters in order to save her ward from The Boogeyman. The film shares the same conceptual space as the Are You Afraid of the Dark reboot but manages to take the plot and atmosphere into a more fantastical space rather than trying to be pure horror, and this film is better for it. A Babysitter's Guide is basically a kid-friendly of Buffy versus a less interesting Beetlejuice who commands a small cadre of evil minions--no, literally, they're those versions of the Minions that turned purple and went crazy just with the serial numbers filed off. There are a few monsters sprinkled into the mix, and while most are goofy, one is a surprisingly spooky critter. Obviously the film is only tangentially horror, but it does have its moments. That said, it's also a fairly paint-by-numbers YA flick that doesn't get too daring with its writing or characters design. Oh, and the music made me want to summon the Cenobites directly into my ear canals--something something, you kids better get off my lawn.

*: The film is actually rated PG, but since I'm using the label of PG-13 as a stand in for "generally family-friendly horror," I'm keeping the more extreme rating. This film is probably one of the least horror-connected films I've reviewed so far, but it does make a great entry point for younger or more squeamish audiences, and would work well as a double-feature with The House with a Clock in its Walls.



Overall Score: 2.5 out of 5 Chads distracted by SPARKLIES!!. Did A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting is available on these platforms.


Official Trailer



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