With the release of The Babysitter: Killer Queen, I figured it was finally time for me to sit down and watch both The Babysitter and it’s newly released sequel. I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t expecting a “Netflix” movie when I started the film. Still, to my surprise, the first Babysitter movie is phenomenal. Except for a few gore moments, I would say this fits perfectly with any classic horror movie that kids can watch like Gremlins, The Gate, The Witches, and Coraline. After I finished the first film, I became worried about the sequel. The first movie is arguably a perfect horror movie. The idea of doing a sequel, though, is a tight rope that I wasn’t sure the director of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle could successfully walk.

To my surprise, director McG and a gaggle of writers did the best thing possible. They took the story in a direction that I could never have expected. The first movie is about sacrificing an innocent person to appease the Devil. How exactly do you make a sequel to a story like that? Simple, you make it so that no one believes our main character, Cole. Knowing that the original story’s events took place, I found myself having even more of a connection to Cole. I felt terrible that a kid who went through so much just a few years ago was now being called crazy by his peers and parents.

With its great introduction out of the way, the movie proceeds to take the audience on a roller coaster ride full of unexpected twists and turns. One minute I’m emotionally engaged, shocked that I’m almost tearing up, while a few minutes earlier, I was cringing so hard I nearly fell out of my chair. As the movie comes to an end and I’m ridiculously getting chocked up with the finale’s emotional moments, all of that cringe means nothing. So let’s quickly get into the good and the bad of this emotionally confusing movie.

Anything negative I have to say about this movie boils down to one thing: the humor. The first Babysitter wasn’t exactly a drama, but it also knew restraint when telling a joke. With Killer Queen, there are so many pointless scenes with characters making needless jokes that cause scenes to go on for way too long. There are many moments in the movie where its clear that McG and the writers discovered that actors Andrew Bachelor and Chris Wylde are hilarious, so they should be allowed to do whatever they want. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good backflip as much as anyone else, but there’s a reason the phrase less is more exists.

Honestly, as long as I look past the ill-placed humor, Killer Queen picks up right where the first film left off. Star Judah Lewis continues to be great in the role of Cole. This entire series relies so heavily on an actor that is still relatively new to the scene, and he handles everything flawlessly. He isn’t alone, though, as actress Emily Alyn Lind returns as Melanie, Cole’s next-door neighbor from the first film. I was really impressed with Emily’s performance and her character’s development in the movie since she had so little to do in the first film. I think audiences will walk away from the movie, thinking the three leads are all really impressive and have a bright future ahead of them. Honestly, the entire time I watched this movie, I kept thinking, which one of you is a future X-Men. Now you’re probably wondering why I said three. Well, I figured I’d save the best for last. While I think Judah’s performance is terrific, it was actress Jenna Ortega who I was happily surprised by the most. While I think she delivers an excellent performance, I was just as impressed by her character. The tough girl with an attitude and a secret is cliche and can be annoying in the wrong hands. Perhaps its Ortega’s performance or the murder of writers responsible for this film just happened to nail it. Either way, I wouldn’t be upset if we ended up with another Babysitter film bringing back this cast.

Also, without going into too many spoilers, the trailer does tell us that some of the first film’s cast is back. While I mentioned Andrew Bachelor earlier, he isn’t the only character returning from the dead. While I think everyone does an excellent job at what they’re asked to do, I think a real stand out from the movie is Bella Thorne. Her character is as intentionally cliche as it can be and two movies in a row, she does everything she can to steal the show. While I think the three leads of the film should be put in whatever they want, I think it’s time that the other half of Shake It Up starts getting spotlighted in some higher profile films. 

While the movie does make some decisions from time to time that gave me Crank 2 flashbacks, I appreciated the creative risk. And trust me, when I say they take some creative risks, they take some big creative risks. If you’ve seen Crank 2, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Overall, as long as you accept that Killer Queen is never going to hit the high mark, nor does it try to, that the first movie made, you’re going to leave this movie happy. So with Halloween just around the corner, believe me when I tell you that The BabySitter and its sequel, Killer Queen, are the perfect double feature.