Netflix And Chill: The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2020)

Everyone was surprised by just how good The Babysitter was. Despite my own ability to tolerate his work, even I could see why McG had become so hated by film fans. Perhaps now is the time for some to realise he's actually never been THAT bad. Although it doesn't change the fact that he credits himself as McG.

Anyway, this sequel to The Babysitter brings back all of the main players. That may surprise people who remember the events of the first film, but the trailer gives you all the info you need. There's a deal with the devil that allows the dangerous youngsters from the first film to return for one night and once again terrorise Cole (Judah Lewis). There are also some new extra characters involved in the madness this time, including an attractive and resourceful young woman named Phoebe (Jenna Ortega).

The approach may not work for everyone, but The Babysitter: Killer Queen has a lot of fun trying to cram in as much fun, and as many movie references as possible, into every scene. Whether it's a running comment about the very few sequels that surpass the originals, the use of "Apache" in one key scene, or the evocative score from Risky Business underpinning some scenes in which we see Cole both afraid and yet also enjoying his time with Phoebe.

Brian Duffield may not have returned to the writing duties, but Dan Lagana, Brad Morris, Jimmy Warden, and also McG himself, do well by all of the central characters, maintaining the tone of the first film, peppering everything with a mix of new gags and fun callbacks. This may not be better than the original, but it comes close enough to be rated on a par with it. It's just a shame that the excellent Samara Weaving has a lot less screentime this time around, understandably so.

The direction is as lively and irreverent as it was in the first film, with the subtitles returning when a point is being made, and some quick flashbacks for most of the main characters. It's not quite as successful this time, simply due to the familiarity with the form, but McG definitely seems to be having fun, which is passed on to viewers.

Lewis and Ortega are a decent pair of leads, with the former having the added characterisation now of working through the PTSD of a traumatic incident that so many people don't believe. Emily Alyn Lind is a lot of fun as Melanie, another girl that our lead character likes, even if his chances of anything actually happening with her look slim to none, and it's hard to pick a favourite from Robbie Amell, Hana Mae Lee, Bella Thorne, and Andrew Bachelor, who are all generally involved in some fun and gory death scenes. It's also worth mentioning the increased screentime for Ken Marino and Leslie Bibb, with the former managing to deliver many more laughs with his wonderful narrative strand.

It's not better than the first film, but if you liked that then you're bound to enjoy this. And patience is rewarded whenever Weaving appears. Her shadow falls over the whole movie, but it moves up a notch whenever she's there in person. I am glad we got a second outing for these characters. I hope they don't try to stretch things for a third outing though.

8/10

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