Year of Release: 2020
Director: McG
Starring: Judah Lewis, Jenna Ortega, Emily Alyn Lind, Samara Weaving, Robbie Amell, Hana Mae Lee, Bella Thorne, , Andrew Bachelor, Chris Wylde, Leslie Bibb, Ken Marino, Carl McDowell, Maximilian Acevedo, Juliocesar Chavez, Jennifer Foster, Raymond Patterson, Valentina Mandala, Amanda Cerny
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 2
Watch it on Netflix
Synopsis and Review
After the well received "The Babysitter", Netflix quickly jumped onboard to create a follow up. For this installment the creative team changed a bit, with screenwriter Brian Duffield being replaced with 4 different writers, namely Dan Lagana, Brad Morris, Jimmy Warden, and McG himself. The film picks up 2 years after the events that occurred with Cole and his babysitter Bee. No one wants to believe him, save for his best friend Melanie who previously came to his aid, and who still does the same. Cole discovers his parents have enrolled him in a psychiatric school, and so he decides to take off with Melanie, her boyfriend Jimmy, and a couple of other friends to a party by the nearby lake. Joining them at the lake, though not in the same group, is the new high school student Phoebe. While playing a game on the boat, things quickly escalate when Melanie kills Boom-Boom, as she intends to use her blood for a ritual, very similar to what Bee had originally intended to do (leveraging the same demonic book, and Cole's blood with the same intent). The original members of Bee's cult also return, having been resurrected so they can take part of the ritual by sunrise. As they're about to sacrifice Cole, Phoebe appears looking for gas for her jet ski, which gives Cole just enough of a distraction to escape (with Phoebe). Cole explains what is taking place, and turns out Phoebe also has some traumatic past issues of her own, which coincidentally tie back to Cole and Bee. All they have to do is survive till after sunrise, which is when the ritual is required to take place. However the whole cult is aiming for them and will stop at nothing.
Sadly with the departure of Brian Duffield from the creative/writing team, some of the aspects that made the original so quirky and intelligent, left with him. This time around, the story feels a bit more like a reheat of a stale recipe, and less of a creative concoction. There's less context as to why certain characters return, and the attempts at tying some of the new characters plot points with the original ones, just don't feel quite sensical. The slasher vibe which tied so nicely with the original's comedic tone, feels much more diluted here (more gore, less suspense, less laughs), something that the "Mortal Kombat" references that are also peppered in the narrative, don't really solve either. The film feels less tightly woven around its concept, with the characters once more failing to have much of an arc or legitimate aspirations at all. The slapstick of the death scenes is almost cartoonish, even if the gore is still quite present. Again, more gore or more death scenes, doesn't necessarily solve narrative issues. While the film is indeed a continuation, it also feels like a downgrade, something that is also noticeable in the production values, which are quite generic in this case, save for Bear McCreary's score. The cast sadly doesn't have much to work with, and even Jenna Ortega feels very under-used in what's taking place. It's a forgettable endeavor for all parties involved.
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