Babysitter Wanted (2008) Reviews

• The Ultimate Movie Review! - http://tss5078.blogspot.com - @tss5078

  Tss50782014-08-31

  People often ask how I find and pick the really independent films I sometimes review. In the case of Babysitter Wanted, it was an easy choice, as nothing is scarier to me that an evil child. Strangely enough the film also features several cast members from a TV show I really liked, Kyle XY. The story begins with the deeply religious, Angie (Sarah Thompson), going away to college. Looking for some extra money, she picks up a job babysitting for a family living in the middle of nowhere. Everything seems normal at first, until one night someone tries to break in, and to everyone's surprise, the beautiful young girl is not the target of his rage. This film was very unusual for a religious based horror film, as it wasn't over the top with religious jargon. It was a major theme of the film, but they don't beat you over the head with it the way other films do. It's also unlike your usual slasher films as it has a good cast, a decent and somewhat unique story, and most important of all, it doesn't move at lightning speed. Almost every slasher film I've ever seen has 15 minutes of story and then it's one big chase, but that doesn't happen here. They spend a lot of time on the story and when things do happen, they are pretty surprising. Sarah Thompson stars as the babysitter, while being your typical beautiful horror movie girl, she was also very credible and connected with the audience. Watching this film, you feel like you know her or someone like her, and you'll be cheering for her in a way you really don't do in films like this. She's paired with Kyle XY himself, Matt Dallas, another really good looking, likable person, that audiences will also relate to. Once you see the whole picture, it's going to seem a bit odd to you, but the Directors and Casting people really hit the nail on the head, making this seem like anything but a slasher film until the time was just right, making for a really enjoyable and unique type of film.

• Surprisingly chilling and disturbing low budget horror.

  Faisal-Hashmi2009-03-05

  I went into the movie not expecting much, and ended up being completely satisfied. Babysitter Wanted, unlike countless DTV horrors, is genuinely creepy and has an original plot that will stay with people. A great surprise! Angie (Sarah Thompson) moves into a small town to study in college. She meets people there, but also has a feeling that someone is stalking her. She takes up a babysitter position at a farm house one weekend, and the horror begins. The first half of the movie is in the vein of the Strangers and When a Stranger Calls. And it's equally effective, if not more. It's easy to identify with Angie's situation. The scares are consistent, although SFX is a little overused. Tension is mounted throughout. A great twist midway turns the movie into a different direction. Without spoiling anything, the movie veers into a supernatural angle and is equally chilling as the first half although might be too gory and disturbing for some. The plot from here on is original, leading to a satisfying ending which makes room for sequels too. The acting is surprisingly good from everyone. The productions values are great for a low budget movie, although there are a few lighting issues in the second half. All in all, Babysitter Wanted is a welcome surprise and horror fans will have a great time with it. Recommended.

• Creepy and Gore Low Budget Horror Movie

  claudio_carvalho2013-10-13

  The religious teenager Angie Albright (Sarah Thompson) moves to a small town to study Art History in college. She finds a weird roommate and befriends the student and former altar boy Rick (Matt Dallas). Angie decides to babysit to raise money to buy a bed and she finds an advertisement to work at the distant Stanton Farm in the countryside. She is welcomed by Jim Stanton (Bruce Thomas) and his wife Violet (Kristen Dalton) that are seeking a babysitter for their son Sam (Kai Caster) and they make arrangements for Friday night. Meanwhile Angie has the sensation that someone is stalking her and she goes to the police station and reports to Chief Dinneli (Bill Moseley). On Friday night, Angie's car breaks and Rick gives a ride to Angie to go to the farm. When she is alone with Sam, a stranger breaks in the farmhouse and Angie saves Sam from the man. Soon she learns that she is in the house of evil and nothing is like she thought it would be. "Babysitter Wanted" is a creepy and gore low budget horror movie surprisingly good. In the beginning, I thought that this movie would be a rip-off of "When a Stranger Calls" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", but the story has a great and unexpected plot point to an original development. The direction is sharp and the cast has excellent performances and the boy is really creepy. My vote is eight. Title (Brazil): "Procura-se Uma Babá" ("Babysitter Wanted") Note: On 15 April 2019 I saw this film again.

• Adventures in (horrific) babysitting

  bowmanblue2014-12-17

  'Babysitter Wanted' is pretty much 'horror by the numbers,' It offers little that you haven't already seen before, i.e. pretty girl being stalked by... whatever madman/beastie the filmmakers desire. However, just because it's formulaic, doesn't mean it's that bad. Don't get me wrong, it's no classic. It won't be remembered alongside Halloween and Scream, but, if you're into horror/teen slasher, then this could give you an hour and a half's general amusement (or just under ninety minutes actually, as it's quite a short film). A girl takes a job as a babysitter and... well, let's just say things don't turn out as planned. It's a film of two halves. It does its best to lead you in one direction, only to then pull away in another (hoping you haven't already guessed what's coming). It's far from perfect. The director seems to want to use brief bursts of incidental music at every given opportunity. It's too much and it just gets annoying. Plus, when the babysitter is alone in the house, obviously she has no one to talk to. Therefore she - kind of - gives us viewers a running commentary of her thoughts, taking the phrase 'thinking out loud' to its literalness. If you're into horror and easily pleased (or just very forgiving of B-movies in general) then give this one a go. It slightly raises its head above the pool of terribly generic horror offerings currently on DVD.

• Brilliant! I can't believe it's a low budget movie!

  daggersineyes2013-09-14

  To suggest that this is a "rip off" of "When A Stranger Calls is ridiculous. The only reason I can imagine for people to say such a silly thing is that they didn't actually watch the movie beyond the first half hour or so. It's akin to saying Cemetery Gates ripped off Delamorte Dellamore because they're both about cemeteries. Ludicrous! Babysitter Wanted bears no resemblance to WASC or to Black Christmas (the classic 1974 horror movie that 'inspired' WASC in the first place). In fact, its unlike any horror movie I've seen before. This is a fresh, innovative and surprising movie with a plot you will not see coming. The direction, cinematography, acting, character development, pacing, story, mystery development, action, and final scenes are all top notch and again I find myself baffled by the ratings given to movies on IMDb. They seem to be particularly out of whack in the horror genre for some strange and frustrating reason. Anyway - the only real fault I can think of here is the music was sometimes too intrusive - but that's probably more a style issue. To me the use of loud crescendos and repetitive loud beats actually detracted from the tension or shock or horror of what was on screen rather than enhancing it. That's not to say the musical score was all bad, some of it was great. It was just something I noticed during some crucial scenes. This movie deserves a rating of at least 7 and given that they produced such a gem of a killer thriller with buckets of horror and awesome kill scenes etc on a minimal budget it should easily get an 8. One of the best I've seen that's been made in the past few years. DO yourself a favour and get hold of this beauty! (not for the squeamish tho!!)