Babysitter Wanted for Snack Time: Movie Review

Director: Jonas Barnes, Michael Manasseri.

Writer: Jonas Barnes.

"Babysitter Wanted," is one of the few horror films that manages to add enough excellent acting, proper music, and clever scriptwriting to create a well paced action, horror film. Completed almost two years ago this film has recently been released to a select number of cities and can now be found on DVD. Shot in 35 millimeter, with a small budget this mostly independent horror film puts the fun back into the 70s suspense films of the past.

Angie (Sarah Thompson), a young girl from a religious, sheltered family moves to a local undergraduate school and quickly finds college life a lot more exciting than expected. Rick (Matt Dallas) befriends Angie with his charm while Angie adjusts to her new life on pro-partying campus. Needing money to pay for books and furnishings Angie picks up a job working as a babysitter for the Stantons (Bruce Thomas, Kai Caster), and unknowingly becomes part of a sinister plot involving bizarre rituals. Feeling something is strange about her new job Angie turns to the local sheriff (Bill Moseley) for help with prank phone calls and eerie noises. But things spiral out of control when a priest (Monty Bane) looks to settle an old score with the Stantons at the end of a sacrificial knife.

Shot in varying degrees of lighting, for effect director Jonas Barnes and Michael Manasseri manage to shock and entertain while paying homage to the classic horror films of the 1970s. Loosely in the style of "Driller Killer," and other gory features the pacing of the film, along with the twisting story will unsettle viewers while providing a unique musical soundtrack that will send chills up and down the spine. "Babysitter Wanted," really hits the right notes in story, style, and delivery while staying in the memory long after a viewing.

Starting off with an opening action sequence and staying within a mostly PG-13 tone, during the first half of the film "Babysitter Wanted," surprisingly and effectively amps up the intensity of the picture with the overt use of gore and make-up in the second act. Nicoletta, a priest in the film rocks the story along and provides the initial build-up of suspense early in the film. As well, Directors Barnes and Manasseri add enough misdirects, in the writing to keep things uneven and interesting and bring the story to a final showdown that many viewers will not see coming. Shifting from a PG-13 picture to a more restricted film, "Babysitter Wanted," uses every scene with brutal effectiveness that makes for one hell of an entertaining thrill ride.

Some closure is given near the end of the picture with the loss of certain characters, but one final twist will create additional questions while slightly unravelling the previous story. However, a couple plot holes do develop in "Babysitter Wanted," but do not distract from the flow of the film. Why are specific characters protecting and feeding an evil creature in the story? Who pulls over Rick earlier in the story and what happens in this apparently cut scene? Very minor and soon forgotten any plot holes are made up by the appropriate casting, snappy dialogue, and terrifying use of horror. The entire film flows logically and while slightly unbelievable the story of "Babysitter Wanted," is one of the best horror scripts so far in 2009.

Already given a limited release in Canada and the United States "Babysitter Wanted," can and must be seen on DVD this March 2009. Even with the low budget of the film almost the entire viewing is thrilling on some level and "Babysitter Wanted," has value outside of the horror genre for movie fans in general. Check this one out on DVD or Video on Demand during the spring of 2009.

7 Toothless Skulls out of 10.

A trailer for "Babysitter Wanted," here:



Sources:

Babysitter Wanted at IMDB

Babysitter Wanted at Horror-Movies

Babysitter Wanted Homepage

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Posted in: 2009,babysitter wanted,bill moseley,dvd,horror,jonas barnes,matt dallas,michael manasseri,movie poster,movie trailer,review,sarah thompson,synopsis,thriller