Horror movies about babysitters, for a guilty pleasure Cinemax
Like many other parents, we struggle to have a date night alone. Usually the family helps take care of the girls, and that only happens once every few months. One of the reasons is that we haven’t found a babysitter yet. This could very well be my fault. More than once, when we broached the subject of booking a babysitter, I hesitated. “We can’t count on babysitters these days,” I told my wife. “What if we fall in love with a crazy person with a malicious plan? Or will the babysitter witness unusual events at home, for example, a scary clown who appears on TV?” My wife was not impressed and looked at me with disdain. “You and your horror movies again,” she said firmly. “Oh, look. There’s the show we wanted to see at the theater. I’m going to see if my mom can take care of the girls.”
The truth is, I have an inexplicable fondness for babysitting movies. There’s something about these films that makes them enjoyable for me, even if their quality is far from perfect: the fact that they tend to be entertaining, this threat that arrives in a place that should be safe, the moments of tension and fright, the babysitters quite hot… It’s a guilty pleasure for me, and fortunately the other decades have seen quite a few babysitter films. Most of them are fun, and some are even very successful. So how many babysitter movies can you consider “horror”? And what are the best horror movies about babysitters?
Babysitter Horror Movies We (Kind of) Liked
Halloween (1978…present)
Not sure the first thing one thinks of in the context of the horror classic Halloween, which introduced Michael Myers to the world, is that it’s a babysitting movie. But the fact is that the plot of the first film centered on Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), who looks after two children on Halloween and discovers a psychopathic killer with an expressionless mask and an extraordinary ability to move quickly from one place to another even if walking very slowly, pursues her.
Then came something like 11 more films spanning four timelines and three generations, which pretty much spoiled the final impression. But the first “Halloween” is still a masterpiece, one of the most influential films in horror cinema and a film that every horror fan must see at least once.
When a Stranger Calls (1979 and 2006)
Let’s go back to 1979, when “When a Stranger Calls” was released. The plot here will remind you of many other less successful nanny movies in which a babysitter is pursued by a specific person who phones her over and over and later, of course, tries to murder her as well. The original film, with Carol Kane’s excellent performance as the babysitter, is considered very influential. It includes the immortal phrase “The call comes from inside the house”, which has received numerous quotes and references and influenced, among other things, THAT famous opening scene from the first “Scream”. It combines a horror film with elements of a crime thriller, which is for the most part very successful.
In 1993, there was also a sequel, with much of the original cast, called “When a Stranger Calls Back.” In 2006 we saw a remake of “When A Stranger Calls” starring the attractive Camilla Belle, mediocre but still quite enjoyable. It’s much more accessible than the original film, but we recommend seeing the original film first.
Babysitter Wanted (2008)
A Confession: I like this little, low-budget film from 2008. On the one hand, it doesn’t show anything we haven’t seen in other films. Here, too, a young babysitter (Sarah Thompson) arrives to look after a child, and here, too, we quickly discover that someone – or something – is chasing her. The film includes elements you’ll recognize from other films in this genre, including several that appear on this very list. On the other hand, the twist worked for me, and I found quite a few relatively successful moments of suspense and horror.
The Devil’s House (2009)
“The House of the Devil” is one of the first films of Ty West, known today mainly for the excellent trilogy with Mia Goth: “X”, “Pearl” and the final film “Maxxxine”, which has not yet reached us. In The Devil’s House, which is a clear homage to the horror films of the ’70s and ’80s, a young student (Jocelyn Donahue, who had relatively minor roles in “The Conjuring 2” and “Doctor Sleep”) arrives at an isolated family home and stumbles upon a long series of strange phenomena linked – as you can perhaps conclude – to the devil and possible pagan rituals.
The film combines several genres, for example ghost films and slashers, and it certainly shows the potential of Ty West, who we all know today.
All Saints’ Eve (2013)
We’ve already written a lot on the site about our fondness for the character Art the Clown and Damien Leona’s excellent Terrifier films. “All Hallows’ Eve” is our first in-depth encounter with a character who could very well be a horror icon: so it’s true that already in 2006 there was a short film called “The 9th Circle” starring Art the Clown, but it’s likely that most of you haven’t encountered it.
In All Hallows’ Eve, a babysitter (Katie Maguire) finds a mysterious VHS tape that shows three horror stories centered on, among other things, Art the Clown. Not all of these stories are successful – yes, we’re mainly talking about the second story, which we remember about a dancing alien – but in our opinion it’s worth seeing, especially for exposure to Art the Clown, played here by a guy named Mike Giannelli (in later films David Howard Thornton replaced him).
We especially liked the last scene, which connects the stories in the frame and brings horror into the house where the unfortunate babysitter is. It’s a slightly psychotic and wildly over-the-top scene, but also frightening, that showed the future direction these films would take.
Emilie (2015)
“Emelie” is one of those “there’s something wrong with the new babysitter” movies, and we’re totally fine with that. Emelie (the excellent Sarah Bulger) arrives to babysit the family’s three children, posing as another nanny she has kidnapped. Soon the kids discover that “something is wrong with the new babysitter”, including the killing of a pet, a borderline sexual harassment scene in which she inserts a tampon into her body in front of the kids hanging around, another borderline sexual harassment scene in which she shows the children a sex tape of their parents and of course also malware involving family members.
It’s hard to say this evil nanny movie is too successful or believable, but it’s fun and gets the job done.
Better Be Careful (2016)
In this terrific comedy-horror, Ashley (the excellent Olivia DeJonge, “The Visit” and “Scare Campaign”) is a young babysitter who looks after a boy named Luke (Levi Miller) on Christmas Eve. Beyond that, it is recommended not to know too much about this film which presents quite convincing twists and turns on the identity and motivations of the pursuers. “Better Watch Out” is one of the films that surprised me the most in this subgenre, and I found it enjoyable from start to finish – and even a little surprising.
The Babysitter (2017)
You didn’t think we’d do a babysitting movie review without including this hit Netflix horror comedy, did you? It begins like many fantasies: 12-year-old Cole (Judah Lewis) discovers that his babysitter is none other than Samara Weaving (“Ready Or Not”). When he follows her at night and finds her participating in a steamy game of “Truth or Dare”, which also includes a kiss with Bella Thorne, he declares that he is in love. But soon, after the evil babysitter murders a poor man, the film turns into a game of cat, mouse and nanny. You’ll also find some bizarre deals with the devil and some touches of blood, humor and Samara weaving.
The Babysitter: Killer Queen (2019)
The sequel “The Babysitter: Killer Queen” arrived two years later. The film follows the same heroine, this time in high school, as she tries to recover from the same deadly events, encountering new brutal events and cult stories that don’t really make sense. Although Samara Weaving’s role here as the evil nanny is quite limited, the best part here is Jenna Ortega. Today, you know her as one of Hollywood’s hottest actresses and a favorite, especially among horror fans, after her roles in “Wednesday,” Tim Burton’s “X,” and, of course, the last two films in the “Scream” franchise.
Do you have any recommendations for other babysitting movies? Do you know someone who is not a psychopath and who is available to take care of two pretty girls, who do not belong to any sect? Do not hesitate to contact us.
