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DTV Madness: Babysitter Wanted

It's been a while since my last DTV Madness posting. It just goes to show how bad Gingerdead Man 2: Passion of the Crust was. Actually I watched a few DTV movies since then, but they were nothing worth reviewing... well, that and I didn't want to blow a gasket.

So this segment has returned in full force with an absolute surprise in the form of Babysitter Wanted. But... was it a good surprise?

The story follows a young girl named Angie who moves to a new town to pursue her studies in art history. She is the typical horror movie archetype for a lead female; she's innocent, a devout catholic and she's a schoolgirl (well, college girl). She accepts a new babysitting job at a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, to help make ends meet but slowly realizes that she's being stalked.

This movie is quite deceiving in that the trailer makes you think you're seeing one kind of movie, but then they swerve you and the movie becomes something else entirely. The first half is your run of the mill slasher horror, nothing too special. As I was watching the movie, I thought to myself, "okay, I think I can see where this is going but something seems too fishy".

I really like what they did with the gore in this movie. They keep most of the kills offscreen and you do get to see a lot of blood and guts, but at other times they'll focus on the eyes of the victim to show the terror and they'll let you hear all the gritty sound effects to let you know something disgusting and diabolical is going on.

Sarah Thompson takes the main lead as Angie and does quite a good job in the role, all things considered. I wasn't too faimilar with her but she's got quite some work under her belt. Horror vet Bill Moseley plays the town's chief and is just a natural in the role. He's a welcomed addition in any horror flick, with this one being no different.

My only real qualm with the movie is that the twist came too early, at the halfway mark. I think it would have been better served in the last 10 to 15 minutes. It takes some of the tension away, but thankfully, not all of it.

On a more minor scale, after the swerve has been revealed, there is a bit too much exposition from one of the characters. It makes it really cheesy. But hey, it's a DTV movie, so I can forgive it in that sense. It didn't spoil my experience, but it just felt odd.

Anyhow, for a DTV movie, this was well worth it. It entertained me, it grossed me out, and it made me say "what the fuck" out loud... a winning recipe for a movie! Check out the trailer (Youtube / Quicktime). That's it for now gorehounds! Later geeks!
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