Better Watch Out (2016) Review: I Don’t Want to Live on this Planet Anymore
“You Might Be Home But You’re Not Alone”Synopsis: On a quiet suburban street, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from intruders, only to discover it’s far from a normal home invasion. | ![]() Watch now on Amazon |
Calamity Brains:
Pro tip: if you already have a dangerously low opinion of 13-year-old boys, this is not the movie for you. If you watch the movie anyway, you may find yourself bundling your sons off to military school for their teenage years.
That being said, I appreciated the twisty plot and the Home Alone aspects of the movie. The acting was solid, the leads were great at ramping up the tension, and each character got a few good moments. I also enjoyed the pairing of Christmas carols with horror fare, but felt like the juxtaposition could have been done better.
And yes, Better Watch Out is creepy. For me, it was less “horror movie” creepy and more “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore” creepy.
Aside from my inherent discomfort with the subject matter, where the movie lost me was the gore (or lack thereof). Don’t get me wrong: I don’t mind movies being cautious about blood and guts to keep their MPAA ratings reasonable. But there were multiple times during Better Watch Out where I expected gore, and got disappointing shots and camera angles instead. Why bother coming up with fun and creative death scenes if the audience never gets to see them?
Calamity Brains’ Rating: B (but I did NOT like it)
Watch now on Amazon
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