Better Watch Out (2016)

The films trailer looks awesome. Like a horror comedy home alone. But that's not what you get. You get a terribly written film about a psychotic child that makes zero sense.

Fmovies: I saw this film at 0 Cinema in Miami and my fiancé and I were so surprised how original and unpredictable it was. I watch a lot of films and not since Apocalypto was I so clueless as to what direction the story was going. There's a great dynamic with the main characters that makes you wonder what are they up to and what's going to happen next. The pace is a tad slow, but it helps build suspense and acting is top notch. I usually hate kid actors because they're stupid kids with their stupid kid faces but every actor in this is good.

10 stars? Are you kidding me?! Thinking this was a ridiculous horror comedy that would be entertaining, instead I ended up being stuck sitting through an implausible, idiotic movie that takes itself way too seriously.

The most glaring and irredeemable flaw was the big bad who, without spoiling anything, is depicted as some criminal mastermind. I cannot even finish this mess.

Better Watch Out fmovies. This is what happens when the entirety of your movie is based off of a gimmick; it's one thing to give an engaging new spin to a genre concept and quite another to play your forced contrivances for supposed shock value.

There are fine home invasion thrillers like Don't Breathe(2016) that while engaging in a different take on the genre trope, still manage to stay true to the spirit of the genre, delivering the much needed thrills in good measure. This misfire of a movie, Better Watch Out however, is one that is so pleased with it's little twist that it forgets to invest in anything that is remotely honest or earnest to make it a worthwhile viewing experience.

The lacklustre start does not do the movie any favours but just as things seem to be settling in, it's all thrown out for a plot twist that from the very moment of inception robs the story of any suspense or thrill whatsoever. From this great twist onwards, the movie becomes an exercise in stringing together one implausible scenario to another, each one trying vying for that highly sought after shock value.

When movies of this genre work, they work because they successfully manage to place the viewer in the protagonist's shoes, and in doing so generate the dread and suspense that drew audiences to it in the first place. Better Watch Out throws that all out the window, failing to invest in atmosphere, juxtaposing jarring scenes with cheery, melodious Christmas carols that much like the film itself, elicits a chuckle at first but soon runs out of steam. In the handful of scenes that the movie tries to humanize any of it's characters, it only feigns poignancy.

The acting by everyone involved is commendable and the pacing is fine as well.

At the end however, not only does the story resort to a plethora of plot conveniences, in all it's showyness it forgets to let the viewer in on the fun. Having your maniacal lead jive to jovial music, is no fun; it just propagates the tonal mishmash of genres and tricks. For a movie that is supposedly a comedy, horror, thriller feature, this one trick pony was far from funny or thrilling, just endlessly nihilistic, a repugnant mess with a sour after taste that you'll want to wash off as quickly as possible.

Let me give you some advice: the second that you finish reading this review, get off imdb.com, steer clear of any ratings or stories about this movie, don't watch any trailers, and don't ask anyone about it. Just find the movie, and watch it. Go in with a totally clean slate and enjoy.

I don't really want to say much more than that out of fear of ruining any element of the movie. I can tell you that it's part scary, part funny, largely surprising, and totally entertaining. The performances are great. I don't want to describe why they're great because that could give something away. Just know that they're superb.

Plot-wise, the most I can say is that an attractive female babysitter comes over to watch a junior high school boy while his parents go out for the night. After that, visitors arrive and stuff happens. Lots of stuff.

This is by far the shortest review I've ever written, but I've said all that I want to say. Now go watch the movie.

Man, what a ride! I love it when I know absolutely nothing about a low budget film and don't expect much - and then get completely surprised at how good it actually is.

This little gem is an unpredictable, often times either darkly funny or deeply disturbing thrill ride that should not be me missed by genre (or generally film) fans.

It's beautifully shot, acted and written, and I'm sure we'll hear more from filmmaker Chris Peckover in the future. This is clever, inventive low-budget filmmaking at its best, and it goes to show that a lack of money is not an obstacle that can't be overcome by sheer talent.

Good stuff: 8 stars out of 10.

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