For any aspiring screenwriter, a tried and tested method for both selling and creating a new project is to take a film and move it somewhere else. How about Jaws in Space? or Die Hard in the white house? maybe, Evil Dead in the upper-middle-class American suburbs? That last one is the Night Sitter, the newest title to grace the Frightfest presents label. Abiel Bruhn & John Rocco have relocated Raimi’s legendarily anarchic horror film to the suburbs, also in the mix are witches and a babysitter who is up to no good – a real melting pot of ideas, and whilst derivative it is also the most fun I have had with any of this burgeoning label’s releases.
Amber (Elyse Dufour) is the new babysitter for Kevin and Ronny as their parents head out for date night. Kevin’s Dad lives in a big suburban manor in which there is a locked door, behind which is a selection of occult trinkets. One of which is a book containing the Three Mothers (Argento reference, right there) who have been haunting Kevin’s dreams. With the introduction of the rambunctious and curious Ronny and a babysitter who is looking to steal anything which hasn’t been nailed down, it creates a situation where those three witches are freed to enact a brand of violence that isn’t a million miles away from the deadites. Also in the mix is an over-the-top stylisation and colourisation that liberally borrows from the likes of Inferno & Suspiria.
While the Night Sitter’s influences are impossible to ignore, the directing duo took their inspirations and put together a likeable ensemble in a heightened, goofy scenario that I’d love to see more of.
There is an identity of its own in The Night Sitter, chiefly the myth creation that perfectly melds together traits from its two major influences, so much so, it instantly becomes one of the frighteningly few witch movies that serve these practitioners of the black arts well. They are witches who are summoned via a book that possesses people, and turn the house into a technicolour rave (albeit undone slightly by being out of focus a tad too often) with a particular grizzly goal in mind. These witches don’t kill because they kill, they kill because they are notorious child murderers and anyone else who gets caught up was stopping them from achieving their goal. It is in that where the fun is had with many bouts of over-the-top violence. There is one instance that goes a little too far, otherwise, it’s a course of severed limbs, knives through the backs of heads, and bloody shenanigans.
Too many horror movies have been curtailed by having someone or something murder for no apparent reason, thus, the use of magic and charms gives it a freshness and some rules to obey, using some level of grounding, albeit fantastical, helps the film craft its own identity and pay homage to the director’s influences. One note, can we stop killing dogs to establish the threat posed by malevolent entities, please?
One of the big areas where it falls down is the ensemble. Elyse Defour is a good anchor for the film, hers is a charismatic performance with some solid chemistry between her and Jack Champion (Kevin). Likewise, the next-door neighbour, who happens to be a one-of-a-kind expert in paganism and witchcraft is a tad contrived, even so, the character, Vincent (Ben Barlow), is also a likeable presence who lifts the film. It’s the rest of the cast that let the side down. Just to be facetious I am going to describe them with the same reductive terms in which they are presented. We have a needy boyfriend, the black guy and the black guy’s girlfriend. Yes, other horror films use cardboard cutouts but when Amber, Vincent and Kevin are so well-defined, to have others be so empty makes no secret of their eventual fate. That being said, the silly, comedic and over-the-top violence that kicks off as soon as that locked door opens is never less than fun.
At the end of the day, Evil Dead in the Suburbs is just as fun as you hope it would be. While the Night Sitter’s influences are impossible to ignore, the directing duo took their inspirations and put together a likeable ensemble in a heightened, goofy scenario that I’d love to see more of. Whether Bruhn & Rocco return to this world using the Conjuring’s technique of “what else is in their spooky stuff room” or move to something fresh, I will be keeping a keen eye on this duo.
THE NIGHT SITTER IS OUT NOW ON VOD
Click the poster below to watch the night sitter on amazon prime
