A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting Review: The Return of Halloween Camp

If you’re familiar with any Halloween themed movie for kids in the early 2000s, you’ll know what I mean when I say that camp has finally returned to Halloween movies. The fabulously dressed villain, who creeps along in the night and monologues his evil plan; the team of young teenagers, tasked with defeating evil and getting home before curfew; and the adorable younger child who, in the face of danger, always has a witty retort.

A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting brings all of those classic tropes into the modern age in a refreshing way that is relevant to the target demographic and nostalgic to viewers familiar with the genre. 

Highschool freshman Kelly Ferguson isn’t loving her reputation as “Monster Girl” at her school, after telling a story about the monster in her closet as a child, but she has a best friend as weird as she is and a crush on the cute boy sitting behind her in math.

Kelly, played by Tamara Smart, is also a genius. Able to see math equations laid out in front of her, she solves complicated equations without a calculator or writing down a single formula. She works on projects at her desk, including making her own flashlights, which comes in handy when monster hunting.

On Halloween night, the entire school is invited to a party at a cool senior’s house, and suddenly a chance to change her reputation is right in front of her for the taking and she’s ready for it. Unfortunately, she discovers her mom has volunteered Kelly to babysit for her boss, whom she refers to as “the ice queen.”

“The ice queen,” as it turns out, is a perfect nickname when Ms. Zellman opens the door in a frosty white costume, complete with icicle crown. Ms. Zellman is a perfect parent for a campy Halloween movie: very strict, always punctual, and perpetually worried about her son Jacob.

Jacob isn’t the sheltered child his mother makes him out to be but does have one very big problem: he’s afraid to sleep. Kelly is surprised to find a kindred spirit, as Jacob reminds her of herself at his age, though she shakes it off and puts the boy to bed.

Jacob is afraid of his own room, jumping at every sound. His fears are well placed when someone or something creeps out of his closet and into the room. During the fight Kelly, who has jealously been video chatting with her best friend at the party, runs upstairs just in time to see Jacob being taken by monsters through a tunnel under his bed.

This all opens a door for Kelly to meet Liz Lerue, played by Oona Laurence, who is the absolute best person Kelly could have met. Liz is Vice President of the Rhode Island chapter of a secret society of babysitters tasked with protecting children of the world from the things that go bump in the night. 

Liz is a tough girl, with pastel pink hair and a Vespa, and she tracks the monsters with her own babysitting assignment strapped to her back. She commands not only the secret society but also every room she seems to walk into, when they end up at the cool senior’s party, she is unaffected by the thumping crowd around her. 

Laurence gives a fantastic performance in this film, finding the perfect balance between mysterious cool girl and emotional teenage girl. Throughout the movie, we see the character of Liz unfold and open up to Kelly in beautiful ways, from her inviting Kelly into a secret world, to sharing her deepest secrets with her. 

Laurence and Smart have a fantastic rhythm fit for a years-old friendship, and Liz helps Kelly find her confidence, challenging her to find creative solutions to big problems. Kelly helps Liz open up to working as a team instead of on her own.

Back at the babysitter’s headquarters are some sitters in training, each with their own specialties. This is the behind the scenes team that helps Liz and Kelly defeat the Grand Guignol. They even have their own babysitter style weapons, like a jump rope that acts as a net for catching monsters.

One of the more stand out performances is Tom Felton as the Grand Guignol, one of the seven boogeymen. The Grand Guignol’s evil plan is to use Jacob’s ability to turn dreams into reality to create a nightmare army to take over the world. Felton portrays a fantastically dramatic villain, a sort of new-age Beetlejuice. 

Most of the Grand Guignol’s scenes take place with Jacob, played by Ian Ho. The two actors find a great rhythm with touches of well-timed humor and drama. Throughout his time with the Grand Guignol, Jacob’s confidence grows until by the end of the film he isn’t afraid of his nightmares.

One of the key elements of A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting and of the genre overall is the unknowing adults. Throughout the story, Kelly’s parents, as well as Jacob’s mom, are fooled by the teenagers into believing all is well, and by the end when Jacob is sleeping soundly, and Kelly has repaired any damage to the room, she’s thanked for her service and asked to babysit again. 

Kelly is recruited to the babysitter’s society and starts studying up on the next boogeyman they’ll have to face down, the Spider Queen, sister of the Grand Guignol, simultaneously setting up for more additions to the series.

Overall, A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting is a fun and campy movie that could easily become a classic on par with Halloweentown and Hocus Pocus. The representation of people of color, women in STEM, and the overall moral of becoming braver than your nightmares is comforting and nostalgic. 

 

What did you think of A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting is available on Netflix.

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