Better Watch Out (2017)

Before we start this article I just want to make sure that I say this review will have spoilers. If you haven’t seen this film yet I would HIGHLY recommend that you do so. Now that that’s out of the way let’s get into this review.

This past October a little film came out called Better Watch Out. I had never heard of it, but from the poster it appeared to be a Christmas related slasher film. I am a huge slasher fan, and sadly there just aren’t a lot of those nowadays. So seeing a new one out intrigued me enough. I looked all over the place but unfortunately, it wasn’t playing anywhere around me so I kind of forgot about it. That is until just recently when the film found its way to DVD. It being Christmas time, I thought it was a great time to check it out.

I expected the film to be okay at best, but instead I found a great film that few people have heard of. The cover, which portrays the two main characters huddled together and the female character clutching a large knife indicates that it is a slasher film and it starts out that way, but takes a drastic turn early in the film and the cover/poster is incredibly misleading.

Ed Oxenbould, Olivia DeJonge, and Levi Miller in "Better Watch Out" (2017)
Ed Oxenbould, Olivia DeJonge, and Levi Miller in “Better Watch Out” (2017)

The film follows Luke, an almost 13-year-old boy who still has a babysitter come to watch him when his parents are out. Luke is awkward around Ashley as it becomes clear that he is in love with her. He tries to flirt with her but she is more interested in just being the babysitter. Suddenly, someone breaks into the house and when Luke and Ashley take cover, the twist comes in. The person who broke into the house was actually Luke’s friend and the whole break-in was conducted by Luke who is suddenly the villain of the film. Soon, Ashley awakes in the kitchen duct-taped to a chair and from this point on it’s a rollercoaster of one crazy event followed by another.

I really enjoyed this film simply because it was something completely different than what I expected. I went in expecting a standard slasher film and ended up getting an evil kid story. Levi Miller (Luke) was amazing in the part. I usually don’t like child actors, but there a select few who can play the parts well and Miller definitely did that. He plays the psycho kid so well and convincingly. Most of the violence, blood and gore is done off screen and I honestly think it works just fine that way. There is a scene that involves a teenager and a paint can and you never actually completely see the aftermath, but it still works great. This was just a really fun movie and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good horror movie.

About Steven Lohmann 16 Articles
Steven J. Lohmann of Creepy Eye Productions has been a horror fan for 20 years now all starting with "Scream" and branching out from there. He is mainly a fan of 80s slasher films, but enjoys all things horror.

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