Better Watch Out and The Babysitter are opposites of each other in many ways, but one is clearly the better horror movie. Both movies are a credit to the genre and are notable entries into the special babysitter horror sub-genre, which includes movies like When a Stranger Calls, House of the Devil, and the classic slasher, Halloween. On a basic level, the movies are similar: they follow a kid who doesn’t act his age and has a special, hidden relationship with his babysitter. However, it’s the many ways in which the movies are opposites that initially make one scarier and therefore better.
In Better Watch Out, Luke wants to act older than he is, and seemingly has a crush on his babysitter, Ashley. In The Babysitter, Cole acts more childish than he is and his babysitter, Bee, seems to be his best friend. While Luke is the movie’s antagonist and villain in Better Watch Out, in The Babysitter, Bee fills those roles. In Better Watch Out, Luke creates an elaborate plan to achieve his nefarious goals, whereas in The Babysitter, it’s Bee. The twist in Better Watch Out is that Luke is not what he seems to be at first, and in The Babysitter, it’s Bee who’s not what she seems. The list of opposites goes on and on, down to some minute details like Cole’s fear of spiders and Luke’s love of them.
These opposites are clearly an important part of what makes Better Watch Out the scarier and thus the better horror movie; however, they are not the most important aspects of what make it so. There are differences between several aspects of the movies that make Better Watch Out the better horror movie on an even more fundamental level. Among them are the varying levels of realism, shock value, and comic relief found in each.
Better Watch Out Is More Realistic Than The Babysitter
In Better Watch Out, the movie’s villain, Luke, turns out to be a psychopath, whereas in The Babysitter, Bee turns out to be a Satanist. While both of these progressions are horrifying in their own ways, Luke being a psychopath is much more realistic. From the very beginning, his character seems twisted in a mundane way, from the misogynistic way he talks about women to the deep-seated damage he seems to have sustained from supposed maternal neglect. Bee being a Satanist could be realistic, but the way it’s portrayed in the movie is decidedly supernatural, even if the supernatural aspects of her quest for power aren’t shown in great detail.
Better Watch Out Has More Shock Value Than The Babysitter
In Better Watch Out, every murder is more shocking than the next. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that the viewer is culturally primed to give Luke, a young white male, the benefit of the doubt. However, it also has a lot to do with how well the filmmakers conceal his real intentions from the very beginning. Every murder he commits is a shock because they are unexpected. In The Babysitter, the murders are mostly in self-defense and are expected. The only real exception to this is the initial ritual murder that Cole witnesses when he is supposed to be drugged and unconscious in his room.
The Babysitter Is Funnier Than Better Watch Out
While both movies can be considered dark comedy, only The Babysitter can truly be considered a horror comedy. The movie is not only a parody of slasher movies, but it is also a parody of teen comedy-dramas, both of which feature stereotypical characters such as the Jock, the Cheerleader, the Nerd, the Misfit, the Queen Bee, and the Class Clown. This comic relief mixed with over-the-top gore makes it far less frightening on a psychological level than Better Watch Out. All of Better Watch Out‘s comedic elements come from Luke’s psychotic, yet juvenile behavior. His evil is not as funny because it is grounded in real-life horrors. Naturally, The Babysitter also contains real-life horrors, but it sugarcoats them with humor and the supernatural, thus making Better Watch Out the better horror movie.
