‘The Night Sitter’ is an Entertaining Neon and Blood-Soaked Film!

This has been quite a summer for horror films so far. I gotta say though, the indie films have been winning out for me! There has been a couple of great Hollywood horrors, but I have fallen in love with so many films from brand new writer/directors and I think that is amazing!

The Night Sitter is an indie film I liked a lot. Not so much because it is going to change the horror world, but It was fun, had a campy ‘80s/’90s vibe and some pretty decent acting.  I also loved the cinematography and the color palette ala Dario Argento! It isn’t quite a straight-up comedy, but because it is so obviously self-aware, there are many scenes that go straight in for the comic relief. The Evil Dead over-the-top silliness (you’ll know the deadite type when you see her!) is very apparent. Despite being a low budget project, and putting the influences aside, the film is an enjoyable and worthy horror romp!

Synopsis: A scheming con-artist poses as a babysitter to get into a rich guys house in order to rob it. The owner, a wealthy occult artifact collector and wanna be paranormal investigator, has an agenda of his own. Nothing goes the way it is planned in this campy, neon and blood-soaked film. Think of films like Better Watch Out, The Evil Dead, The Babysitter, Hocus Pocus, and Susperia and you have The Night Sitter!

On a brightly colorful Christmastime night, Ted Hooper (Joe Waltz) hires a babysitter so he can go out on a date. His wife has died, he’s a failed paranormal investigator, but he’s rich and has an office full of cool as hell artifacts, which of course is off-limits to all. His son Kevin (Jack Champion) is a shy, nightmare ridden and anxious mess, his new girlfriend brought her obnoxious son Ronnie, (Baily Campbell) but Amber (Elyse DuFour) the seemingly innocent babysitter is here to save the night.

Before the parents left, Ted repeated that the office was off-limits. Is it possible to have a better invitation to break in than to tell a thief and two curious kids not to go into a room? That’s just asking for trouble. (Remember Annabelle?)

Everyone in the film has a different agenda, and as the night unfolds, we find out what these different things are. Amber quickly shows herself as a thief, rifling through drawers, stealing money. She then calls her friends to bring a truck so they can clean out the place while the kids are sleeping. In the meantime, Ronnie finds the key to the office, the boys go in, and with an ancient book lying conveniently on the desk, Kevin unwittingly summons “The Three Mothers” who are super evil child-killing witches from the days of Salem, Mass. These are the creatures of his nightmares and they waste no time going on a killing spree.

The house is huge, and much like a horror maze, there is something lurking around every corner. The witches have trapped them in the house in order to take them out one by bloody one. This tension helped the film work, as do the characters. I loved everybody. Amber’s robbery buddies, Martin, Lindsey and Rod (J. Benedict Larmoire, Maber Neukum, and Jermaine Rivers) and funny have great comic chemistry. The neighbor across the street, Vincent (Ben Barlow) was the perfect nerd and necessary for them to get an explanation of what the hell is going on. It’s always awesome to have an occult fanatic around in times like these. And of course, the unlikely teaming up of Amber and Kevin to try to survive was perfect. They are both terrific actors and I know we’ll see them again soon!

As a gore fan, I especially loved all the visceral and gruesome death scenes! There was no holding back on the violence or the blood! The soundtrack worked too. The Carpenter inspired score really added to the feeling of dread. The sound effects during the deaths were pretty rad and stomach-churning too!

A quirky and campy B horror film all the way, The Night Sitter is still one to watch! Some sexualized behavior, drugs, and a lot of gore so watch the little kiddies. Because it’s set at Christmastime, and the colorful aesthetics are so beautiful, this would be a perfect film to pull out in December to watch alongside 2017’s Better Watch Out!

The Night Sitter will be available August 6 on DVD and VOD from Uncork’d Entertainment.