#xackkahn

Holiday horror films like Gremlins or 2015's Krampus are often cynical but ideally capture a certain element of the holiday while going against the grain. They’re never as bleak or unnerving as Better Watch Out, which puts you through a relentless emotional ringer for 89 minutes and never squanders an opportunity to stomp on your throat. It’s so effective you can’t really call it fun but it’s hard to deny the talent involved.

As Christmas approaches, 17-year-old Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) is babysitting 12-year-old Luke Lerner (Levi Miller). After a thinly-veiled attempt to seduce her, things are awkward but the conversation that should take place is sidelined when Ashley notices doors mysteriously unlocking themselves, Christmas decorations being moved, threatening messages, and a masker stranger looking through the windows.

There are some big twists halfway through, the kind so demented you won’t see coming. Even if you do, the lengths writers Zack Kahn and Chris Peckover (who also directs) go through to creep you out, make you sweat, make you wonder what’s coming next are close to mind-blowing. This is the kind of movie that dangles hope in front of you like a carrot and then grows a Grinch-like evil smile when it senses you even think about making a move for it. Early on, keen viewers will spot objects being deliberately placed in certain spots. You know they’re going to come up later, probably by Ashley as she fights off whoever is trying to get inside the house… but you’d be dead wrong. The things you imagine as future tools for salvation wind up hindering our heroes in soul-crushing ways that leave you gasping for air.

Much of the film’s success comes from Levi Miller’s performance. He’s the movie's actual villain, the master manipulator that’s put all of this in motion. You hate this kid so much you keep watching, hoping he’s going to be thrown inside a woodchipper. He’s toxic masculinity condensed in a prepubescent body. Somehow, this makes him worse than an adult because you’re not even sure if he fully understands what he’s saying and asking of Ashley. Normally, a 12-year-old would-be killer wouldn't be frightening. Unfortunately, his obsession has pushed him to meticulously plan this operation out. Or maybe he’s just a master at improvising and his twisted mind naturally allows him to recognize the worst thing he could do. What keeps you invested is his age. You always hold onto the idea that he cannot be smart, evil, or devious enough to think of EVERYTHING. You keep watching just to find out what that crack in his plan is, what exploitable weakness Ashley will discover.

Better Watch Out practically drives you insane with its tension. Over and over, it knows exactly which buttons to press. Then, unfortunately, it makes a major misstep right at the end. The conclusion is needlessly cruel and frankly, cheap by suggesting the idea of a sequel down the line. That one flaw is not enough to counterbalance how tense, effective, and well-acted Better Watch Out is. (December 14, 2020)