Viewed – 09 November 2017  Netflix

Netflix have been going from strength to strength of late, what with hit Netflix original programming like Stranger Things and then the occasional Netflix original movies … it seems to be a great time to be a Netflix subscriber.  One such movie that caught my eye was this little tongue-in-cheek horror.  It tells the tale of Cole, a stereotypical nerdy loner kid in suburban American who is bullied at school and a bit of a mommies’ boy.  Thing is too despite not being that young, Cole still has a babysitter – helps then that she’s super-hot.  Step in Margot Robbie look-a-like Bee (Samara Weaving) who is not only the kid’s best friend but also keeps a watchful eye over him and helps fend off bullies.  When the girl across the road however points out she thinks said Bee is probably inviting ‘boys’ around once the kid is tucked off to bed .. the kid decides to find out if it’s true – and is in for the shock of his life.

Directed by McG this has the same heightened reality, comic-book feel he brought to the two Charlie’s Angels movies, and there his epileptic style with wacky editing and mad-cap characters suited such a venture.  However here it feels for the most part over the top.  Told primarily through Cole’s eyes it makes sense from a kid’s point of view but for what turns into a gory horror comedy, it creates a rather silly vibe that although fun makes it pretty throwaway too.  The characters you see, are not all that engaging and it all gets very predictable.  That being said the gore is at times spit your pop-corn out surprising and inventive, there’s some fun pop-culture references and social media obsession digs, and at least does kind of turn into Home Alone meets Buffy The Vampire Slayer (at least tonally). 

For 90 minutes entertainment, this doesn’t out stay it’s welcome, has some good jokes and plenty of the red stuff, and performances are adequate, and sometimes that’s good enough.  Unlikely to become a genre classic though.

Verdict:  3 /5