Emelie

I didn't think there was anything more that could be done with the evil babysitter genre and, on reflection, I was probably right. On the other hand there were two or three clever scenes I've not seen before but nothing that had me gripping the edge of my seat. The saddest part of the movie was the sequel-begging ending. I'm sorry, but even though cast and crew gave of their best there is nothing here I want to see again. If, like me, you downloaded this for nothing, you might be entertained late-night after a few drinks but I wouldn't pay to see it and I will certainly not be awaiting the next instalment. Plus points are that the menacing moments were exactly that - menacing rather than explicit - but the whole thing has TV movie/direct-to-DVD written all over it.

Initially I thought this film was going to be great, it was unusual, and very different. The atypical babysitter under siege horror this was not, so I applaud them for twisting the original format. Unfortunately after a bright start, where you were left wondering what on Earth was going on, it just fell really flat, the plot made virtually no sense, I mean how on Earth did she know she'd end up there? What was the point in the entire charade? It makes no sense. At times I thought the script was a little tasteless to say the least, putting kids through what she did was unnecessary at times, I didn't care much for it.

So it's a real mixed bag, a great idea, but unfortunately the execution was poor, the acting was great and the production values were strong. Sarah Bolger was the best thing about it.

Too many wasted opportunities. 5/10

By reading the premise for this film I'm sure you know that this isn't going to be some edge of your seat sophisticated thriller, it is a straightforward (mostly predictable horror/thriller that entertains enough but fails to accomplish much).

The flick started interesting enough, had me intrigued right off the bat, however from there it just kind of slows down and starts following the exact same path that many other similar movies have. As the babysitter's intentions become clear the movie got kind of bland, I just didn't really care about most of the stuff that was going on. The film managed to hold my interest enough to stop from turning the movie off but it failed to create any real tension/suspense.

It wasn't all bad, I thought the cast did a really good job, especially the child actors who all gave very realistic performances and succeeded at not really being annoying or obnoxious at all. There were a few memorable scenes as well, one that was really unintentionally funny in my opinion.

Overall this wasn't a bad movie, it did it's job of killing 1 hour & 20 minutes. It's just the whole thing has a very bland and familiar atmosphere that prevents it from being anything more than just another lower budget horror movie.

5/10

Emelie's impact falls short of what was intended for it. While disturbing, it never goes full force and almost borders on tame sometimes. The motivation seemed unnecessary to me and the film lost intensity the longer it went on. Also- I'm being picky at this point!- the transitions really bugged me. But, again, it was okay.

Emilie (who is superbly portrayed by Sarah Bolger) is a disturbingly audacious psychotic who deceives her way into the home of a family of 5, as the babysitter, for the parents who are off out for their wedding anniversary celebration dinner.

It appears that Emilie has spent some considerable time planning this deception, along with her co-conspirator boyfriend. We already know they are planning something far more malicious than theft of goods due to the crime committed in first scene, which according to some reviews is not central to the plot. It is very central to the plot, the plot needs careful observation in this movie. We do not see how they planned their crimes, but we do get to see why they planned their crimes in the old stalwart of the movies, the flashbacks.

Evil to the core, the expected mindful guardianship expected by the childrens parents is recklessly abandoned by Emilie and replaced with a calous ambivilence to the childrens morality, enthusiastically enticing the children into doing what their parents would not only not allow, but would be horrified upon discovering what they had been enticed to do.

Enticement soon turns to brazen bullying, which includes both that which is pyshically violenct and that which is mentally and morally obscene.

Jacob (superbly portrayed by Joshua Rush) as the eldest of the siblings at 11 years old, having been unable to contact (A flaw in the plot), or receive help from any adults, is left with the ardous task of getting his siblings and himself safely away from their aggressor.

The plot has perhaps a few too many flaws in it to make for a credible plot, such as the house having a telephone extension (which Emilie appears to have not noticed). Jacob could have called his parents, his neighbour or even 911, having had for much of the time, plenty of opportunities to do so.

It is an intense and disturbing thriller from start to finish, despite it's obvious flaws in the plot. I would have judged a higher score if the said flaws had been better thought out.