Fantasia 2017: ‘BETTER WATCH OUT’ Review

Formerly known as Safe Neighborhood, I first became aware of this as it played at Fantastic Fest in 2016. Now here we are for Fantasia 2017 with distribution from Well Go USA, a new title, and a little Christmas in July spirit for those in attendance!

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Tis the season! A safe neighborhood, an average night. Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) heads over to Deandra and Robert’s house (Virginia Madsen and Patrick Warburton, respectively) in order to babysit their lovesick 14 year old, Luke (Levi Miller). Shortly before her arrival, Luke and his friend Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) discuss Luke’s plan to finally win over his teen babysitter. Luke tries moves, tries to impress her, and gets her to sit down to watch a horror film with him. Just when it looks like they might be getting close, strange things begin happening outside. An unsolicited pizza delivery, a knock on the door without a culprit, a Christmas decoration moving positions, and a brick through a window warning “you leave, you die.” Turns out there’s some danger in this quiet suburban hood…and it’s not quite what you think.

This is a difficult movie to discuss as half of the fun is the revelations you get along the way. I was under the impression with my limited knowledge of the movie that this was an answer to Home Alone with a more realistic, violent slant. However, this isn’t the conventional home invasion movie I was led to believe. The less said the better, trust me. What I CAN safely say is that the three kids are fantastic. This movie was notable to me for reuniting Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould from The Visit. While Oxenbould is a good supporting character here, DeJonge is the lead and I loved her interaction with both boys so very much. She has charm and wit and gets what the movie is. The surprise was Lexi Miller — most known for being in the failed reboot Pan, which I and most others avoided. His performance grows tremendously throughout the movie, showing some very grown up traits in a very young actor.

This is an Australian production with two Aussie leads (Miller and DeJonge), though you’d never know it. The setting for this movie is definitely “Anywhere, USA,” and the one set this takes place in, Luke’s house, is perfect. It appears large and spacious, but still confined enough to be a frightening space for the action to take place. Director Chris Peckover (Undocumented) has fun playing with expectations and pulling the strings of the audience, which matches what the story does. He’ll telegraph moments coming which won’t always pay off, and he’ll build the suspense deftly either way. You’ll either eat it up or you won’t; I don’t think there’s a lukewarm response to this movie. I definitely hope you’ll check it out and find out for yourself. It’s a fun experience either way.

Good news! In addition to playing at Fantasia 2017, Better Watch Out will be in limited release on October 6! Just in time for…Christmas, eventually!