David Farnor | On 15, Oct 2020

Director: Rachel Talalay
Cast: Tamara Smart, Oona Laurence, Tom Felton, Indya Moore, Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson
Certificate:
Watch A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting online in the UK: Netflix UK

Monster Girl. That’s the nickname given to Kelly (Tamara Smart) by the kids at school, after her tale of being attacked by the boogeyman when she was younger was laughed off by the world, leaving her shunned as an odd outsider. But Kelly’s monstrous encounter finds justification years later, when she’s assigned to babysit Jacob (Ian Ho) – the son of her mum’s icy boss (Tamsen McDonough) – and he’s whisked away by shadowy forces, replaced by a strange blue creature.

Faster than you can say “Labyrinth”, Kelly finds herself falling in with the Order of the Babysitters, an ancient organisation of babysitters who have been fighting monsters for years. Led by the feisty Liz (Oona Laurence), and armed with a trusty book detailing every beastie under the sun, they set off to find Jacob. That quest puts them on a collision path with The Grand Guignol, the Boogeyman to end all Boogeymen, who has a plan to harvest kids’ nightmares and use them to do Bad Things.

Played with a visible amount of enjoyment by the excellent Tom Felton, he’s as hammy a villain as they come, snarling, mocking and taunting the children who try to foil his nefarious schemes. While Felton makes the most of the chance to flex his comic timing, he perhaps ends up a little too light, undercutting any genuine peril or spooky potential with jokes and slapstick gags involving his army of clumsy CGI creatures. That gives this adaptation of Joe Ballarini’s series of books a distinctly PG feel, like a live-action Monsters, Inc or a Halloween edition of Project Mc2.

But taken on that family-friendly level, there’s much to like about this bump-in-the-night adventure, with a likeable cast of rag-tag kids, brightly coloured critters and some vivid production design all co-ordinated with energy by Rachel Talalay. The Doctor Who veteran is a neat fit for the material, while Ballarini’s own script finds the balance between set pieces, world-building and an endearingly earnest central message of empowerment. For while there’s a cookie-cutter formula to the plotting, and clear signposts to a Big Bad for a sequel, there’s also a story about a young girl reclaiming her own nickname and learning to value herself.

 

A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting is available on Netflix UK, as part of an £9.99 monthly subscription.

 

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