On a quiet suburban street, a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from intruders, only to discover it’s far from a normal home invasion.

Do you miss the Christmas season? Do you wish it had stuck around for a few more weeks? Do you like home invasion thrillers? Well, kiddies, have I got the movie for you!

Better Watch Out starts off like any number of John Hughes teen sex comedies as friends Luke (Levi Miller) and Garrett (Ed Oxenbould) banter back and forth about smoking pot and trying to get to 2nd base with Luke’s babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge), who is due to arrive at any moment to keep an eye on him when his parents (the always reliable Patrick Warburton and Virginia Madsen) go out for the night.

As the snow falls and the lights twinkle, Luke gets a little forward over pizza and champagne (!), trying to snuggle with Ashley as they watch TV, but she, logically, rebuffs him, intent on keeping their relationship just friendly.

And then someone knocks at the door. They peek through the peephole and–nobody there. Luke yanks open the door and yells at whoever is out there to back off. Just before he can close the door, someone leaps through the doorway and tackles Luke to the ground.

And then it gets worse. And then better. And then much, much worse.

To say any more about this fun movie would be a big disservice. Hell, I really wish I hadn’t even seen the trailer linked below before I watched Better Watch Out. There are twists and turns that you absolutely do not want to have spoiled for you before you go in.  Even looking at the IMDB page for this movie would be a big mistake.  You want to watch this thing with no preconceived notions about the roller coaster ride contained therein.  Take my word for it.

So what can we talk about?  The story is solid, and has very few instances (I only counted one) where I yelled, “What are you doing??” at the characters.  They behave in ways that normal people usually behave (or, at least, even when they acted out-of-sync, it all still seemed natural). As the horrible things escalate, they do so believably and logically (and the only guy who acts dumb is kind of a dumb character anyway, so…).  The movie looks great and sharp, and, even though it could have been set in any holiday period, the use of joyful Christmas and winter iconography set against the naughty events is strikingly funny (there’s a great scene of carolers happily singing, oblivious to the horrors occurring just behind them).

Director Chris Peckover (Undocumented), who also collaborated on the script with Zack Kahn, is able to keep the momentum rolling along, juggling the shifts in mood and character with great skill,  and make it all look casual and easy.  He coaxes terrific performances out of everybody, but special accolades are due to Olivia DeJonge and Levi Miller, who play off of each other well as the babysitter and babysittee, respectively. What could have been super-stereotypical characters instead turn out to be resourceful and intelligent people. A nice change from the usual genre fare.

So warm up some cocoa, add a spritz of whipped cream, leave the Christmas lights up for just a few more days, and settle in to enjoy Better Watch Out. It is definitely not going to be a silent night.