The Babysitter Murders (2018)

Summary

A “What if…?” Halloween fan film.

It’s difficult to picture our favourite horror movie killer in anything other than his iconic white mask, but Jack Norman does an outstanding job creating an alternately terrifying look for Michael Myers.

The Babysitter Murders, which uses the original working title for Halloween, is a mix of new and reimagined scenes, but with Michael Myers wearing an Emmett Kelly mask. The film pays homage to other sequels in the series like the unrelated third installment Season of the Witch. Although we love the blank, enigmatic mask Michael sports, this clown mask is in line with the theme of Halloween, and it’s super creepy to boot!

The film starts off just like Halloween, following six-year-old Michael’s (Cyrus McCane) point of view as he creeps up to his sister’s bedroom to murder her with a huge kitchen knife. A lot of effort was made to match camera angles and positioning to have this opening sequence capture the same feel. Great production value and the set even resembles the Myers house quite nicely.

Throughout the film, eerie shots of Michael stalking his soon to be victims add tension. Characters and dialogue are used precisely from Halloween in some areas as the director intended to show what Halloween would be like if a clown mask were used. There are some original scenes, and these are among the best in the film. Our favourite part is a shot of Michael starring blankly at a T.V. screen playing the silver shamrock theme while Lynda (Jessica Bloom) lays wounded on the floor begging for help. A scene like this would have worked exceptionally well in the series.

With a run time of just over 20 minutes, Laurie’s (Christy Faulkner) first encounters with the boogeyman seem rushed compared to the well-drawn out suspense in the rest of the film. A more elaborate chase scene would have helped the climax of the film, but the final scene definitely ends with a bang…or slice.