10 reasons why Better Watch Out is a modern-day Christmas cult classic.
Tonight, I'm kicking off the holiday season by watching one of my favorite modern-day "holiday" films.
Better Watch Out.
About two years ago I had heard a few vague things about this movie and how basically everyone was saying that it felt like a black comedy that was like a twisted combination of Funny Games and Home Alone. Luckily I did a blind buy of the blu-ray right around December, and watched it with a buddy of mine knowing zero spoilers. At first I thought this was going to be a typical home invasion movie, much to my delight it wasn't. In fact it was so much more...
Here are ten reasons why I believe Better Watch Out is a modern-day Christmas cult classic.
Warning! Spoilers ahead!!!
1) The fact it takes place around Christmas time.
- Like I've said, this is in my top 3 favorite movies to watch now around the holidays. It's cool to find yet another modern-day Christmas movie that's not exactly a horror movie, and not exactly a "feel" good film. It's a black comedy, that takes a very unique twist on a home invasion storyline. Things get really dark, but still oddly remain charming. I feel like you make a movie that takes place in Christmas, it basically becomes a classic since it becomes a must to watch around this time of year. Have a movie take place on a holiday and it's rarely ever forgotten no matter how good or bad it is. I have a huge list of films to watch from mid-November to December. Better Watch Out is such a fun watch I know it's going to be in the same rotation as classical such as Black Christmas, Die Hard, Night Of The Comet, Lethal Weapon, and the Silent Night Deadly Night series. I love recommending this film to anyone since it's actually such a fun watch, which I know I'll be watching every December for now on.
2) The twist midway through the movie.
- I'm SO glad I didn't know the twist that takes place midway through the movie. I still remember the second Luke screams his babysitter's name before whacking her across the face before she falls down the stairs and Garret walks over saying "What the fuck did you just do?!" That's when I knew it wasn't going to be a typical home invasion movie. Very quickly we see that poor Ashley is way over her head and that Luke is VERY very disturbed.
3) The black comedy.
- I think a huge reason why I find this movie so "charming" and has such a great rewatch value is the fact it isn't too dark of a movie despite the subject matter. Somehow this movie balances serious moments by balancing off with great comedic timing.
4) The cast.
- When I first heard that the siblings from The Visit were going to appear in another movie together I wasn't so sure. Hate to admit it, but I wasn't super impressed with them in The Visit (In fact I found them pretty annoying, but hey I blame the script for that one instead of the actors.) Even though the cast is very small, everyone was very memorable. Also love Patrick Warburton and Virginia Madsen as the parents.
5) The "Home Alone" scene.
- The only thing I vaguely remembered from the trailer (which I'm happy I didn't 100% pay attention to since it sorta gives the twist away in it.) But the one thing that I did remember was the kids talking about wanting to test the whole "Home Alone" paint can scene. This is one of the most memorable scenes in the whole movie and has a gross jaw dropping result.
6) Dacre Montgomery.
I'm sure I'm not alone saying I down right adored Dacre as "Billy" in Stranger Things. He completely stole the show this summer in the third season, but I had seen him in something right before he first appeared in the second season of Stranger Things. No, I'm not talking the Power Rangers movie. I'm talking this. Love how legendary his scene is pumping himself up, drinking a beer, and talking to himself in his car. Such a major mood. Also can we also just die over how he's dressed? Basically the official asshole uniform in a nutshell. Even though he's only in it for under five minutes, he steals the show, and his death is beyond disturbing. Yikes!
7) Luke the psychopath.
- Complete kudos to this kid. He went from this love sick kid you actually sorta feel bad for, to a complete psychopath who's a spoiled brat, that makes your skin crawl. Every time his voice cracked, or he started freaking out I wanted to reach through my screen and strangle him. This kid played such an asshole who clearly was beyond disturbed perfectly. Plus his little dance in his Christmas sweater trying to clean up towards the end...man I've never wanted to kill someone as bad as I did when I first watched him in this.
8) Garret the best friend.
- This kid's character actually made me laugh. He provided a lot of the comic relief, and had a pretty disturbing and heartbreaking end. The whole "I want my mo..." before getting shot really bothered me. Still, this young actor did a great job and I crack up every time at his reaction once it hits him what Luke is doing as he rigs up the paint cans. Whoa!
9) The "clean up" montage.
- At the end once Luke has killed Ricky, Jeremy, Garrett, and "Ashley" he needs to stage everything to make it look like Jeremy came over, killed everyone before ending his own life...all the while with Luke looking as if he's been asleep the whole time, completely innocent. Just the music playing as he fixes the phone lines, stages it to look like Jeremy did everything before killing himself. I hated his little dance, but was in complete disbelief that he actually had thought this all through and looked as if he was really going to get away with all of this.Major Scream 4 vibes. Yikes...
10) The ending.
- One of the best moments in the entire film is that ending scene. Low and behold Ashley survived getting stabbed, and just when Luke thinks he got away with it all, he hears that Ashley is alive and looks out the window stunned as she's loaded into the ambulance before she flips him off. SO iconic. It kills me every time and I remember the first time I watched this I completely lost it and cheered. My friends who have watched it have all said the same thing, the ending is so satisfying. Even that brief scene after the credits of Luke asking to go to the hospital...please *eye roll* I still would like to believe Ashley let the paramedics/police know and Luke in the end got what was coming to him. See you little shit, that's what happens when you kill Dacre Montgomery.
So who else loved this new Christmas classic?!
"I could give A FUCK! About the fucking neighbors..."
