Noting Ivan Reitman’s name among the producers of this delightful little fantasy explains much, as there’s a strong Ghostbusters vibe here.
Actually, let’s call this Netflix original “Buffy Meets the Ghostbusters.” Lite.
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| As they penetrate ever farther into the Grand Guignol's lair, Kelly (Tamara Smart, left) and Liz (Oona Laurence) find it increasingly difficult to protect young Jacob (Ian Ho) from this evil manipulator of dreams. |
Ballarini, also a director and screenwriter, handled the script himself. The result is a family-friendly romp with “scares” that are more fun than frightening.
Kelly Ferguson (Tamara Smart) is something of a nerdish introvert. On this particular evening, she wants to attend a raucous party in order to spend quality time near her secret crush. Alas, her mother lines her up with a babysitting assignment for the young son of Ms. Zellman (Tamsen McDonough, waspishly condescending), a high-society mover and shaker.
Jacob Zellman (Ian Ho) has trouble falling asleep. The poor kid is convinced that some of the toys in his room come to life at night, and he’s therefore reluctant to close his eyes, lest something dire occur.
That proves an understatement. Bad enough that Jacob gets stuffed into a satchel by a hideous little creature, and then dragged into a hole in the bedroom floor that quickly seals behind them. Kelly is further gobsmacked by the sudden appearance of the crisply resourceful Liz LeRue (Oona Laurence), who seems remarkably unruffled by these events.
Turns out Liz heads the local chapter of an international secret society of gifted babysitters who protect “special” children from monsters. This triggers a memory from Kelly’s own childhood, when — as a 4-year-old with a “gift of dreams” so vivid, that she could conjure and create real things from what she envisioned — she was rescued by a similarly adept babysitter.
Jacob has that same gift, which the vile Grand Guignol (Tom Felton) wishes to exploit, in order to unleash an army of nasty dream-critters on an unsuspecting world. He’s assisted by a trio of clumsy, squabbling, fire hydrant-size “Toadies” dubbed Snaggle, Roscoe and Jimmy, one of whom snatched the boy. (Imagine the Ghostbusters’ equally cranky Slimer, crossed with several Minions.)
Liz heads her own Scooby gang: tech-savvy hacker Berna (Troy Leigh-Anne Johnson), crypto-biologist Cassie (Lynn Masako Cheng) and weapons/potion fabricator Curtis (Ty Consiglio). They repeatedly prove essential as events proceed, but the actors aren’t given much to work with; their one-dimensional characters can be summed up as “cheerfully enthusiastic.”
Laurence’s Liz, on the other hand, is a cool, no-nonsense force of nature whose spiky white hair adds additional authority. She arrives — via motorcycle — with her own infant charge gurgling within a backpack pouch; after all, Liz can’t abandon her responsibility to help save Jacob.
That’s typical of this film’s tone. Talalay gets quite a few chuckles from the eyebrow-lifting presence of this tiny baby, amid the chaos that follows; the same can be said of the Toadies, whose potentially creepy ability to expand their mouths and swallow just about anything, is offset by their grouchy incompetence.
Felton, enduring the world’s worst bad hair day as the bad-tempered Grand Guignol, struts about with Shakespearean flourish. He’s akin to a Tim Burton villain: more an overblown burlesque than a genuine nasty. And — in another of this story’s running gags — he’s confounded by Jacob’s inability to fall asleep. (The little boy, no fool, is fully aware of what’s up, and does everything possible to remain awake.)
As if all this isn’t bad enough, everything must be resolved no later than midnight, when Jacob’s mother will return home, expecting to find Jacob in bed. And asleep.
Smart is endearing as the overwhelmed Kelly, who initially struggles to keep up with the information dump provided both by Liz’s rapid-fire explanations — while on the run — and the lessons within the Society’s massive history tome. Ah, but Kelly is a quick study, and soon proves equally adept at handling (for example) the slithery shadow monster that threatens all the kids at that party she wasn’t supposed to attend.
Laurence is marvelous as Liz (and would have made a terrific vampire slayer, in later seasons of Buffy). She’s granted a bit of back-story: Liz has her own reasons for battling the Grand Guignol and his seductively malevolent associate, a glamorous witch dubbed Peggy Drood (Indya Moore). This grants Liz a touch of pathos, which Laurence delivers credibly. (This detail is key to the second and third books in Ballarini’s series.)
Production designer David Brisbin gives the Society a wildly colorful secret headquarters, laden with all manner of gadgets and whatzits; the Grand Guignol’s underground lair, in turn, is morbidly baroque. Visual effects supervisor Robert Staad adds a suitably supernatural touch, and has a lot of fun with the Toadie antics.
Things often get quite preposterous, but — to Talalay’s credit — all performances are decisively earnest. It’s not easy to achieve the right blend of snark, gentle suspense and mild peril, and these babysitters get the job done. Full disclosure: Constant Companion and I were properly absorbed long before the fun-filled climax.
Silly? Absolutely. But also endearing.
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