Better Watch Out

I remember exactly where I was when I first saw Better Watch Out. I was sitting on a couch that smelled faintly of old Febreze, eating a bowl of cereal at 11:00 PM because the milk was about to expire, and I expected a standard, run-of-the-mill home invasion thriller. You know the type: masked strangers, flickering lights, a babysitter hiding in a closet. Instead, I got a movie that took my expectations, shoved them into a gift-wrapped box, and set them on fire.

For a film that only raked in about $176,000 at the box office, it has managed to claw its way into the "modern Christmas classic" conversation via the magic of streaming word-of-mouth. It’s a nasty, mean-spirited, and darkly hilarious subversion of holiday tropes that feels even more relevant today than it did upon its quiet release in 2017.

The Anti-Home Alone

The setup feels cozy enough. Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) is the cool babysitter tasked with looking after twelve-year-old Luke (Levi Miller) on a snowy night in a "safe neighborhood." Luke has a crush on her; he’s at that awkward age where he thinks a bottle of champagne and a scary movie will bridge the five-year age gap. Things go south when a brick comes through the window with the message: "You leave, you die."

Up until the twenty-minute mark, director Chris Peckover plays it straight. He uses the architecture of the house to create a sense of suburban dread that feels very "John Carpenter lite." But then, the film pulls a u-turn so sharp it’ll give you whiplash. I won't spoil the exact nature of the shift for those who haven't seen it, but let’s just say that if Home Alone is a fantasy about a kid defending his castle, Better Watch Out is the reality of what happens when a kid realizes he has the power to destroy it.

The film's most famous sequence involves a paint can—a direct, brutal nod to Kevin McCallister’s favorite booby trap. In this movie, however, the laws of physics actually apply to a gallon of paint hitting a human skull, and the result is one of the most shocking "oh my god" moments I’ve experienced in a horror-comedy. It’s the moment the movie stops being a game and starts being a nightmare.

The "Nice Guy" as a Monster

What makes this film work so well for a contemporary audience is its dissection of toxic entitlement. Levi Miller delivers one of the most chilling performances by a child actor I’ve ever seen. He captures that specific brand of "Nice Guy" energy—the kind of person who feels they are owed affection and becomes a monster the second they are rejected. In the age of social media discourse surrounding incel culture and male entitlement, Luke feels less like a movie villain and more like a warning sign from a Reddit thread.

Olivia DeJonge is equally fantastic as Ashley. She isn't just a "Final Girl" archetype; she’s a person trying to navigate a situation that is fundamentally absurd. She reacts with the kind of exasperation and genuine terror I imagine I’d feel if I realized the kid I was babysitting was a budding sociopath. The chemistry—or rather, the horrifying lack of it—between her and Levi Miller drives the tension.

I also have to mention Ed Oxenbould, who plays Luke’s best friend, Garrett. If you recognize him, he was the rapping kid from M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit. Here, he provides the comedic backbone, playing the "reluctant sidekick" who realizes far too late that his friend is way beyond the "boys will be boys" stage.

Why This Movie Vanished (And Why It’s Back)

It’s genuinely a mystery why this film didn't make a bigger splash theatrically. It was caught in that weird 2017 transition period where indie horror was booming (Get Out, It Comes at Night), but Better Watch Out was marketed as a straight-to-video style slasher. It lacked the "prestige horror" label, and the studio seemed terrified to market the twist—which is the only reason to see the movie.

Interestingly, the film was shot almost entirely in Sydney, Australia, on a soundstage. You’d never know it. The production design perfectly captures that "upper-middle-class American Christmas" aesthetic—the kind of house that looks like it belongs in a Target commercial but feels cold enough to freeze your blood.

The cinematography by Carl Robertson uses a lot of warm, golden holiday lighting to contrast the cold-blooded violence happening on screen. It’s a beautiful-looking movie, which only makes the gore feel more intrusive and upsetting. It’s a masterclass in using "comfort" to sell "discomfort."

Better Watch Out is the perfect antidote to the saccharine-sweet holiday movies that clog up streaming services every December. It’s smart, it’s mean, and it understands that the most terrifying thing in the world isn't a masked killer—it's the kid next door who thinks he's the hero of a story that’s actually a tragedy. If you have a dark sense of humor and a low tolerance for "Nice Guy" antics, this is the gift you’ve been waiting for. Just don't expect a happy ending under the tree.