CHILDREN WITH THE ATOM gained some notoriety for being one of the last new titles Marvel Comics announced just before COVID-19 shuttered much of the Comics Industry. Now, Marvel has confirmed CHILDREN OF THE ATOM #1 will be released in January 2021 with writer Vita Ayala and artist Bernard Chang.
Says Marvel of the new title and team: “following Jonathan Hickman’s House of X, CHILDREN OF THE ATOM will introduce a brand-new team of young X-Men characters. Inspired by their favorite mutants, these gifted youngsters will keep both the X-Men and fans guessing about who they are and where they came from.”
You can read the full Marvel press release below.
What do you think? Are you excited for a brand new X-team? Let us know what you think in the Comments section, and please share this post on social media using the links below.
THE MYSTERY OF CHILDREN OF THE ATOM REVEALED THIS JANUARY!
New York, NY— September 11, 2020 — The mystery surrounding CHILDREN OF THE ATOM will finally be answered when the previously announced series by writer Vita Ayala and artist Bernard Chang debuts this January. As the latest title to explore the new era of mutantkind following Jonathan Hickman’s House of X, CHILDREN OF THE ATOM will introduce a brand-new team of young X-Men characters. Inspired by their favorite mutants, these gifted youngsters will keep both the X-Men and fans
guessing about who they are and where they came from. More than just mere sidekicks, the cast of CHILDREN OF THE ATOM will have a major impact on the world of the X-Men when they burst onto the scene next year!
“I have never known a world without mutants and the X-Men, and to be able to create characters that would become part of the canon is WILD,” Ayala said when the book was first announced. “What makes the new cast special to me is that they are reflective of a lot of people I know who look up to what the X-Men stand for, and have taken it upon themselves to further those ideals. These kids are exactly the kids who, in real life, have posters of Storm and Wolverine in their rooms, who grew up seeing them as heroes and want to live up to that.”
Discover the mystery for yourself when CHILDREN OF THE ATOM #1 hits stands in January! For more information, visit marvel.com.
Craig Sheffer (Nightbreed, One Tree Hill) stars in Widow’s Point from director Greg Lamberson (Slime City) and based off the 2018 horror novella of the same name by Billy and Richard Chizmar, about a writer locked in a lighthouse where things go bump in the night.
Widow’s Point centers around Sheffer’s Thomas Livingston, a best-selling author looking for some attention to sell a new book. The publicity stunt involves staying a few nights in a supposedly haunted lighthouse. Livingston locks himself in the isolated tower of light and begins recounting its long history and ghostly activities. Soon enough, Livingston is becoming part of a whole new story to scare children for the next few centuries.
PopAxiom discussed Widow’s Point, Slime City, and more with director Gregory Lamberson.
Teenage Zombie
Lamberson, like most everyone, is a lifelong fan of film and television. “I’ve been a TV addict since I was a little kid. I can remember watching monster cartoons … the Herculoids was a big influence on me.”
For Greg, the desire to tell stories was a fundamental part of his mindset. “As young as three or four, my mother would buy me comic books, and those books featured ads for the Aurora monster kits that would glow-in-the-dark. I would cut those out and move them around on the TV to tell my own stories. I would buy the models and watch the movies that inspired the models.”
“It was a fairly steady evolution,” Greg says of his journey into entertainment, “until I saw Star Wars in the seventh grade. That’s when I realized that directing was the way I wanted to tell stories.”
Greg’s road to directing started in Fredonia, a town about an hour south of Buffalo, New York. “I moved to New York City to go to college at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. I chose that college because one of the instructors, Roy Frumkes, had made a documentary about George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead using a student crew.”
For Greg, Frumkes meant “… that was a school that didn’t discriminate against people who wanted to make horror films.”
New York became home for Greg for the next 21 years where he “… worked on films during that time, including making three of my own. That’s when I made Slime City, the film I’m probably best known for.”
In New York, Greg learned in part, while being on the set of I Was A Teenage Zombie, the 80s cult classic from director John Elias Michalakis. “That was the first one I worked on. It was 1984, I was a volunteer as a production manager, specifically because I wanted to learn more about how to get a film done because I’d already written Slime City.”
Greg’s behind-the-camera learning experience turned into a role that’s small, but sweet. “One day, an actor didn’t show up, and I stepped into the role of the nerd.”
About Widow’s Point
After 21 years in New York, Greg “switched gears.” The filmmaker moved to Buffalo “and became a novelist. I have 12 novels published and a non-fiction book.”
As a novelist, Greg “became aware of Richard Chismar (Masters of Horror, Roadhouse 2), the owner of Cemetery Dance Publications. He reached out to me and invested in Slime City Massacre.”
Greg and Richard became friends. “Occasionally he would send me a story to see if I thought it’d be good for a movie. He sent me an advance copy of Widow’s Point, a novella he co-wrote with his son Billy, and it was a one-location story set in a lighthouse. I thought, ‘this could work.’”
Getting any novella to film is a tricky process that always includes changes. Sometimes, those changes are for the better in the new medium. “Let me write the script,” Greg told Richard, “I’m an author, and I’ll treat your material respectfully, and if you like what I do with the script, we can go from there.”
Greg wrote the script and Richard “… loved it, and we got together to seek investors.”
Writing Widow’s Point
Turning Widow’s Point into a film was “my first time adapting somebody else’s work,” Greg says, “Three of my novels are adaptations of screenplays I wrote, so I’ve gone the other way.”
Staying faithful to the source material and established continuities is a common topic of debate in a world of books, and comic books turned into movies. “Like a lot of fans of different things, I’m sensitive to changes to source material. Widow’s Point was a novella, so there was room to expand.” But even with room to play, there were challenges to overcome. Greg continues, “It was still a very difficult adaptation in that the novella is all first-person, and it’s a stream of consciousness. So, I had to find some of the key lines from the character’s internal monologues and turn them into dialogue.”
Greg explains, “the novella has 12 or so short stories as flashbacks. I didn’t want to do all 12 because then it would turn into an anthology. So, I picked several key ones and structured the script around them.”
One of the central aspects of the film is the lighthouse itself. “We were a little restricted by the lighthouse. I have two lighthouses to choose from here. But both are sort of traditional lighthouses with a keeper’s quarters attached to them. In the novella, the lighthouse is this giant tower with three levels of rooms in it. That’s something you might see in a del Toro film done with miniatures and CG. So, I did simplify some of the action to accommodate.”
One key difference between the novella and film, Greg says, “The novella has an ambiguous ending, and so I did an ending in the film that ties everything together.”
Money & Safety
It’s no secret that funding is a vital part of the filmmaking process. Simply put, no money, no movie. “Finding the money is the hardest part,” Greg affirms, “It’s made harder now because we don’t know what’s happening with the world.”
The global pandemic is causing chaos in a variety of industries, which are readjusting to new normals. Movie productions are no different. Greg is an advocate for erring on the side of caution. “Like the ad campaign for the Hills Have Eyes said, ‘It’s only a movie.’ In the same way, you wouldn’t do a dangerous stunt without the proper safety precautions; we have to treat this the same way.”
Finding a new normal will take some time because it’s tricky. “You don’t want to endanger your cast. At the same point, you don’t want to write every scene so that your characters are ten feet apart or in different rooms.”
Wrapping Up
Greg’s a big horror fan and touts many legends of the genre as inspiration. “Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows). Another guy I think has influenced my work a lot is [comic book creator] Marv Wolfman (Tomb of Dracula). Jack Arnold, who did Creature from the Black Lagoon. He was part of the studio system, and they gave him B-horror movies to work on, and he cranked them out. I admire that productivity.”
In the age of remakes, what’s a dream project for Greg? “I’m a big fan of The Omega Man. The version that they did in the 70s of Matheson’s I Am Legend. I would love to do a faithful version of the novel.”
Widow’s Point is out on digital and DVD. What’s next from Greg? “I have a horror film that I want to do. A cabin in the woods movie with werewolves. I’m also planning a sort of female First Blood.”
Is Widow’s Point on your watch list?
Thanks to Gregory Lamberson and October Coast
for making this interview possible.
Marvel Comics released X-Factor #3 on September 9. Writer Leah Williams, artist David Baldeon, color artist Israel Silva, and letterer VC’s Joe Caramagna continue X-Factor’s investigation in the Mojoverse for a missing mutant, discovering her fate, as well as the fate of another mutant.
The search for the missing mutant in the Mojoverse comes to an end as X-Factor discovers that the identity of the disappeared mutant is, in fact, Wind Dancer! A tragic but brilliant panel accompanies this discovery by the entire creative team.
Silva,’s colors work well this issue, the use of black and red in this panel is accentuated by Baldeon’s linework, making for a really striking image as Prodigy watches Wind Dancer take her own life for more streaming views. The use of the blood splatter across the “BLAM” adds to the shock and communicates the horror of Wind Dancer’s death that Prodigy views off-panel, while Caramagna’s use of the negative white space between panels that bleeds into the “BLAM” is another nice touch.
While Wind Dancer’s fate is uncovered, X-Factor discovers that another mutant has fallen into the Mojoverse’s thrall–Shatterstar, who has the top stream in the Mojoverse. We learn through his interactions with Polaris, as well as one of Caramagna’s well-designed prose sections that Shatterstar is a captive in the Mojoverse. Polaris promises him that they will return for him, so a return to the Mojoverse seems to be in order for this title (every X-book appears to be cornering a different part of the X-world for itself).
Overall, this was a decent issue that allowed each character’s individual personality to shine forth a little bit more (as opposed to just being interchangeable quipsters). Despite lacking the “Path to X of Swords” banner on the cover, the issue does end with several X-Women sitting around a bar on Krakoa before being surrounded by the same rainbow effect from the end of Wolverine #5, with one of the characters wryly noting, “Don’t worry. It’s just a tie-in.” It is a bit odd that this minor tie-in doesn’t actually contain any of the main cast from X-Factor, but nevertheless, it indicates that X of Swords is upon us!
What did you think of X-Factor #3? Tell us in the comments below!
DC Comics has released a treasure trove of preview images for their upcoming BATMAN/CATWOMAN #1, available through retailers as a 12-issue run, written by Tom King, starting December 1st. The big surprise from DC is that issue #1 will mark the debut in print of an old Batman villain from animation – Phantasm.
Says DC of Phantasm’s (Andrea Beaumont) arrival: “Beaumont’s return calls into question how each character chooses to operate in their costumed, and personal, lives, and any move by Phantasm could change the fate of Bruce and Selina’s future.” You can check out the entire set of preview images and read the full DC press release below.
Are you a Phantasm fan? Does this reveal increase your excitement for the Tom King series? Let us know what you think in the Comments section, and please share this post on social media using the links below.
Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle’s 80-Year Romance Continues in ‘Batman/Catwoman’ by Tom King, Clay Mann and Tomeu Morey… …and Phantasm Debuts in Batman/Catwoman #1 on December 1!
Gotham City. Today. Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle have rekindled their long-running, on-again, off-again relationship. Believing all obstacles are removed from their path, they once again begin operating as a duo in their secret lives: Batman and Catwoman working together to fight crime. In Batman/Catwoman, a crime story told across three separate timelines,Tom King, Clay Mann and Tomeu Morey return to the romantic saga of Batman and Catwoman, continuing the story they began in the pages of Batman!
There’s the past, when The Bat and The Cat first fell in love. Did they meet on the street? Or was it on a boat? Rooftops, ramparts and gargoyles, and over 80 years of fans that have read their comics, are their only witnesses.
There’s the distant future, where after a long and happy marriage Bruce Wayne has passed away. Selina Kyle decides to settle an old score without having to worry about the Batman objecting. Catwoman is serving a very cold dish: Revenge.
And in the present, Bruce and Selina’s union is threatened by the arrival of one of Batman’s past flings, Andrea Beaumont, a.k.a. Phantasm. Beaumont’s return calls into question how each character chooses to operate in their costumed, and personal, lives, and any move by Phantasm could change the fate of Bruce and Selina’s future.
The only other person besides Bruce and Selina to have been along for the whole ride has been the Joker, and what he did in the past is going to have direct consequences on today and tomorrow. Batman’s greatest foe will intervene any time Batman and Catwoman try to take steps towards peace—he already robbed fans of a Bat/Cat wedding celebration! Any change in the Caped Crusader’s life will be matched with the chaos of the Clown Prince of Crime…
…and the Joker’s not leaving any witnesses. Not even a gargoyle. Will Selina make good on her final kill?
Batman/Catwoman, by Tom King, Clay Mann, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles, edited by Jamie S. Rich and Brittany Holzherr, will launch a 12-issue run on December 1, 2020, with a cover by Mann and Morey and a variant cover by Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair. New issues will ship monthly with a skip month planned for a Batman/Catwoman Special in June 2021, and the series will carry DC’s Black Label content descriptor, indicating content appropriate for readers ages 17+.
For more information on this series and the World’s Greatest Super Heroes, visit the website at www.dccomics.com, or follow on social media @DCComics and @thedcnation.
Out now, Dark Horse‘s video game tie-in Cyberpunk 2077: Trauma Team #1 applies a Blade Runner aesthetic to a story about PTSD. Written by Cullen Bunn, illustrated by Miguel Valderrama, colored by Jason Wordie, and lettered by Frank Cvetkovic, the book is a strong introduction to the world of the game and a strong story in its own right.
Set in dystopian Night City, Trauma Team #1 revolves around a paramedic/security hybrid squad as they execute their duty to protect high-paying clients. The focus of the story is Nadia, who, for half the book, recalls a mission gone wrong. She’s undergoing a mental health evaluation to determine her “combat readiness” if you will.
What helps the story flow is its structure based on Nadia’s interview. In captions, Nadia’s vague, terse responses to leading questions are juxtaposed with revealing flashbacks. This allows for the simultaneous artistic introduction of the world and a foundation for sympathy with Nadia.
Cool Dystopia, Bro
The creators establish this balance on the first page, wasting no time in their worldbuilding. The page opens on a busy street, capturing in what I would call digital watercolor style cybernetic people as they witness a shootout. In a long stretch of white space, Nadia’s dialogue with her interviewer breaks up the action, setting the tone, location, and character attitude.
NADIA RECALLS A FAILED MISSION.
What’s more, the caption design seems to come straight out of a video game or your cell phone with the alternating colors distinguishing between speakers. These irregular little boxes are unobtrusive, accenting the action, and complementing the aesthetic.
But it’s the character-driven storytelling that allows the comic book to stand on its own, removed from the video game. In the second half of the issue, after she’s been cleared for active duty, Nadia immediately joins a new team and goes out on a mission. On this mission, she recognizes the man who killed members of her team, the source of all her psychological trauma.
Emotional Stakes
Now that the story has its antagonist, the question driving it is whether Nadia will seek revenge and fully contend with her problems. After all, what makes dystopia and cyberpunk interesting is how characters psychologically grapple with their relentlessly cool and dark high-tech environment.
Nonetheless, given that the video game has been pushed back for release in November, the book may satisfy fans’ desire to see what’s been teased in action. Still, fan or not, familiar with cyberpunk as a genre or not, the story has broad appeal.
Who knows? Maybe Trauma Team #1 will make you a fan of the genre. And if you’re a fan of Blade Runner and Altered Carbon, give this book a try.
ComiXology Originals is not afraid to take genre-blending chances with its new creator work. Now, ComiXology has announced a new Sci-Fi Space Western from writer Chuck Austen called Edgeworld, available on September 15th.
In partnership with artists Patrick Olliffe, ComiXology describes the comic as “a gritty, sexy, potent adventure series that’s part science fiction, part detective series, and part western.” You can check out a few preview images and read the full ComiXology press release below.
Are you anxious to watch a laser fight at the OK Space Corral? Let us know what you think in the Comments section, and please share this post on social media using the links below.
ComiXology Originals Presents Edgeworld, a Sci-Fi Space Western Comic Book Series Written by Chuck Austen with Art by Patrick Olliffe
September 10, 2020 – New York, NY – This fall, comic book writer Chuck Austen is making his surprise return to comics.
Austen’s controversial takes on mainstream superhero characters divided fandom with their romance fueled storylines. Now he’s partnering with his good friend, long-time Marvel/DC artist Patrick Olliffe (Spider-Girl; Hawkman) to create Edgeworld, an edgy expectation-busting western set in the far reaches of outer space. The latest creator-owned comic book series from comiXology Originals, Edgeworld is a gritty, sexy, potent adventure series that’s part science fiction, part detective series, and part western. Joining Austen and Olliffe (who is illustrating his first creator-owned series) are acclaimed colorist Lee Loughridge, letterer Jodi Wynne and editor Bis Stringer-Horne. Edgeworld debuts September 15, 2020 with issue #1 of 5.
“Edgeworld is the place people need to go in order to get somewhere else, but not to stay,” said Austen, “It’s a temporary rest stop, a place to blow off some steam on a long journey between the stars. But no one stays on Pala unless the rest of the universe is done with them. No one, that is except for the oppressed Palans and their lone supporter, Killian Jess.”
In Edgeworld, Killian Jess is the magistrate and a former United Authority soldier who knows the system, upholds the law, and delivers the verdict—with a vengeance. Alongside native Palan Cheela, Killian fights to protect the planet Pala, a backwater, frontier planet on the edge of known space located beneath a riftgate—the greatest and most valuable discovery in galactic history. Together, the duo must battle alien invasions, military forces, black market traders, otherworldly infestations, drug runners and the disastrous, ecological aftermath of a brutal, planet-wide war, in order to save the world they love.
“Pat Olliffe and I had worked together before at Marvel on a couple projects and enjoyed the process, me writing, him drawing, us collaborating on look, scenes, and mood,” said Austen. “We’d talked before about working together again, but I’d left comics. One day we both finally realized, “Hey! Why don’t we create a comic for ourselves? Just for fun?” One rocket-sled ride later, and here we are. We never created this to sell to a publisher. We created it to create and that was very freeing.”
“This has been a project long in the making,” says Olliffe. “Chuck and I have been wanting to work together on something like this for years and are thrilled to finally have it come together.”
Part of the comiXology Originals line of exclusive content, Edgeworld #1 will be available upon release, at no additional cost, for members of Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, and comiXology Unlimited, and for purchase on Kindle and comiXology. Prime Reading offers all Amazon Prime members a rotating selection of thousands of top Kindle books, magazines, short works, comic books, children’s books, and more – all at no additional cost. Kindle Unlimited offers over 1 million titles, thousands of audiobooks, and select current issues of popular magazines for just $9.99 a month with a 30-day free trial at amazon.com/kindleunlimited. ComiXology Unlimited now offers over 25,000 comics, graphic novels and manga for just $5.99 a month with a 30-day free trial atcomixology.com/unlimited.
CONAN: BATTLE FOR THE SERPENT CROWN #5 hits your local comic book store September 16th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you.
About the issue: MEPHISTO TRIUMPHANT?! The trail leading to the SERPENT CROWN has brought MEPHISTO’s ultimate goal within reach! As CONAN makes his last-ditch effort to stake his claim on the treasure, NYLA SKIN makes a daring move! But will the Serpent Crown’s newly revealed secret doom Conan to a fate undreamed of?
CONAN: BATTLE FOR THE SERPENT CROWN #5 is by writer Saladin Ahmed and artist Luke Ross, with colors by Nolan Woodward, and letters by Travis Lanham. The cover is by Mahmud Asrar and Marcio Menyz.
This is the concluding chapter of the five-issue miniseries. The issue also comes with a parental advisor due to mature content.
Check out the CONAN: BATTLE FOR THE SERPENT CROWN #5 preview below:
What’s your favorite CONAN book that Marvel has put out since reacquiring the license? Sound off in the comments!
DC Comics is heading back to the Dark Multiverse this December with three new one-shots. This time, a series from the 1980s (Crisis on Infinite Earths), the 1990s (War of the Gods), and the more recent Dark Nights: Metal are getting the grim “What If?” treatment.
Here’s all the info:
THE EVIL OF THE DARK MULTIVERSE CONTINUES TO CORRUPT DC’S BIGGEST EVENTS
Three New Tales from the Dark Multiverse Coming in December
Looks like the Dark Multiverse continues to have a lasting effect on the DCU, blemishing many of DC’s defining moments from across history. This December, the infection continues to fester, as the publisher announced three new titles to get the Dark Multiverse treatment this December.
TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE: WAR OF THE GODS #1 (December 1)
Written by VITA AYALA
Art by ARIEL OLIVETTI
Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
In this 48-page, $5.99 Prestige Format one-shot, the realms of the gods have been turned upside down and inside out, on the verge of engulfing Earth and its people. Only one hero stands to defend it: Wonder Woman! But this dark mirror image of an epic tale features a Wonder Woman who is ready to destroy our world!
Cursed by the evil goddess of magic, Hecate, the Amazon warrior princess Diana has become a weapon of vengeance ready to tear down any god or superhero that stands in her way. Will Earth and its heroes survive her might? Or are they doomed to worship the dark princess of the Amazons for the rest of eternity?!
TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE: CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS (December 15)
Written by STEVE ORLANDO
Art by MIKE PERKINS
Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
When the Anti-Monitor’s deadly grudge match with the Multiverse was finally foiled, there was only one Earth left! But which Earth? That was crucial to what would happen next. In one timeline, Earth-1’s Superman stopped the Superman of Earth-2 from going into final battle, but in the Dark Multiverse, it’s Jor-L of Earth-2 who survives, changing the landscape for all that follows!
When Surtur comes looking to crush all life, the beleaguered heroes jump into their next big battle, jumping from one Crisis to the next…but will the last days of the Justice Society of America play out differently if Green Lantern Alan Scott steps into the darkness?
TALES FROM THE DARK MULTIVERSE: DARK NIGHTS: METAL #1(December 29)
Written by COLLIN KELLY, JACKSON LANZING and SCOTT SNYDER
Art by KARL MOSTERT and TREVOR SCOTT
Cover by DAVID MARQUEZ
In the event-defining epic Dark Nights: Metal, the Justice League defeated the vile Barbatos and his Dark Knights to save our universe from sinking into the abyss of the Dark Multiverse. But… what if they failed? What if Barbatos reigned victorious? Enter an alternate timeline where the DCU as you know it has been dragged down into the darkness. Witness the Justice League you once knew, hideously transformed into dragons who serve at the mercy of evil.
Duke Thomas, the Last Monitor, will have to seek out Nightwing and the few remaining survivors of the Metal event to assemble the Final Justice League in an attempt to save the Multiverse. Featuring a story by Dark Nights: Metal architect Scott Snyder, rising stars Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, and art by red-hot artist Karl Mostert, you won’t want to miss the biggest, loudest arena rock concert in the history of the DC Universe!
All three of these titles are 48-page Prestige Format titles, each selling for $5.99. For more information on these titles and the World’s Greatest Super Heroes, visit the website at www.dccomics.com, and follow on social media @DCComics and @thedcnation.
Kill a Man original graphic novel hits your local comic book store on October 7, but thanks to AfterShock Comic, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for our readers.
The book is written by Steve Orlando & Phillip Kennedy Johnson, with art & colors by Al Morgan, and you will read Jim Campbell’s letter work.
About Kill a Man: The Truth is Worth Fighting For.
As a child, James Bellyi watched his father die in the ring as payback for slurs he threw at his opponent. Today, James is a Mixed Martial Arts star at the top of his game, and one of the most popular fighters in the world…until he’s outed as gay in his title shot press conference.
Abandoned overnight by his training camp, his endorsements, his fans, and his sport, to regain his title shot, Bellyi is forced to turn to the last person he ever wanted to see again: Xavier Mayne, a gay, once-fighter in his own right…and the man James watched kill his father.
A singular achievement from writers Steve Orlando (Martian Manhunter, DEAD KINGS) and Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Aquaman, Adventure Time, The Last Time), and artist Al Morgan (Midnighter, Daredevil, Battlestar Galactica).
KILL A MAN will be printed in a 6.5 x 9.5 softcover format.
Enjoy the preview below:
After reading the synopsis, this story is going to go after your heart. The color palette and words are strong; I need to read the next page. Is Mayne going to fight back?
With my love of Rocky films, the fight ring always gets my blood pumping, and it makes for a great introduction to a story as you can go from a wide focus to a very intimate focal point quickly.
What did the announcer sound like in your head, this is what it sounded like to me:
The Babysitter: Killer Queen, the sequel to Netflix’s campy horror-comedy, The Babysitter, is more ridiculous than its predecessor. Not a bad thing at all, these films are not taking themselves that seriously. The over the top gore sequences are back, and so is the exposition based dialogue. The Babysitter: Killer Queen follows the same formula as the original, but there are unexpected twists this time around and a lot of unanswered questions from the first film are resolved.
Netflix’s coming of age horror-comedy certainly didn’t need a sequel, but the mid-credit scene from the previous film indicated there was room for more. What worked so well for the original was the heartwarming relationship between Bee and Cole. Also, Cole was an easy character to get behind, and all the actors made the most of the horrendous dialogue they were given to work with. Once again directed and co-written by McG, The Babysitter: Killer Queen stars Jenna Ortega, Bella Thorne, Hana Mae Lee, Robbie Amell, Emily Alyn Lind, and Judah Lewis. Set two years later, Cole (Lewis) is still haunted by the night he defeated a satanic cult lead by his babysitter, Bee. He’s considered crazy, but his next-door neighbor, Melanie (Lind) convinces him to attend a lake party and his old enemies return.
Andrew Bachelor, Bella Thorne, and Robbie Amell in The Babysitter: Killer Queen
This film probably will upset fans of the original because actress Samara Weaving, who played Bee, will not be at the center like before. Despite that, The Babysitter: Killer Queen can stand on its own without the leader of this satanic cult. Overall, the dialogue is awful as expected, the plot is just as uninteresting, but watching everything unfold is what will keep viewers glued. Every single character is underdeveloped outside of Cole, and that’s fine for this film because there’s no point to it other than to give you a few laughs at just how absurd it is. Lewis rocks it as Cole and it’s great to see him back in this nerdy role, but more mature.
Cole doesn’t need a babysitter anymore, his interest in girls is heightened, and Lewis gives off the perfect shy and unexperienced vibes. Newcomer Ortega, who many will recognize as the little sister from YOU, enters this film with purpose and comes off as if she has always been here. She’s the new girl at school, Phoebe, and she has a shocking connection to Cole that many won’t see coming. Ortega has been making great impressions with her recent projects and her performance here is just another good showing. Again, despite how lacking the script is, these actors and actresses give it their all once again. McG delivers yet another fast-paced film and doesn’t turn back once Cole and his friends arrive at the lake.
Judah Lewis as Cole in The Babysitter: Killer Queen
Beat for beat like its predecessor, calm innocent setup that gets undone by an unexpected character decision. From there, we have over an hour’s worth of ridiculousness unfolding. McG provides a suspenseful ride that you’ll only care to see finish just because it’s so over the top. Of course, Cole being the only character you will have interest in makes the film watchable as well. The components that worked before work here, it really just comes down to the fact that this film has awful dialogue throughout, and it’s mixed with characters you don’t care about because they are throwaways. The score in the film matches the campy, coming of age narrative, so there are some redeeming qualities for this sequel.
The Babysitter: Killer Queen may or may not be another sleeper hit for Netflix, but it’s fine for what it is. Just another horror-comedy that adequately balances the genres, and gives you enough to at least sit-down and endure it. It is a decent follow-up to another subpar film, and fans of the genre will appreciate the redeeming qualities it possesses.
