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Parents' Guide to

A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting

By Jennifer Green, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Fantasy violence, brave teens in book-based monster tale.

Movie NR 2020 98 minutes
A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 9+

Based on 8 parent reviews

Sarah M.
Sarah M. Parent of 2 and 5-year-old
October 21, 2023
age 11+

Definitely for 9+ (and maybe watch the first 30mins without them to be safe)

Netflix have this on the kids platform, rated PG! We watched it with our five year old, before checking Commonsense - it is NOT for kids anywhere close to five years! Even I was freaked out by the bedroom & closet scenes!!! PG Nightmare On Elm Street more like. All the other scenes with the kids and the monsters were fine, but the bedroom scenes would scare anyone Watch the first 30mins to make your own mind up - that sets the tone
Elizabeth S.
Elizabeth S. Parent
November 13, 2021
age 11+

Fun, just scary enough, good role models, good diversity

My 11yo girl loved this movie. She is not super-sensitive, but we are careful with what we let her watch, so I wouldn't say she's desensitized to violence or scary stuff. The scare factor in this movie was perfect for her current level of tolerance (and mine - I AM kind of sensitive). I loved the realistic and positive messages for girls throughout the movie. We both loved the soundtrack. I loved that Kelly's crush, a cute boy, got protected and ALSO de-prioritized by the girl in this movie - the greater good was more important. It was also really nice to see the biracial partnership and budding friendship between the 2 girls. It was great to see a really fun, action-packed heroes-vs.-villains movie where boy/man heroes were actually under-represented for a change.
See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Kelly Ferguson's high school peers call her "Monster Girl" because she has long held that a monster appeared out of her dreams as a child in A BABYSITTER'S GUIDE TO MONSTER HUNTING. One Halloween night when Kelly (Tamara Smart) is called on to babysit young Jacob (Ian Ho), she discovers that her childhood memory was actually real. Jacob is kidnapped by the same extravagant boogeyman that had appeared in her bedroom, known as "The Grand Guignol" (Tom Felton), and his monster minions, the "Toadies." As Kelly tries to figure out what to do, Liz Lerue (Oona Laurence) pulls up on a motorcycle and the two girls take off to hunt down the monsters and save Jacob. Liz is a member of a secret international society of babysitters who protect kids from monsters. Their rush to save Jacob before the Grand Guignol succeeds in stealing the creatures from the boy's nightmares and unleashing them on the world (and before Jacob's mom gets home), will take them into abandoned parks, underground lairs, cat-infested mansions, and even a high school party.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8 ):
Kids say (22 ):

A combination of Halloween-timed scares, teen angst, and girl power make this a fun watch for tweens. There's plenty in A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting for that target group. Smart and Laurence make a solid duo, and an early slow-motion scene of Kelly walking down a high school corridor manages in seconds to capture the loneliness and anxiety of an insecure teen. Harry Potter fans are likely to be drawn by Felton (aka Draco Malfoy) and may see echoes of Potter dementors in Jacob's nightmare creatures. Likewise, the shadow monster feels reminiscent of Stranger Things' demogorgons.

Felton is a little over-the-top in his Mick Jagger-inspired boogeyman. He's not meant to be a realistic character, but he's neither fully scary nor solely campy, and it's a mix that never quite gels. One funny sequence sees him desperately trying everything to get a child to sleep; parents and babysitters will relate. The filmmakers have done a good job of bringing the imagined world to life, infusing the secret babysitter society with historical references and international flair, and setting it all to a moody pop soundtrack. The action is limited to a single, dark night (Halloween), and the sets range from everyday houses to colorfully cartoonish lairs and darkly gothic mansions. Surely a franchise is in mind, considering the film is based on the first in a trilogy of books and ends with a detailed look at the Grand Guignol's sister, Serena the Spider Queen, who is still at large with a main character's kidnapped brother apparently in her web.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the power of nightmares. Have you ever had recurring nightmares or dreams that felt real? How did you cope with them?

  • Have you read the bookA Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting is based on? If so, how did it compare? If not, did the film inspire you to read the trilogy of books? Should film adaptations always follow the book closely? Why or why not?

  • The International Order of the Babysitters references a number of historical figures, like Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale, and Frida Kahlo, among others. What names did you recognize? What do you think these people have in common, if anything?

  • Did the monsters in this film remind you of creatures in any other movies you've watched? If so, which ones?

Movie Details

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