L'empreinte du passé

Here's an amusingly derivative psycho-thriller that acts as if all the other psychological thrillers in this genre don't exist. The template for this one, surprise surprise, is THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, but it doesn't even manage to be the first film about a psychotic babysitter – THE SITTER was already made at the beginning of the sub-genre, back in 1991, and Alicia Silverstone had a stab as a babysitter/temptress later in that decade.

This turns out to be completely predictable and routine, although it is more watchable than some dogs the genre throws up. Russell Mulcahy, once one of Hollywood's hottest directors after HIGHLANDER, invests this with a little more style than the usual journeyman types and the pacing is pretty much spot on. Horror fans are advised to ignore the routine script and enjoy the silly murder sequences, which are quite strong for a television movie. Garden murders, bathtub murders, a staircase set-piece inspired by THE OMEN and a decent wheelchair stunt; it's all present here, as well as the over-the-top climax complete with pulled-out phone cords, duct-taped victims, carving knives and the like.

None of the characters elicit much sympathy, particularly in the case of Gail O'Grady who comes across as a bit of a bimbo as the mother. It's incredible how nobody ever suspects the angelic babysitter and becomes a bit irritating. William Moses, once the young upstanding hero of PERRY MASON, is bland as the nice-guy father. The sitter herself, Mariana Klaveno, is hopeless when she tries to do menacing, so the filmmakers wisely focus on her sexuality instead and I found her fairly effective as the teenage temptress. Still, this definitely falls into the so-bad-it's-good category, so only fans of bad movies need bother applying.

The film received negative reviews, saying it was derivative of other psychological thrillers of the 90s femme fatale, with many comparing it to the wonderful "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle". Despite this, Mariana Klaveno's performance as the psychopath Abby received praise. That said, as I love these B movies of predictable and simple suspense, they capture my attention deeply, instigate and enchant, even though they are abominably horrible, with some many holes, and so, I love it. Imperfect and adorable...

A family hires a nanny who seems to be perfect to take care of their children: young, beautiful, a good cook, careful with cleaning and, mainly, with the children. The nanny ends up becoming part of the family and gets closer every day. What the parents don't even suspect is that she was a problematic child and that she seeks some kind of revenge.

This version of a demented female who is out for the husband of another woman is so predictable from start to finish. In fact I selected the three people who would be sacrificed in the beginning. No surprise. I blame inept writing by Stephen Niver and bland performances for this. Sometimes it's so silly and stupid you wonder how some of the people in this ever made it out the door.

William Moses once more plays the bland husband who not only doesn't have a clue, but goes around denying all the accusations he's got a nut case watching his children. He was perfectly cast as I have yet to see this actor show any level of emotion in any of his work. Add Gail O'Grady as his wife who also hasn't a clue as to what is happening around her. She falls down the stairs fine and more than once. Duh. The kids played by Madison Davenport and Tristan Leabu don't do too much except call for mommy and daddy throughout the movie.

I did like Stacey Haiduk as the friend of the wife. She at least had some moments and showed a bit of emotion. Joanne Baron also I liked but for her stupidity at leaving her house wide open for anyone to enter, and they do - enough said. Her kid played by a vacant headed Thomas Curtis didn't do too much except ogle at the baby sitter. This is acting? Jon Lindstrom didn't have too much to do., but did what he could with a thankless role. Good to see him work in anything, even this loser.

Finally we come to the baby sitter psycho played very badly by a Mariana Klaveno who I've never heard of. She was just plain awful in this. One expression of always pouting and glaring at everyone. She's not a looker with a skinny body and flat chested and hard to believe anyone would even want to lust after her. The scene where she takes her top off for the kid next door to see was so funny as when she did, nothing was underneath to look at.

I give this a zero on all counts and good wishes to Lindstrom, Hiaduk and Baron in getting better scripts and parts. Sorry.

THE SITTER/WHILE THE CHILDREN SLEEP (TV Movie 2007)

BASIC PLOT: Meghan Eastman (Gail O'Grady) is going back to work, and needs a nanny for her two children. Her husband, Carter Eastman (William R. Moses), also works full time as a lawyer, and they both need someone to help out. At first, Abby Reed (Mariana Klaveno) seems like a godsend, but for unknown reasons, everyone around the Eastman's become suspicious of her. Abby is someone to be feared, can the Eastman's figure out why, before it's too late?

WHAT WORKS: *The husband, Carter Eastman (William R. Moses), is a bit of a spoiled jackass. His career comes first, and he expects his wife to drop her clients, to celebrate his professional victories. He's always a bit peeved, because his wife is busy with work. In his mind, she's not attentive to his needs, and the children, because she's too focused on her career. Nevermind the fact, he's just as busy with his own. This is a believable storyline, that plays out in households across the USA every day.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *No one in this movie is likable. There's not one character you care or sympathize with. The husband is a misogynistic tool, the wife is petulant and selfish, even the kids are brats. The ancillary characters are horrible too. The neighbor Mel, is a shrew, her son Tom is a peeper, Carter's friend Tate is a sexual predator, someone please nuke this neighborhood!

*The family take to Abby (Mariana Klaveno) way to quickly. There's no awkward transition as everyone adjusts, and there always is one.

*Why is a college graduate working as a nanny, and not using her degree? Why don't the parents ask this question? Did they even check her references?

*Why does Shawna (Stacy Haiduk), Meghan's friend, suddenly become suspicious of Abby, when the movie is 2/3's over? Nothing new has happened to make her suspicious. Characters need motivations to make their actions believable. Abby doesn't do anything to make anyone wary of her, but out of the blue, no one trusts her anymore. Why?

*Why does the neighbor, Mel Olson (Joanne Baron) not trust Abby from day one? The only thing that should give Mel pause is her peeping Tom son (Thomas Curtis), spying on Abby as she undresses at night. That's not Abby's fault, so why is Mel so suspicious? She's basically obsessed with this girl, and there's no real reason given.

*The husband is too clueless. This nanny is throwing herself at him, and he's blind to it. No one is that stupid.

*The orphanage Abby grew up in gives out personal information to Shawna. This is not just improbable, but illegal.

*The reason Abby is obsessed with this family is some kind of stalker syndrome, it is never explained properly. It doesn't make sense, and Abby's motivations remain unclear.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *I cannot recommend this movie. It has a quality cast, but the script makes it unwatchable. It's a terrible remake of 1La main sur le berceau (1992)" It's not bad because it's a remake, low budget, or because it's a made-for-tv movie. It's bad because the writing never develops any of the characters, or their motivations. I didn't think it would be possible to make Gail O'Gradyunlikable, but this movie somehow achieves it.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

Sometimes you just know you can accurately predict what will happen in a film from start to finish, and you also know for a fact you've seen it a dozen times before and haven't liked it once. And yet, even in cases like that you sometimes continue to watch for a very banal reason. In my case, I simply watched "The Sitter" because I wanted to know whatever became of Russell Mulcahy; the once utterly cool Aussie director of 80's classics such as "Razorback" and "Highlander". Well, now I know … he directs politically correct and hugely derivative made-for-TV thrillers. The theme of "The Sitter" is very nineties. With its 'dangerously seductive (teenage) femme fatale' main formula, the film is similar to "Poison Ivy" (starring Drew Barrymore), "Wild Things" (starring Denise Richards), "Dearly Devoted" (starring Rose McGowan), "The Temp" (starring Lara Flynn Boyle) and of course "The Crush" starring the ultimate next generation's Lolita Alicia Silverstone. All these flicks revolve on seemingly sociable and alluring young girls that are, in fact, obsessive and deranged psychopaths who do not hesitate to kill if they don't get what they want. And what they want is one specific male, usually one that is already happily married and not at all looking for trouble. These males befriend their jailbait admirers and narrowly resist all the sexual allusions, but when they actually physically reject them down, both their private as professional lives turn into a living nightmare. Meanwhile, friends & neighbors of the male in question that are interfering too much begin to die in mysterious accidents. There you go, I just summarized all of the above films including "The Sitter". This particular TV-movie has nothing new to offer, except maybe the experienced directing skills of Russell Mulcahy and the attractive appearance of lead actress Mariana Klevano. She looks a bit like Liv Tyler and supposedly (according to people on her personal message board) like Selena Gomez, although I have no idea who that is. She carries her crazy wench role quite well, although she can't compete with the above mentioned ladies in the other films. The body count in "The Sitter" is quite low, but at least the murders are vile and nasty for a TV- production. Since "The Sitter", Russell Mulcahy directed a sequel to "Resident Evil" and a good old-fashioned gritty revenge thriller "Give 'em Hell, Malone". I'll just conclude that this was a side-project to be able to pay the necessary bills.