While the conversation to name the worst director of the modern era probably begins and ends with Uwe Boll, when you narrow the focus to the names who keep being handed massive budgets with which to deliver mediocrity on the grandest scale imaginable, McG has got to be near the top of the list.
Since making his feature-length debut with the leather-clad Charlie’s Angels back in 2000, the filmmaker has gone on to helm another seven features, which includes such winning titles as the trilogy-killing Terminator Salvation, the worst-reviewed movie of Tom Hardy’s entire career via This Means War, monotonous Kevin Costner-does-Taken ripoff 3 Days to Kill, and the widely-panned sci-fi adventure Rim of the World.
However, even the worst at their craft can be capable of greatness under the right circumstances, and in McG’s case that day came when horror comedy The Babysitter landed on Netflix in October 2017. Buoyed by a standout performance from rising scream queen Samara Weaving and impeccable chemistry between the cast, the blood-soaked romp is its creator’s highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes, and one of just two that have managed to escape the doldrums of being rated Rotten.
The story is hardly groundbreaking or revolutionary stuff, with a teenager discovering his babysitter is a member of a demonic cult that wants to sacrifice him in a demonic ritual, but it’s hard not to get caught up on the tongue-in-cheek barbarism of it all. To that end, Redditors have been pouring out of the woodwork to praise the streaming exclusive, and while it may not be regarded as a classic, it’s a hell of a lot of fun from beginning to end, and McG’s finest 85 minutes of cinema by far.