YMMV / The Babysitter: Killer Queen

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Exactly when Melanie became involved in the blood cult is a mystery. Was she involved before the events of the first film, which paints a lot of her actions in that film in a new light? Her apparent familiarity with the cult members from the first film seems to imply this. Or was Melanie indoctrinated at some point between the ending of the first film and the second, perhaps because of the events of the first?
    • Did she ever like/love Cole? If so, when and why did she stop?
    • Some of her behaviour hints that she still wants Cole and is jealous of Phoebe being competition, such as her pettily telling Phoebe that Phoebe isn't prettier that her and acting Faux Affably Evil to Cole, although other behaviour like trying to persuade Phoebe to join her, presumably without Cole, make this murkier.
    • Did Melanie kill her father due to him trying to stop her from leaving and capturing Phoebe, or was it a The Dog Bites Back situation in revenge for years of neglect and mistreatment?
    • It is possible Melanie's plan was to become an influencer like she stated, have sex with lots of guys but ultimately end up with Cole, her childhood best friend.
    • How willing is Melanie's drive to use Cole for his blood? Is it very much so or is it out of nothing more than extreme, desperate reluctance since it's ultimately the price that has to be paid for signing the book and there's no turning back now?
    • Is it possible Melanie signed on when Bee prompted her to thinking Cole wouldn't be the target again only to be stuck when it turned out the cult refused to let him go because his still being a virgin at the time made him easy prey? While it's clear that Melanie and the others didn't know Bee's greater plan, is it possible that Melanie then only went along with it in the hope that targeting Cole was only temporary and only truly committed to it when no other option to do so was available in the end—and that maybe Melanie was stalling until Cole figured it out too?
    • Did Melanie think another bargain could also be struck to bring Cole back too like the rest of the cult? That sacrificing him would only be temporary and could be easily reversed?
    • Did Melanie offer numerous other targets that could be easily obtained thanks to her social influencer status in place of Cole first—only for then decision to keep Cole as the target to again be out of Melanie's hands?
    • If given the chance to once resurrected, would Melanie do anything different next time like Bee did? Would she reject what she got in exchange of freeing her soul and doing right by Cole? Would put her soul at risk to do the right thing this time instead?
  • Was Jimmy attempting to antagonize and intimidate Cole during their limited interactions (possibly to chase away a love rival), or was he trying and failing to be friendly?
• Angst? What Angst?: When Cole witnesses Melanie's death. You'd think he'd feel at least some sadness from watching his former childhood friend/crush die right in front of him, even if she was evil. Nope. Cole quickly brushes it off and has a heartfelt reunion with Bee instead.
• Anti-Climax Boss: The main antagonist Melanie is killed when she drinks Cole's tainted blood alongside the rest of the cultists, without a single fight between her and Cole.
• Ass Pull: Melanie suddenly pulling a Face–Heel Turn and becoming all psychotic came out of nowhere and was completely unexpected with no Foreshadowing from the previous movie whatsoever.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The first kiss scene between Cole and Phoebe, with the cultists as dancers. Images related to sexual innuendo appear in a montage, such as a train going into a tunnel, for instance. Most likely, it was to avoid having to actually show a more explicit sex scene between two 17 and 18-year-old actors, as the scene is meant to be when Cole loses his virginity.
• Designated Hero: While Killer Queen tries to portray Bee in a better light from the original film, her actions in that film and the means by which she saves Cole and Phoebe in this film remain dubious. Going so far as to corrupt Cole's former friend/crush, Melanie, then engineered her death to ensure Cole hooked up with Phoebe instead.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Max is perhaps even more beloved as a result of this film due to having a fun, Affably Evil personality and a strange sort of fondness and pride for Cole. His dying words being to congratulate Cole for sleeping with Phoebe and saying he's not even mad, which even Cole seems to acknowledge, only cements him as this.
• Evil Is Cool: Even if you don't like Melanie's out of nowhere Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome, you can't deny that she is a formidable opponent both physically and mentally. Also, very hot.
• Foe Yay Shipping: Despite spending the majority of the film trying her damndest to kill and/or sacrifice them, there are times where Melanie seems a little too affable or obsessive toward Cole and even Phoebe.
• Funny Moments: Almost everything out of Max's mouth is pure gold. Especially his final line upon discovering Cole lost his virginity and his tainted blood is poisonous to the cultists.
  Max: "That's it Cole! Stand up for yourself, just like I taught you!"
  Max: "You killed me. But now, I just like you more!"
  Max, after Cole throws Allison’s shoe at him: "A shoe!? Have I taught you nothing!?"
  Max, kneeling in pain: "Finally found my dick, Cole!"
  Max: "You fucking stud, Cole! I'm not even mad, bro! Respect!"
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • While Cole's dad is initially intent on shipping him to a psychiatric school, the few moments he has with Cole do show that despite not understanding him, he still loves his son and wants him to get better.
  • Cole and Phoebe's relationship is absolutely adorable. After experiencing so much trauma, betrayal, and countless near-death situations, they finally find each other; someone who genuinely loves them for who they are and truly understands the hell they've been through.
  • The reveal that Bee only signed herself over to Satan to save Phoebe's life and that she concocted an elaborate plan to free both Cole and her from everything while also getting them together too—and that her Heel–Face Turn came from the shame that Cole left her feeling at the end of the last film too.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Here, Emily Alyn Lind plays Melanie who signs her soul over to Satan and then literally bursts into flames in the end while in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, she plays Melody, a Cute Ghost Girl—covered in flames because she died in a fire—who helps the heroes in the end and then peacefully crosses over into the next life.
• Ho Yay: Between Jimmy and Diego, with such instances as Jimmy cradling Diego (who has his legs wrapped around Jimmy in a hug) in his arms and comforting him after a snake scares him, and Jimmy collapsing to his knees and calling out Diego’s name in grief after seeing him die. In any case, Jimmy certainly seems to like Diego more than his actual girlfriend, Melanie.
• Les Yay: Between Melanie and Phoebe, mostly on the former’s end. Melanie seems just as (if not more) intrigued and amused as Cole by Phoebe’s way of introducing herself to the class, the two of them share a lot of heated looks, and Melanie even offers Phoebe the chance to join her in a We Can Rule Together way. Then there's her caressing Phoebe's cheek with the edge of a knife while she has her tied up, talking about how similar they are. Can cross over with No Yay for some due to Melanie being a cold-blooded murderer and the fairly rapey undertones of their dynamic, especailly in the aforementioned knife scene.
• Sequelitis: Killer Queen received generally mixed reviews compared to its predecessor, with fans especially hating Melanie's Sudden Sequel Heel Syndrome.
• Special Effect Failure: Before Melanie cuts off her father's other arm, you can clearly see it's a fake.
• Squick:
  • At one point, Cole accidentally pees on Phoebe’s face, getting into her eye, and she quickly declines an offer to clean her face off with the reasoning that urine is “sterile.” This is a common misconception, as urine is very much not sterile. Worse, Cole and Phoebe later make out, with Cole’s pee only having dried on her face.
  • Assuming two years did pass after the first film, and Phoebe is the same age as Cole, Cole and Phoebe were both 14 when they lost their virginities to each other.
• Tearjerker:
  • While not focused on too much, Melanie's betrayal is clearly affecting Cole, who even somberly tells Melanie that she was his Best Friend as she prepares to sacrifice him at the end.
  • Subtly, Melanie herself also appears reluctant to do so since she at times looks like the idea is paining her and that she's only going forward with it because she absolutely believes she has no choice—and that her father being the unbelievably neglectful moron he is was a major contributing factor in being influenced by Bee into taking the Deal with the Devil that got her more popular to begin with too.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Emphasis on "good", concerning Melanie's portrayal in the original film, in which she was Cole's only real friend. So the comments section of the YouTube trailer for the sequel mainly consists of disgruntled fans accusing the writers of ruining her, by making her outright evil and manipulative, for the sake of a "surprise" twist.
    • Even if they had to pull off the Face–Heel Turn, they could have made her a more complex villain. She's had a hard life with a neglectful father and is implied to have feelings for Cole. This could cause some drama and make her death scene a Cry for the Devil like Bee's in the previous film. Instead, she is completely remorseless about her betrayal and her motivation is simply that she wanted to be a successful influencer, which wasn't remotely conveyed prior in either film.
  • Onto characters: Jimmy and Diego are killed off by Melanie after they attempt to back out of their Deal with the Devil. While not as fun as the original cultists, the boys at least deserved a fight with and an awesome death at the hands of Cole and Phoebe. Killing them off just made their appearances basically redundant.
  • Bee herself. Given how the first film ended, her return was the most natural thing to anticipate, but she ends up not being seen in person until the final half hour of the sequel, and when she finally does show up she negates any possible interesting character arc by having undergone her Heel–Face Turn offscreen after the events of the first film.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • While ultimately minor and sufficiently gory, John's death in this film is a complete accident, with him accidentally cutting the rope of a chandelier that crushes him. It feels like a Deus ex Machina. As Cole's dad was present, this could have been an opportunity for a Papa Wolf moment and for him to kill John and save his son. Or for Melanie, in a Kick the Dog moment, to kill John to retain her cover.
  • It would have been interesting if Juan was also a member of the cult and was purposely misleading Cole's dad.
• The Woobie:
  • Cole. Having gone through the trauma of the last film, nobody believing his story, bullied, almost sent to a psychiatric school, betrayed by the one friend he has and forced to fight against the cultists again. Poor kid.
  • Phoebe is a social outcast who lost her parents in a horrific car accident that nearly killed her too. To make matters worse, she blames herself for their deaths and considerers herself a murderer. All of that's before the events of the film take place. Throughout the film itself, she's beaten, kidnapped, and threatened by Melanie, Forced to Watch as Cole is nearly sacrificed, and almost raped by a predatory camper.

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