Oh man. Last night I go soooooo drunk, and then woke up naked in a tree. It was real strange. I vaguely remember The Guardian had the same storyline, it must have been hilarious. Can you help me remember?
Pop Quiz Hot Shot!
1) In the beginning we see the creeeeeepy nanny taking care of two children, a young boy and a newborn baby, while their parents go off for the weekend. What story is the young boy reading?
2) Months later we meet a young advertising writer, Phil, and his wife Kate newly arrived in Los Angeles for a job opportunity. Where did they live previously?
3) This young couple decides to have a baby, and in the meantime also make some very good friends. Phil’s two bosses come over for dinner parties, but also Ned Runcie who lives nearby and has taken a shine to their nanny Camilla. What unique relationship does the couple have with Ned?
4) The climax of the film comes when Phil receives two messages on his answering machine concerning the nanny. What were these messages?
5) During the film how many people do we see the tree / nanny kill?
Answers
1) Hansel and Gretel. About two children who are left in a forest under a large tree. Or at least, that’s kind of what the pop-up book suggests is an important part of that story. The tree.
2) They lived in Chicago, and they are ready to dive right into their west coast life.
3) Ned designed their house. He’s a world famous architect, and this house in particular was featured in Architectural Digest. Ned lived nearby the Sterlings and is also putting other houses up in the same neighborhood. Certainly having the person who designed your house nearby would be kind of awesome.
4) The first was from the mother of the baby the nanny killed in the beginning of the film. It told him to come quickly as there is a very important bit of exposition he needs to be aware of: that his nanny is eeeeeeeeevil. The second one was from Ned just prior to him getting ripped to shreds by wolves telling Phil not to allow the nanny in the house. Obviously Phil is disturbed and decides to fire the nanny. Oh, no, let’s not go to the police Phil, just kick her to the curb and hope this psycho just wanders away. Good thinking.
5) So in the beginning we see the nanny sacrifice the first young baby to the tree. Later three street toughs chase the nanny into the forest and are subsequently destroyed (literally destroyed) by the tree. And Ned is killed by the tree via a pack of wolves. And amazingly that is it, a very small body count of five for this film. Which I guess is kind of a signature of old school horror. What was the body count of The Exorcist? Three I think.
Wait … that’s not hilarious. That sounds terrible and sad. Man … I have to change my life. So did you get them all right, did you slap that tree druid right across the face to save your baby?
Bad Movie Twins 