''My Babysitter's a Vampire'' (released as ''My Babysitter's a Vampire: The Movie'' in some regions) is a 2010 Canadian

comedy horror Comedy horror (also called horror comedy) is a literary, television and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as having three types: "black comedy, parody and spoof." Comedy horror can a ...

television film directed by Bruce McDonald. It stars Vanessa Morgan and Matthew Knight. The film's plot centers on a group of teenagers, one of them a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

unwittingly hired by a couple to babysit their daughter in lieu of their somewhat untrustworthy son, and their efforts to foil a plot to resurrect a cult group of dead vampires. The movie aired on October 9, 2010, on the Canadian television channel

Teletoon Cartoon Network (formerly Teletoon) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers. It was launched on October 17 ...

. The French version of the film aired on Teletoon's French-Canadian counterpart, Télétoon, on October 16, 2010. It premiered in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

June 10, 2011.

Plot

Ethan Morgan is a geeky high school freshman, not trusted by his parents to take care of his little sister Jane on his own. They hire Erica, a teenage girl from Ethan's school who is a huge fan of ''Dusk ''(a parody of ''Twilight''), as a babysitter. Erica instead decides to attend a party thrown by Jesse, the

ex-boyfriend of her best friend Sarah. During a fight between Sarah and Jesse, Sarah ends up at Ethan's house and tells Ethan's parents that she was asked to babysit instead. Ethan becomes infatuated with Sarah. Ethan suddenly has a

vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

when touching Sarah, and notices she has no reflection in the mirror. Sarah leaves to get Erica back from the party, knowing the party is full of bloodthirsty vampires. Curious, Ethan and his dorky best friend Benny follow Sarah. They see her feed on a rat and realize she is a vampire. Sarah explains that she is only a fledgling, a vampire who has not drunk human blood. The three of them are attacked by a vampire sent by Jesse, and head to the party to save Erica and their dimwitted friend, Rory. However, Erica has already been bitten and also bites Rory. The next day, Ethan has a vision in which he sees a

gravestone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

with the number 219 and a mysterious box, which is then uncovered by the vampires. The box is called the Cubile Animus or "Nest of Souls". Ethan and Sarah figure out Jesse's plan from an old book, learning that in the original settlement of the town, a man named Reverend Horace Black who led an evil

cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state (polity), state, or another community, often by Wiktionary:intrigue, intrigue and usually without the kn ...

of vampires. During a

lunar eclipse A lunar eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth's shadow, causing the Moon to be darkened. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six months, during the full moon phase, ...

, the townspeople burned the members, leading to all '219' of their deaths. Ethan realizes that Jesse is, in fact, Horace Black, and plans to use the box to trap the souls of teens going to see the premiere of the new ''Dusk'' movie so he can resurrect the souls of his ancient group during the lunar eclipse. Benny's grandmother, who reveals that she is an Earth Priestess, gives Ethan, Benny and Sarah enchanted

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

s and a spell book to defeat the vampires. She explains that Ethan sees visions because he is a Seer, which enables him to see visions through touch, and Benny is a spellmaster, allowing him to cast spells. At the theater, the vampires begin to steal the souls of the teens, but are thwarted by the trio. In a vision, Ethan sees the tree he saw inside the old book, realizing it's the tree in his backyard, where they find Jesse. As the eclipse begins, Jesse attempts to hold Ethan and Benny down and resurrect the souls he already obtained from the Cubile Animus, but Sarah intervenes. When the box lands in Ethan's hands, he releases the vengeful souls that were captured, which destroy Jesse and return to their bodies. The next day, Ethan, Benny and Sarah meet Erica and Rory, who have decided to live peacefully as vampires.

Cast

Broadcast

The movie originally premiered on

on October 9, 2010, and on Télétoon on October 16, 2010. In the

it premiered on June 10, 2011 on

. The Disney Channel version (Which was made in collaboration with distributor Fremantle Media) has minor edits to the film to meet the network's standards and practices, but most of the film was left the same. In select territories, the film was distributed by Phase 4 Films, a now defunct distribution company which specialized in direct-to-dvd releases.

Television series

A television series based on the film has been produced. It was created by

Fresh TV Fresh TV Inc. (formerly Fresh Animation) is a Canadian production company specializing in family entertainment aimed at Preadolescence, preteens and Adolescence, teenagers, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Shows that have been broadcast interna ...

, creators of '' 6teen'' and '' Total Drama''. The first four episodes of the series aired on

(English) from March 14, 2011, to March 17, 2011 and on Télétoon (French) from February 28, 2011, to March 3, 2011. The series formally premiered in Canada on January 5, 2011, on both channels. The series premiered on

on June 27, 2011, in the

, and the channel aired all the episodes of the first season in the US before they premiered in Canada. The first season officially premiered in Canada on January 5, 2012. It was produced by Fresh TV. Season 2 of the show has been greenlit by Fresh TV, and was originally revealed by Vanessa Morgan on her official, personal

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Filming began on September 21, 2011, to November 17, 2011. The same day filming ended,

announced they would pick it up for a second season. The second season first premiered on

in the US on June 29, 2012. It made its premiere on Teletoon in Canada on September 6, 2012. The series ended on a cliffhanger with the Season 2 finale. A second movie was planned to be in the works but due to issues with broadcasters and budgeting, it was not able to be produced, effectively ending the franchise outright.

Reception

Critical response

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and for kids ages 12+'','' "Parents need to know that there's plenty of violence in this Canadian-made TV movie (later made into a series), but most of it is obscured to the point that little actual blood is really seen.(...) it might be an OK alternative for some older tweens". ''My Babysitter's a Vampire'' was ranked #2 on Disney Channel's top 10 Halloween movies by

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is an American monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publi ...

. The movie is praised for subverting vampiric stereotypes by being satirically aware of itself.

Ratings

On its original airing on June 10, 2011, on

in the

, the TV film pulled approximately 4.18 million total viewers and 0.6 rating in the age 18-49 demographic, ranking in seventh place in that age demographic but leading that night in top total viewers.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Bruce McDonald 2010 television films 2010 films 2010s adventure films 2010 comedy horror films 2010 fantasy films Canadian horror television films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Bruce McDonald Television films as pilots Vampire comedy films Canadian comedy television films Canadian fantasy television films Vampires in television Canadian comedy horror films 2010s Canadian films Canadian vampire films Television series by Fresh TV