The Babysitter

Although sent straight to video on both sides of the Atlantic and packaged like a thousand other titillating thrillers ('Obsession is a Dangerous State of Mind,' indeed), The Babysitter turns out to be something a little different. Written and directed by one Guy Ferland, it's based on a story by Robert Coover, and remains true to Coover's teasing comedy of rampant sexual fantasy, that peculiar brand of esoteric erotica which deconstructionists call their own. Silverstone is the innocent babysitter who unwittingly works all the men in her life (the puberulent brat in her charge, his dad, a boyfriend, and his scheming mate) into paroxysms of polymorphous lust. The fantasy sequences grow a mite tedious - most of them centre on Alicia taking a bath - and the movie shies away from anything too dirty, but Walsh and Chiles have fun as the boozy parents whose marriage is on the rocks, while the true/false plotting keeps you guessing.