EMELIE

After their regular babysitter can’t make it, the Thompson family turns to her friend Anna to supervise the children while they go out to celebrate their anniversary. At first Anna seems like a dream come true for the kids, as she allows them to play with things that are usually off-limits. But, as her behavior becomes increasingly odd, the kids soon find out that her intentions are dark and twisted, and that she is not Anna at all.

Understanding that the scariest villains have relatable motivations, director Michael Thelin imbues realism into this story and its characters. As the sitter’s emotional wreckage comes to the surface, the children react in the only way they know how. Emelie’s slow burning first act soon escalates dramatically into a multidimensional, nail-biting thriller.

—Mallory Lance