...was Landis already planning on taking the kids that night? Was he planning a home invasion of some kind?
Or do you suppose he'd been stalking Julia a long time, and knew she was a regular babysitter for the family?
"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."
I'm watching this right now, and that immediately crossed my mind. They made a point that Julia was doing this on a last-minute basis. Maybe just a plot hole?
shareEven a psychopath wouldn't just pick a random day to kidnap 2 kids... therefore, he more than likely had been planning to kidnap them for a while, and must have found out somehow the parents were going out that particular night. Remember, Julia babysat on short notice, but that doesn't necessarily mean their plans hadn't been made in advance. More likely, it meant the original babysitter cancelled at the last minute or something like that, not that the parents decided at the last minute to go out. As for the movie making it a point to showcase she was asked to babysit on short notice, I took that to mean Julia hadn't been there before, so naturally she would be more nervous than if it had been a home or family she was familiar with. Knowing this was a new experience for her made us, the audience, nervous for her.
shareShe had babysat there before. She says at the start she remembers where the kids bedroom is. She definitely had been there before.
shareYou're right about that, but if I recall, Julia said something like "I'll find it (the kid's bedroom)" and when she goes upstairs, she hesitates and it takes her a few seconds to remember, so it's clear she's babysat there before, bus she's probably not their regular sitter.
sharei'm almost certain he just MEANT to kidnap them kids that night.
whoever was working didn't matter.