Already a darling of the festival circuit, Australian horror movie The Babadook arrives on our shores riding a tidal wave of critical acclai...
Already a darling of the festival circuit, Australian horror movie The Babadook arrives on our shores riding a tidal wave of critical acclaim, and y'know what? It is well and truly deserved, as The Babadook is the certainly one of the best horror movie of the year, an effective little movie that doesn't fail to get under your skin and leaves you with a deep sense of dread that isn't easy to shake off.
Like all great horror movies, the spooky goings on in The Babadook are a metaphor for something bigger lead character Amelia (Essie Davis) is dealing with. In this case, it's the grief she's been holding onto ever since her husband died seven years previous, the same night her son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) came into the world. This has seen that grief grow into resentment for the son she can't control, leaving her with a tenuous grip on life that threatens to slip as Samuel's boundless energy and imagination wreaks havoc. Into all this, a mysterious pop-up book, Mister Babadook, appears, which frightens Samuel to no end, causing him to believe that the monster in the book has invaded his home. Ameila, at her wits end, sees this as just another case of Samuel acting up. But soon, she comes to realise that he was right, and that the more she denied the Babadook's existence, the stronger it became.
From the opening frame, writer/director Jennifer Kent has created a masterful lesson in tension, and she slowly turns the screws for the next 94 minutes, treating us to a movie that goes far beyond the usual genre trappings. Kent is a fantastic visual story teller, conveying all the information we need in one shot or facial expression. Repeated scenes of Samuel's nightly ritual of checking his room for monsters perfectly show Amelia's growing resentment of her child as she goes about these tasks, becoming more of a dead eyed shell with each passing instance. It is hard not to feel for Amelia early on, as Samuel is such a whirlwind of manic energy (which Wiseman absolutely nails), never failing to speak his mind at the most inopportune moments, and growing more and more uncontrollable as the story moves forward. It is a nice twist on the usual parent/child relationship present in horror movies, and Davis plays the harried and exasperated Amelia perfectly, her expressions conveying every burden in her life. One scene of Amelia taking a day off from her life, eating ice cream and browsing the shops, sees the actress at her best, the shell of a woman pushed to the edge washing away as she treats us to a rare smile, only for her pain and resentment to come rushing back as she crashes back to reality. When the Babadook makes his presence more and more known, her fear is palpable, pulling you into the movie completely.
The movie moves forward at a deliberate pace, and each passing moment only increases the suffocating sense of dread even further. The darkness and dour colours of Ameila and Samuel's home makes it the perfect setting, and the unsettling drone ever present on the soundtrack cultivates the uneasiness you have felt inside of you since the film began. The Babadook is missing for much of the movie, but is presence is always felt, as he scratches at the edge of the movie begging to be let in. The book is our first introduction to him, and the two scenes where it comes into play succeed in pushing you over the edge, as Kent ratchets up the tension to an unbearable degree. For much of the movies first half, we only get glimpses of the creature, so when we finally see him, his arrival is that more effective. The Babadook is a truly terrifying creation. A black formless shape skittering along the walls and ceiling, like the cockroaches that announce his arrival, he immediately becomes something that will live in your nightmares for years to come. With the Babadook fully present in the movie and Amelia's home, we enter the films wonderful endgame, where more genre tropes getting twisted to suit The Babadook's needs.
A brilliant and truly unforgettable example of what can be achieved with the horror genre, The Babadook is a smart and terrifying experience that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
Like all great horror movies, the spooky goings on in The Babadook are a metaphor for something bigger lead character Amelia (Essie Davis) is dealing with. In this case, it's the grief she's been holding onto ever since her husband died seven years previous, the same night her son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) came into the world. This has seen that grief grow into resentment for the son she can't control, leaving her with a tenuous grip on life that threatens to slip as Samuel's boundless energy and imagination wreaks havoc. Into all this, a mysterious pop-up book, Mister Babadook, appears, which frightens Samuel to no end, causing him to believe that the monster in the book has invaded his home. Ameila, at her wits end, sees this as just another case of Samuel acting up. But soon, she comes to realise that he was right, and that the more she denied the Babadook's existence, the stronger it became.
From the opening frame, writer/director Jennifer Kent has created a masterful lesson in tension, and she slowly turns the screws for the next 94 minutes, treating us to a movie that goes far beyond the usual genre trappings. Kent is a fantastic visual story teller, conveying all the information we need in one shot or facial expression. Repeated scenes of Samuel's nightly ritual of checking his room for monsters perfectly show Amelia's growing resentment of her child as she goes about these tasks, becoming more of a dead eyed shell with each passing instance. It is hard not to feel for Amelia early on, as Samuel is such a whirlwind of manic energy (which Wiseman absolutely nails), never failing to speak his mind at the most inopportune moments, and growing more and more uncontrollable as the story moves forward. It is a nice twist on the usual parent/child relationship present in horror movies, and Davis plays the harried and exasperated Amelia perfectly, her expressions conveying every burden in her life. One scene of Amelia taking a day off from her life, eating ice cream and browsing the shops, sees the actress at her best, the shell of a woman pushed to the edge washing away as she treats us to a rare smile, only for her pain and resentment to come rushing back as she crashes back to reality. When the Babadook makes his presence more and more known, her fear is palpable, pulling you into the movie completely.
The movie moves forward at a deliberate pace, and each passing moment only increases the suffocating sense of dread even further. The darkness and dour colours of Ameila and Samuel's home makes it the perfect setting, and the unsettling drone ever present on the soundtrack cultivates the uneasiness you have felt inside of you since the film began. The Babadook is missing for much of the movie, but is presence is always felt, as he scratches at the edge of the movie begging to be let in. The book is our first introduction to him, and the two scenes where it comes into play succeed in pushing you over the edge, as Kent ratchets up the tension to an unbearable degree. For much of the movies first half, we only get glimpses of the creature, so when we finally see him, his arrival is that more effective. The Babadook is a truly terrifying creation. A black formless shape skittering along the walls and ceiling, like the cockroaches that announce his arrival, he immediately becomes something that will live in your nightmares for years to come. With the Babadook fully present in the movie and Amelia's home, we enter the films wonderful endgame, where more genre tropes getting twisted to suit The Babadook's needs.
A brilliant and truly unforgettable example of what can be achieved with the horror genre, The Babadook is a smart and terrifying experience that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.
