Director: Jennifer Kent
Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall
Amelia (Davis) lost her husband in a car crash while on her way to the hospital to give birth to their son, Samuel (Wiseman). Raising a child by herself is tough enough, but made even more difficult by Samuel’s insistence that he sees monsters. His antics push Amelia to breaking point, when a pop-up children’s book enters their lives. It’s creepy enough at first but becomes even more sinister as Mr. Babadook enters their lives.
Okay, so I’d been hearing good things about The Babadook so since it was Halloween I decided to put it on with the lights off late at night and it was pretty good until about halfway through. Then I got majorly creeped out and had to turn it off. I returned to it the night after and I have to say that it’s an excellent horror film. Most of my complaints with horrors are that the characters are unlikable and stupid so I’m actually on the side of the monster, but this is a character piece and Davis and Wiseman are excellent. Davis gives a superb performance as Amelia, who gradually unravels under the strain and pressure, and I was with her every step of the way, even getting infuriated with Samuel myself. Until there was a certain turning point and I suddenly found myself empathising with Samuel, who up until that point I had found extremely annoying.
With such investment in the characters the horror was chilling, and the feeling of dread is palpable. Kent doesn’t resort to familiar tricks, and she handles the creepiness with masterful ease. It’s psychological terror as well as good old fashioned scares. Mr. Babadook is usually just off-frame or cloaked in darkness, heightening the fear factor, and the scares are punctuated with real-life circumstances, like visits from social workers.
The Babadook is one horror that I can recommend wholeheartedly. I even might watch it again at some point. I’ll just make sure to do so with someone else. I don’t think I want to watch it again on my own.
