Movie Review: The Babadook

If you want a good film, then take a look....at Jennifer Kent's directorial debut, The Babadook.

Amelia (Essie Davis, The Matrix Reloaded) is a single mother raising a troubled 6 year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), who has behavioral problems.  Amelia's husband died on the way to the hospital for Samuel's birth and she seems to never have properly dealt with the grief of this.  Meanwhile, her son truly believes in monsters under the bed and arms himself against them, while also lashing out against anyone who doesn't believe him.  These behavioral problems eventually get him expelled from school.  One night, Samuel finds a book about Mister Babadook on his shelf and has his mother read it to him before bed.  Samuel becomes convinced that the Babadook is real and his behavior worsens.  Amelia slowly starts succumbing to the stress of raising her child alone, dealing with the unresolved feelings about losing her husband, and every bad thing that goes along with those things.  Her descent escalates as she begins to believe in the Babadook as well, and supernatural occurrences begin to plague her and her son.

 First things first, this is an excellent film.  If you are looking for a traditional supernatural horror film, then this still can work for you, but I must warn that it will seem a bit of a slow burn though.  When it comes to the Babadook itself, Kent uses the less-is-more approach, and it works.  You get little to no jump scares, but the imagery planted throughout the backgrounds and in the shadows will haunt you.  Kent doesn't completely deprive you though, and she does deliver a few full on looks at the creepy Mister Babadook.

Where this movie thrives, however, is as a psychological thriller/horror.  It is a character piece about a single mother's slow descent into madness.  Samuel is played annoyingly perfect by Wiseman.  He is one of those kids that just doesn't stop and can just grate on your nerves.  The fact that he annoyed me for the first half of the film just made it work that much more for me.  Every parent has had those days where lack of sleep and a constantly misbehaving child just makes them want to scream.  This gives you a weird sense of sympathy for the character of Amelia even though she is diving straight into the deep end of insanity.  Her struggle throughout the film is the most terrifying thing about it.  You just don't know how far she is going to go, and that is where the tension lies.  The Babadook just becomes the catalyst.  That being said, this whole film rests on the shoulders of  Davis, and she gives an Oscar worthy performance.

The sound and visual design also both really work well.  You don't get much of a score for the first 30 minutes of the film.  A lot of what you get is quick cuts and sharp, jarring sounds.  As the Babadook slowly makes himself known, the score slowly rises until you finally get the sharp crescendos in the thick of the action.  The colors and tones in the house also fit the tone of the film.  The house is shot in bleak, drab tones to match Amelia's setting depression and hopelessness.

Essie Davis really does carry this film, and Wiseman does a good job of it as well.  As for the rest of the cast, I have know real complaints.  They all did a fine job with what they had to work with.  I think side characters was where this film lacked just a little.  Most of them didn't end up amounting to anything other than a plot device.  Some were barely even that.  The one place where this film actually fell slightly short for me was the ending.  I felt Kent didn't stick the landing.  Without giving away any spoilers or plot points, I felt she just didn't know where to take it and just kind of ended it.  Don't let this deter you though.  It didn't fail, or even lower my feelings for the rest of the film.  I just didn't stick for me is all.

I can probably safely call The Babadook my favorite horror of the year.  I would recommend it to any die hard horror fans.  The practical effects are fantastic, and a nice change of pace from all the CGI out there.

Rating: *********- (9 out of 10) [Full price!]

Memorable Quote:

Samuel: I'm really tired because of the drugs mommy gave me.