Grade: 78/100
Though it may not be getting the media attention it deserves, Jennifer Kent’s “The Babadook” is a fresh, different direction in the usually disappointing horror genre.
The film follows the struggling day-to-day of a single mother, Amelia (Essie Davis), grieving over the loss of her husband. Additionally, she is battling her deep-seated resentment for her son Samuel just being alive because her one, true love died on the way to the hospital when she was going into labor.
Out of nowhere, Samuel develops an intense fear for a monster called “The Babadook” he constantly sees in the house and elsewhere. Amelia initially writes the fear off as a typical child’s monster-in-the-closet mentality, but soon learns that there is in fact an evil presence in the house.
Eventually, Amelia becomes consumed by the beast and directs her hidden aggression towards Samuel to a life-threatening degree. Child Social Services suspects abuse in the household and there are hints of Samuel being taken away from her, but she repetitively blames Samuel’s behavioral issues for the problems at home.
Amelia and Samuel are tormented by the Babadook’s presence and finally stand up to the monster at the end of the film.
The scariest part of “The Babadook” is the general theme and twisted idea throughout the film. The monster is rarely seen, however, the monster that Amelia becomes is equally terrifying. Kent took a bit of a risky move in that part of the plot deals with the possible murder of an innocent child, which puts the audience is a state of unrest almost the entire film.
Though the Babadook’s, in its possession of Amelia, is not unsuccessful in killing Samuel, there are chilling scenes that come right to the edge of this graphic violence.
Davis’ spectacular acting performance sells the evil of Babadook perfectly to the audience, to the point that she may have created a stigma of creepiness for future roles. Her depiction of the strange line between love and hate for her child is chilling and somehow powerful.
Also, the young actor who play Samuel, Noah Wiseman, does a fantastic job throughout the movie, and brings a level of maturity that is unseen in most child actors.
The only slight downfall of the movie is the borderline hokey appearance of the monster Babadook, and the infrequency of which the audience actually sees him.
“The Babadook” is sure to keep the audience on the edge of their seats as well as make them question the bumps in the night while they sleep.