Movie Review: The Babadook

When it comes to horror movies, I tend to be very particular about the genre. I can understand how something like the Saw movies are, in fact, horror, just a different kind of horror when compared to something like The Grudge or Friday the 13th. Horror movies comes in all sorts of flavors and it's important to take this into account when you watch them. Perhaps what isn't horrifying to you may be horrifying to others. In the end, it's always going to be about the terror that the film invokes on it's viewers, for better or for worse.

So what does this mean for the Indie horror film The Babadook? Well for one, it's not a traditional kind of horror movie in that the titular creature is the main focus of the movie. The Babadook does something that I haven't seen in a horror movie in a while, and that's tackling the concept of stress, insomnia, and built up tension within an individual. The results of these negative traits is the Babadook itself, but that can be explained later.

Like the movie, this image gives a sense of constant dread

The Babadook is an Australian horror film that follows the lives of a single mother, Amelia (Essie Davies) and her son Samuel (Noah Wiseman). Throughout the movie we're shown just how tough Amelia has it; working long hours at a retirement home, having to deal with her disobedient, paranoid, and seemingly disturbed son, having no time to herself, and a severe lack of sleep. We're also shown just how terrible a child Samuel is as he's bringing weapons to school, constantly screaming, and sticking to his mother like glue. All in all, Samuel is a textbook brat...at least that's how it starts. It's not until Samuel finds a strange book entitled The Babadook on his bookshelf and gets his mother to read it to him that things start to get strange. Sightings of a creature around the house, strange noises at night, Samuel constantly fearing for the shadows in his closet, etc etc. 

The classic 'under the bed' shot. Only this time...reversed...subtle hint perhaps?

The story of the film starts off relatively slowly, setting mood and establishing character. The Babadook does this extremely well. Many times I felt like I could empathize with Amelia. Every time she's on screen, you can feel the weight of the world on her shoulders and you also feel just as frustrated as she is whenever she has to deal with Samuel and his antics. Perhaps the greatest strength of The Babadook is it's ability to connect the audience to the character on screen. In general it felt like a slow descent into hell as there was always a constant, lingering feeling of dread.This is yet again something that most horror films don't tend to do well so it's refreshing to see this slow burn horror return in The Babadook. On top of this, framing is simply incredible and effective. I like to compare the framing in the movie with the framing in the game Silent Hill 2 in that not only are specific shots used to deliver a sense of dread and terror, but also serve a thematic and narrative purpose. This comparison can also be strengthened by the fact that both cover psychological horrors in subtle, effective ways. 

Not the happiest family dinner

I've also mentioned how The Babadook isn't about The Babadook...but don't let me misdirect you in any way, there is indeed a Babadook that shows up in the film despite it's focus being on Amelia and Samuel. The Babadook is the physical manifestation of all the stress that Amelia experiences throughout the movie. We're never really told what the Babadook is or where it comes from, but the general concept is quite obvious. In a sense, The Babadook is a real life horror and most of the terror that occurs in the movie have possibilities of happening in reality. This is perhaps the scariest thing about The Babadook in that anyone can break under extreme stress. 

Totally a kids book!

When it comes to performances, I thoroughly enjoyed Essie Davies as Amelia. Without her ability to portray a single mother suffering from insomnia and extreme stress, the overall effect of the movie would have been weaker. It was Davies' performance that allowed me to feel sympathy and even empathize with her, definitely a powerful portrayal of character. However, I HAVE to praise Noah Wiseman in his portrayal as Samuel. Normally, I don't enjoy child actors because they always end up being terrible. Wisemans' performance is an exception to this because he manages to be a terrible child on screen. The fact that I can hate Samuel so much yet cheer for him near the end of the film tells me that Wiseman manages to be a better child actor than many others out there. Without these two performances, The Babadook would have been a completely different film. This was a special treat for me just because of how well Davies and Wiseman worked together on screen and managed to deliver their characters in such a realistic manner. It's rare to see such chemistry between actors/actresses, especially in mainstream cinema. 

I kinda want to buy a Babadook book...some really cool pop ups are shown in the film

I really liked The Babadook but I can also see why some may not enjoy it. The idea that a horror movie is tackling realistic concepts more than supernatural ones can be off putting. Hell, even movies about serial killers still have a hint of the fantastical in them. Many will say that The Babadook isn't a *real* horror film, but I have to disagree. The Babadook is definitely a horror film and one that many other horror films should take lessons from in terms of character and pacing. 

Verdict: 4/5