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nThe Babadook (2014)
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nDirector: Jennifer Kent
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nCast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Barbara West
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nI don’t get why excellent horror films like The Babadook getna limited theatrical release while terrible horror films like Ouija (2014), anpoor excuse for a horror film so nauseating with its blandness that I didn’tneven bother writing a review for it, get a wide release. It makes no sense tonme! The Babadook is an obviously superior horror film! So well crafted! On thenother hand, Ouija is a nonstop avalanche of clichés and cheap scares, yet itsnOuija that gets the wide release. But whatever, we all know Hollywood embracesnformulas and runs away from originality. So it’s up to us, the film lovers, tondiscover fine films like The Babadook and tell the world of their awesomeness. Fornthose not in the know, The Babadook is an independent Australian horror movienmade by first time film director Jennifer Kent and it’s all about a singlenmother protecting her son from a boogeyman. While The Babadook didn’t get thenwide theatrical release that it deserved, it is finding its audience in thenhome video front. Like many films of its kind do, it’s steadily building its cultnaudience with reviewers raving about its spookiness.
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nThe Babadook tells the tale of Amelia and Samuel, a singlenmom and her child. Samuel is displaying signs of odd and antisocial behavior atnschool. It’s becoming a problem to the school, his family and even his ownnmother who desperately screams at him “why can’t you be normal!” Still, Amelianloves her son, warts and all, even though everyone else seems to reject him,neven his aunts and cousins who can’t stand being around him. One night, Samuelnasks his mom to read him a story before going to bed, so she looks through Samuel’snstory books and finds a book called ‘Mister Babadook’. She doesn’t know wherenthe book came from, but she starts to read it. As she turns the pages andnreads, she realizes this book is far too creepy for kids, so much so that henends up crying after reading only a few pages! Soon after Samuel starts seeing MisternBabadook all over the place. Is it all in his mind? Or is Mister Babadook reallynstalking Samuel and Amelia?
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nThe Babadook is an effective horror movie because it has allnthe right influences coming from all the right places, and pretty strong onesntoo. For example, as I watched this movie all I kept thinking was how much itnreminded me of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion (1965), my personal favorite Polanskinfilm about a young ladies descent into madness. It also reminded me a bit ofnthe crazy father figure in Kubrick’s The Shining (1980) and the crazynreligious mom in Carrie (1976). The director also showed appreciation for MarionBava’s Black Sabbath (1963), by showing a clip from it during a particularlyncreepy scene in the film. Other shots show love and appreciation for William Friedkin’snThe Exorcist (1973), who by the way had this to say about The Babadook afternhaving seen it: “I’ve never seen a more terrifying film than The Babadook, itnwill scare the hell out of you as it did me” Now that’s a lot to say, speciallyncoming from the guy who made The Exorcist (1973)! There’s even hints of the GermannExpressionism aesthetic here and there. So as you can see, this movie is annamalgamation of lots of great horror films, yet also displays lots of originality.nQuestion is, is The Babadook actually that scary? Which of our fears does itnplay with?
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nAbove, a scene from The Babadook (2014), below, a scene from The Exorcist (1973)
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nI think the root of the films effectiveness comes from thenfact that it plays with our fears of being a parent, of thinking our kids arenweird somehow because of their particular child like behavior. Ever seen yournkid grinding their teeth at night? Scary, but only because we don’t seenourselves doing it when we sleep. Children’s fear of imaginary monsters makesnus think our kids are schizophrenic, truth is all kids are scared of imaginarynthings. The filmmakers effectively use these fears against us, so in many ways,na parent will enjoy this horror film a whole lot more then someone who’s nevernhad a child of their own. Why is Samuel so apparently disturbed? Is his behaviornjustified? Or is just weird and screwed up? Amelia, the mother in The Babadooknis dealing with these issues all on her own, while at the same time dealingnwith her husband’s death. So we have the fear of being alone, the fear ofnlosing a loved one, which is to say, the fear of death. All these fears are embodied in the form ofnthe terrifying ‘Mister Babadook’, a character that looks like a mix between LonnChaney in London After Midnight (1927) and Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs (1928).nLike I said, the inspiration for this film comes from all the right places.
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nThe film works with the notion that the less we see, thenmore it will scare us. Truth be told, you don’t see Mister Babadook that often,nbut when he is in the room, you will feel it. I suggest turning up the sound onnthis one, the director effectively mixes sounds with visuals. Another asset is that this film looks amazingnin the sense that director Jennifer Kent pays close attention to atmosphere,nambiance and horror movie lighting. This means everything on screen isncarefully constructed to look and feel spooky, dark and scary. Rooms are dimlynlit, skies are gloomy, trees are dead, leaves are falling, the wind is blowingnand shadows move in the dark. The film is perfectly creepy this way. Like somenof the best horror films, The Babadook shows you just enough to creep you outnand then lets your mind do the rest of the work. This film is an impressivendebut for director Jennifer Kent, who by the way was an actress before she wasna filmmaker, which probably explains why the performances from everyone in thisnfilm are excellent. Final words are that this movie is a special type of horrornmovie, don’t let the Baba-dook-dook-dook escape you, turn down the lightsnand watch this one in the dark.
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nRating: 5 out of 5
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