

Title: The Babadook

MPAA Rating: Unrated

Director: Jennifer Kent

Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Barbara West

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins



What It Is: Amelia is struggling to raise her bratty son Samuel who has an affinity for the accult of sorts. You see Samuel believes in monsters, he believes they exist and he can speak to them, and he’s created various weapons in order to conquest them. However when his mother reads him the story of The Babadook things around the two start changing as the events of the book start mirroring real life, and soon Amelia and Samuel will realize that once he’s out you can’t get rid of the Babadook.

What We Think: Notorious to anyone is the fact that I am not a horror guy. What’s not known is why. Normally it’s because the stories aren’t intriguing and characters are one or none dimensional messes. That’s definitely not the case with The Babadook. It’s the worst kind of scary psychological. You see Amelia has suffered from despression since the death of her husband on the way to the hospital to birth Samuel. Essie Davis really plays this up and delivers a haunting performance. It’s shifts are fantastic. Samuel is a character we at first despise but later change our tune on. The Babadookdoes something all horror films should do, build the tension with subtle hints and flashes and never fulfill showing images of “the monster”. Instead we get insight into Amelia’s psyche and that’s no a good place in the least bit.

Our Grade: A, This is one to watch. It’s an indie flick from down under and it’s gritty much the same as other films from Australia such as Snowtown and Animal Kingdom. This little gem will be coming out on the 28th and I implore all of you Snobs out there to check this one out! It’s a horror film worth your time (finally!) Seek it out and watch this you won’t be sorry unless you intent to sleep that is.