The Babadook

15A93 min

Jennifer Kent’s feature film debut, The Babadook reimagines the horror trope of thecreepy child as a haunting fairy tale about grief, mourning, and depression. The filmtells the story of widow Amelia and her six-year-old son Samuel as Amelia tries to dealwith Samuel’s increasingly erratic behaviour while also struggling with grief followingher husband’s death, killed in a car accident on the day of her son’s birth. At the centreof this story of family trauma is a child’s pop-up book, Mister Babadook, featuring a tophat-wearing monster who seems to emerge from the pages of the book and into theirlives and home, terrorising them with its sinister presence. Tapping into childhood fearsof the monster under the bed and a parentsparent's fear of an unruly child, theBabadook’s uncanny presence haunts the shadows of their family home. Kent builds apalpable atmosphere of suspense and claustrophobia as mother and son struggleagainst the overwhelming weight of grief, anxiety, depression, and abuse, all embodiedin the body of a monster. With stunning performances from Essie Davis as Amelia andNoah Wiseman as Samuel, the film will leave you questioning who is more monstrous:mother, son or The Babadook. The appearance, movement, and guttural sounds of theBabadook make it one of the most chilling, modern cinematic monsters, haunting yourdreams long after the credits have rolled. Whatever you do, don’t let it in.