The Babadook (2014)

dir Jennifer Kent cast Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinny, Daniel Henshaw, Barbara West

Amelia (Davis) is in trouble. Almost seven years ago, her husband died in a traffic accident while rushing her to the hospital for the birth of their son, Samuel (Wiseman). She still has literal nightmares about that evening, which left her a single mother barely holding on to a soul-killing job at a retirement home. Worst of all, Samuel is a seriously troubled child. His night terrors keep Amelia up most nights, and he is obsessed with his belief that a monster is coming to harm him and his mother. His eagerness to share this information, and his home-made weapons intended to fight the monster, have caused him to be a social outcast and made him unmanageable at school. Even Amelia's sister, Claire, can't stand him. One night Samuel brings his mother a book entitled "The Babadook" for bedtime reading. Neither have ever seen the book before nor do they know how it came to be in Samuel's bookshelf. In childish rhymes, illustrated with creepy pop-ups, the book warns Amelia and Samuel that the titular monster is coming to get them. Soon, seemingly supernatural events start to happen, and things go from bad to very much worse.

This Australian indie is quite simply one of the best horror films of recent years. Its strongest aspect is the way the it constantly pulls the rug out from under the viewer. I thought I had it figured out 2 or 3 times, but it always managed to subvert my expectations. It did so intelligently; there are no deus ex machinas here. This was one of the few horror films I've seen in which I truly was unable to anticipate the outcome. The performances by Davis and Wiseman are exceptional. When the film starts out, Amelia is a pathetic victim, and Samuel is an insufferable brat, but both become very different over the course of the film, and the performers put the changes across convincingly.

The horror in the movie is intense, not from gory attacks, but from the racheting-up of tension as the Babadook begins to manifest itself more openly. There's also a very grim tone, with little attempt at humor. Even Samuel's improvised weapons, which could be the stuff of comedy in a movie with a different tone, are not played for amusement. There's a real sense of threat here, which more violent movies often fail to pull off. In The Babadook, violence is used sparingly, but is properly horrifying when it does occur. The script, written by director Kent, ensures that we care about the characters. This is one of the few horror movies I've seen that has real emotional impact. It not only has something to say, it has something worthwhile to say. It's nice to see a horror film made for intelligent adults.

This film does have several discernible influences, but it doesn't fit easily into any sub-genre and is clearly not copying any other film. It's truly unique, and it is a masterpiece.