The plot is about a widow, Amelia, and her young son Samuel. The boy is misbehaving constantly and becomes obsessed by a pop-up children's book called Mr. Babadook. The book is really creepy with disturbing images, and when it depicts the death of Amelia and Sam, Amelia rips it up, only to find it on the doorstep the next day fully restored. The Babadook stands out from the most recent horror films in that it doesn't rely solely on jump scares, but instead, slowly creates dread and suspense and taps into the audience's emotions through the psychological instability of the main character. The film scares the audience in a more subtle and psychological way, and the closet thing I can compare it to is The Shining.
As the main character, Amelia, starts to lose her mind the Babadook appears. The monster's appearances are few and far between but very effective and well timed. The directer has left it the audience the interpret exactly what the Babadook is and what it means. Why own interpretation is that it represents Amelia's inner demons - her depression over her husbands death taking over, which could ultimately lead to her taking her own life and her son's. Amelia's eventual descent into madness is terrifying and chilling, and the ending leaves at lot of unanswered questions.. The performances from the two actors were amazing. The style of the film set the perfect tone and the monster itself was extremely creepy and looked very impressive. An unorthodox and well made film which has breathed a breath of fresh air into the horror genre.
Great Review.
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