The Babadook (2014) Review

“Run, run, run, as fast as you can!”

When the sixth installment of Scream gave a shoutout to The Babadook (2014), I knew it was time to watch the Australian film. It had entered my list ever since acclaimed horror master, Guillermo Del Toro, raved over the film. It’s an atmospheric film that brings William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973) to mind, for doing possession horror the right way. Using practical effects to create imagery akin to those seen in the silent films of Georges Mélies and Lon Chaney. While putting a performance at the center whose descent into madness we witness. This time it's actress Essie Davis (Amelia) who carries the film on her shoulders and delivers a satisfying performance. In fact, Friedkin found the film to be one of the best and scariest horror films he’s ever seen, complementing the simplicity of the filmmaking and the excellence of the acting to support a film that works slowly but inevitably on your emotions. Arguably no one has done it better than he had in ‘73, until now.

Writer/Director Jennifer Kent took her 2005 short film “Monster” and decided to expand upon her initial concept to explore how grief, depression, and fear of madness affect parenting. By exploring the relationship between mother and son who have suffered a great loss she used the Babadook as an allegory to represent the grief you bury and how it may consume your life by leaving it in the basement. Kent reminds us it’s something we have to face and unfortunately those wounds are at times, something we must learn to live with every day—some days are harder than others.