Let’s get this out of the way right now – The Babadook is almost certainly the finest Australian horror film I’ve ever seen. First time feature film director, Jennifer Kent, has created a devastating vision of a single-mother, haunted by the death of her husband, in what may or may not be a state of absolute psychological free-fall. But this dramatic declaration should not mislead prospective viewers – The Babadook is a film of small scale, tightly controlled, that executes upon its horrific ambitions with pin-point precision.Seven years after the death of her husband in a horrific car accident, Amelia (Essie Davis) struggles to get by as a single mother. Her young son, Sam (Noah Wiseman), is exhibiting serious behavioural difficulties. Her sister is becoming tired of her inability to move on. And her job as a nurse in a retirement home only furthers a general sense of malaise. But things get far worse when her young son finds a new bedtime story in the basement – The Babadook. Filled with threats of violence and deeply disturbing imagery, Amelia discards the repugnant story. But by then, the child is convinced the monster exists, and Amelia’s insomnia and anxiety combine with serious consequences. Is there a monster in the house – that’s the film’s leading premise – and The Babadook’s real horrors come from the disturbing violation of the mother/son relationship, as Amelia’s insomnia, grief, and horrific visions result in the most believable and volatile degradation of human behaviour since The Shining.
And this is where The Babadook truly excels. The seamless fusion of the film’s literal and metaphoric elements is near perfect. Is the Babadook in fact a monster sent from the deepest depths, or is it simply the vision of a single mother, overwhelmed by grief and trauma, finally enveloped by her own sense of helplessness? It is this complication that gives the film its true edge – lifting an almost comically childish horror creation from camp to the truly horrific. If anything, the hazily drawn boundaries of the cartoonish abomination that haunts mother and child make it all the more horrific – it’s naïve elements seemingly highlighting the damage being done to this young boy unable to escape his situation.
Noah Wiseman is quite young, but the child delivers a performance that takes us from identifying with his mother’s resentment to deeply sympathising with a young boy stuck in an inescapable nightmare. However, this is Essie Davis’ film, and she nails it. Moving slowly and believably from the role of sympathetic and patient mother to volatile train-wreck, Davis never provides opportunity to question the pace or reality of her degenerating behaviour. This is in equal parts due to Davis’ skill as a performer, and Kent’s abilities as a screenwriter and director – both know exactly who Amelia is and where she is going.
What I find staggering is that the film only garnered a brief run in 13 cinemas upon its initial release in Australia. The praise of local critics didn’t make much of a difference, and it’s only upon international release that The Babadook is now beginning to garner the attention it deserves. Thank goodness for that, but I find it more than a little disturbing that I had not even heard of the film until well after its initial run. Food for thought for the Australian exhibitors?
But it wouldn’t do to end on that note. The Babadook is one of the finest Australian horror films of all time (if not the finest), and should not go unwatched by anybody with even a passing interest in horror cinema, Australian films, or film in general. Indeed, it’s one of the few good horror movies I’ve seen in recent years that can also make the broader claim of simply being a “good film”. Hats off to Jennifer Kent, whose precise touch, and insight into the human character make The Babadook something more than the sum of its parts.
Comments
13 responses to “The Babadook: The Finest Australian Horror Film Ever Made?”
[…] In the first movie, Angela was the quirky, funny character, but after what has happened to her, that persona would not fit here. So we get Ismael Fritschi as Nic, the ship’s slovenly and loveable tech guy, to provide the quirkiness and comic relief. He is a very good addition, messily eating and spilling his way through the horror. As for Angela, whether wearing a skimpy hospital gown early on or the more appropriate loose sweats later, she now kicks ass. Her evolution is one of the best things in the series. She may not have the gravitas of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in the Alien franchise, but when you consider where she began, her arc is even better. As is true of actors in most horrors, Velasco’s work here is highly underrated. (The same is true of Perdita Weeks’ performance in Dowdle’s modest 2014 found footage horror As Above, So Below, or Essie Davis’ stand-out performance in The Babadook.) […]
[…] gone on about this film a lot over the last year, but The Babadook is certainly the finest Australian horror film I’ve ever seen. Essie Davis plays a struggling […]
[…] It Follows is ultimately a very frightening film with some fresh ideas that ultimately falls short of its own promise and the weighty yardstick laid down by 2014’s reigning champion The Babadook. […]
Finally got a chance to see this, James. Had to travel a bit but I’m glad I did. I had a very similar reaction as you. I didn’t think of The Shining as much as I was reminded of Repulsion. All three have a palpable sense of claustrophobia and madness. I haven’t seen nearly enough Australian movies to weigh in on where it stands all time, but it is as good a straight horror film as I have seen this year. I do hope it gets wider release.
[…] Right One In (Swedish version), Apocalypse Now, Tsotsi, Robot and Frank, Snowpiercer, Boy, and The Babadook. The worst movie I watched (yes, even worse than Wolf of Wall Street!) was Divergent, the result […]
This sounds great, I’m set to check it out. I’m curious as to where/what format you were able to view it.
Please do! It just came out on Blu-Ray here in Australia.
I love a good scary movie, but there are only a handful that I’d consider legitimately horrifying! Eager to see this.
This looks like a terrific film, James–thanks for the fine review. I’m hoping I’ll be able to view it soon. I like a good psychological horror movie that doesn’t depend on cheap thrills.
Yes! Excellent review. So great to finally see a QUALITY horror film. Loved it. 🙂
High praise indeed James, and it has made me want to see the film immediately. I doubt it will get much airing over here, outside of London anyway, but I have a suspicion that Film 4 will pick up on it, so I hope to see it on TV in 2015. If not, I promise to buy the DVD!
(Still can’t ‘Like’…) Best wishes as always, Pete.
Thanks, Pete! Check it out when you can. Working on the likes….
It has been an age, but I finally got this on DVD, and settled down eagerly to watch it free of interruptions. But I didn’t get it. I didn’t have the same emotional connection with it as so many others, and became irritated by so many things in it.
I reviewed it on my blog, and it is a very different review to yours. In the comments, you will see that some agree with you, and completely got the ‘monster as a metaphor for grief’ theme. Sadly, I didn’t.
Best wishes, Pete. (I have put a link to your review into my post, to give a more positive option.)
https://beetleypete.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/just-been-watching-8/