Babadook

Amelia is a single mom struggling with hyper-active 6 year old son Samuel with a constant need for weapons to defend himself from unseen monsters. Her husband died in a car accident driving her to the hospital to have Samuel. The school is scared to keep him with the other kids. Even her sister Claire is afraid of Samuel especially to play with her own daughter Ruby. She finds a disturbing children's book about the Babadook. This sets off a scary series of events.

Normally, I hate annoying kids but this kid is brilliantly annoying. It's such a fascinating character and the mother's suffering can really be felt. I did expect this to turn into a monster movie but it becomes more of a psychological thriller which is perfectly great. The turn in Amelia is terrific. On a minor note, a scarier Babadook could have been even better.

Never written a review before. Haven't felt the need. But after seeing the 1 star reviews of this film,i just felt compelled.

Firstly,what this is.

I would say a cross between The Shining and We Need to talk about Kevin. This film is desperately sad. A woman who is haunted,first by her husbands death,then by the Babadook all while looking after her young son. This is a creepy, no jump scare, fantastic psychological horror. A rare gem that plays on all those fairytale fears that you may have had as a kid.

Second.What this isn't.

Well,not "The worst horror in years".I get that people have different opinions.I do.But this isn't a film that can justify that sort of nonsensical comment. It isn't a dull jump scare-filled blockbuster. The characters are not hot teenagers. They are believable, disturbed and this makes the film the slow,creeping horror that it is.

If you are a fan of horror,it really is a must see film.

There's a demon likes to get inside your mind, if he enters he can be a bit unkind, takes you down a winding path, a quite determined sociopath, doesn't care what trauma that he leaves behind. It's the kind of shade that's often caught alone, the recipient may feel they don't belong, an imposter in their world, wearing a mask fully unfurled, all life's treasures we take for granted, simply gone.

A stellar performance from Essie Davis in a film that will get you thinking about the effects life's challenges present and how you deal with them, albeit through the eyes of one possessed by demonic urges they can't control while becoming a silhouette of themselves.

I really enjoyed this film, its dark and unnerving without resorting to loud bangs or "found footage" style filming to get its scares.

Low budget and well shot, the film leans on the power of suggestion and tone to create a film which has a sense of unease throughout, tonally like the Exorcist, where there is this underlying feeling of dread and helplessness

The scares are not spoon fed, so this won't be for everyone, if your brand of horror is purely just modern films like Insidious or the recent Annabelle - then this might not be for you.

One of my favourite films of the year.

You've heard of feel-good films, well this is not one. It's creepy and disturbing pretty well all the way, a good old horror fantasy with a nod to the psychological canniness of Nightmare on Elm Street but much more economical in terms of special effects, casting and I would imagine budget. It nevertheless maintains tension and atmosphere along with some high-flying dramatic sequences from the actors which bear comparison with The Exorcist. The plot also connects nicely with the psychological and existential conflicts facing a single mother whose son's birth coincided with the tragic death of her husband, and the whole nasty Babadook phenomenon, and its unresolved outcome, can certainly be read as an allegory of this traumatic event. Maybe it's over-reading to say the film also contains a Nietszchian lesson about the importance of embracing every aspect of one's life and history, no matter how horrific - but it works for me. The acting is amazingly good from the two leads, although the supporting characters are a bit stereotyped, a directing decision presumably. Sets and locations are charged with a bleak gloom, and the colour accordingly verges on monochrome. Love the specially made children's book, and Mr Babadook's physical character, as well as the wonderfully curated vintage movie footage appearing throughout on the TV screen. And a special word for the very fine intricately crafted sound design.