DiscoViolento

There is one thing you need to know about The Babadook: It is terrifying.

There are many other things to say about the film, of course; the level of craftsmanship is visible throughout. The atmosphere is heavy and tense, camera and light well accompanied by an intense piece of sound design. The acting is superb; Essie Davis' performance in the lead role is explosive. The artwork deserves nothing but praise. The story if absolutely fantastic, twists and turns always feel earned.

I could probably tell you more about the film and what it is actually about, but that doesn't really matter, does it? All that matters is that if you really want to see a horror flick, this will give you everything that you want. It will torment you until you are begging it to stop. This is horror, pure and simple.

Jennifer Kent has done something outstanding here, by creating a film that is actually frightening. She scared the hell out of me, and I much appreciate it.

So bring some friends. Turn out the lights. Cover yourself in blankets. Turn up the sound. But don't let in The Babadook.

A couple driving through the desert crashes their car due to a blowout and are left stranded. They decide to head for a nearby town called Blood Creek to search for help and meet a mysterious stranger who calls himself Joseph.

The film is directed by Adam Mason, a man whose greatest skill is creating great looking films for very little money, and the film does indeed look great. Unfortunately, it lacks the creative touch that was very apparent in his previous work The Devil's Chair (which I gave a very high score). Indeed, the film feels uninspired and watching it is a bit like going through the motions.

This is a shame, because there is a glimpse of something great hiding within the religious angle that the film takes. I wish that this had been explored in more depth, but instead this is covered by clichés that border on parody.

By far, the worst part of Blood Creek is the characterization of the two leads; the man is aggressive and loud, the woman is passive and dripping with tears. This is the case from the get-go and only gets worse as the film goes on. I assume that this is somewhat intentional, but it crosses the line between believable human flaws and annoying caricature.

The best part is the performance of Andrew Howard as the mysterious traveler Joseph. While he does have the best material to work with, it is pretty clear that he is the one with the acting chops and he pretty much carries the film single-handedly.

Despite the good craftsmanship (cinematography and sound is great), I would recommend watching something else. While Blood Creek is not offensively bad, it presents a handful of moments of annoyance and leaves no lasting impression.

Frank Reiners' life isn't going too well. He is torn between taking care of his daughter while his wife Gine is working and his architecture studies. On top of that, Gine's parents have high expectations of their daughter's life and in their eyes, Frank is a bit of a loser.

But when Frank discovers Scientology everything changes.

In Bis nichts mehr bleibt we follow the story from two different points in time. One is a court scenario where Frank is fighting for custody of his daughter; the other tells the story from the beginning.

Even though this film is based on a specific case, the scenario in itself isn't specific at all. Thousands of people have gone through this personal bankruptcy and disconnection from their loved ones. In Germany the fight has been long between government and the "church" and it wasn't a surprise that the org opposed the release of this film, claiming it's intolerant.

I strongly recommend this emotional journey through what used to be known as a cult. Watch this film and ask yourselves - can we allow this to happen over and over again?