“Ba-ba-ba-DOOK DOOK DOOK!” A man of few words, he certainly does pack a punch and send a shiver down your spine. A childhood nightmare, a manifestation of grief, and an unexpected gay icon, the Babadook has thrown his black top hat into the ring as a modern cult classic.
Jennifer Kent’s 2014 The Babadook follows a widowed single mother, Amelia (Essie Davis), and her six-year-old son, Sam (Noah Wiseman). Following the tragic passing of her late husband, raising Sam on her own is no easy task; their nights are plagued by his fear of a monster in the house. As if things aren’t already stressful enough, one day a book appears in Sam’s room called–you guessed it–“The Babadook.” The illustrated book is seriously questionable as a child’s bedtime story (the Grimm brothers can step aside). Sam is understandably scared, and Amelia pleads that they both forget about it (something she tries to do in general, without much success). From this point, the belief in a monster only grows. The tension slowly builds as strange occurrences in the house, paired with Sam’s insistence on the Babadook’s presence, slowly erode Amelia’s sanity.
The Babadook is a very effective psychological horror film. Atmospherically dismal, the home that Amelia and Sam live in is dark and depressing before our titular character arrives. It’s already haunted. The theme of grief and dealing (or not dealing) with loss is a pretty universal experience. That’s part of what makes this movie work so well. Amelia, a mother at her wits’ end, is an empathetic character, and Sam, while grating, is a sensitive kid in pain. By a horror movie’s standards, it has a more grounded feel; nothing is overdone. The ever-present sense of something bubbling to the surface creates an eerie and unnerving watch.
One spoiler-ish point that feels necessary to share: Amelia and Sam have a dog. Do with that what you will…
The Babadook
2014
dir. Jennifer Kent
94 min.
Screens Saturday, 5/9, 6:15pm & 10:00pm @ Brattle Theatre
Double feature w/ Petite Maman
Part of the repertory series: Brattle <3s Moms
