by Stephanie Palazzolo, senior editor
If it’s in a word…
Or it’s in a look…
You can’t get rid of the Babadook.
Combining childlike rhyming and pop-up books with murder and terrifying monsters, director Jennifer Kent’s recently released horror flick, “The Babadook,” was met with well-deserved praise from critics and audience alike. The film reflects true horror; it moves away from the cheap jump-scares of other horror movies and reaches back to the roots of the horror genre — just pure, unfiltered terror.
An exhausted widowed mother, Amelia (Essie Davis) struggles with her rambunctious and precocious young son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), who spends his days building catapults and crossbows to fight off an imaginary monster. Samuel, whose erratic sleep patterns slowly wear on his mother, asks his mother to read a mysterious pop-up book he finds in his room called “Mister Babadook.” The story tells of a terrifying monster who haunts people who learn of his existence until he drives them insane. Soon after, both mother and son struggle with an unseen spirit in their house who seems bent on destroying the fragile family.
The film has a faded and dull color palette of muted grays and blues that give the movie a terrifying dream-like quality; “The Babadook” seems like something out of a nightmare. The houses and scenery of the movie lack decorations and ornaments, and their simplicity allows the audience to focus on the plot and characters rather than any distracting backgrounds.
“The Babadook” also doesn’t try to cheat its viewers with lazy jumpscares or cheesy monsters. Instead, it uses the juxtaposition of monsters and children’s books to turn a childhood love into something absolutely terrifying. Suddenly, reading a storybook before bedtime is something to be scared of instead of something to look forward to. It also take an unsettling psychological horror route with Amelia’s sleep deprivation and Samuel’s episode and keeps the audience guessing whether Amelia is insane or if the Babadook is real. And under it all, “The Babadook” still touches on the tense mother-son relationship.
“The Babadook” is a must-watch for anyone interested in the horror genre, and with its fresh take and compelling storyline, it’s sure to become a horror classic.
