The 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.

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.

A single mother (Essie Davis), plagued by the violent death of her husband, battles with her son (Noah Wiseman)'s fear of a monster lurking in the house, but soon discovers a sinister presence all around her.

Some people find this film terrifying, some just find it eerie. If nothing else, it stands out as original. Writer-director Jennifer Kent hits a home run, taking what she learned from her very unusual film school (watching Lars von Trier) and incorporating it here. But it is so much more than good direction and excellent framing.

This is a film that could fail if the elements were off. If the creature effects were cheesy, it would not be as scary. If the mother was not as convincing, it would not be so emotional. And Noah Wiseman? Wow. Few child actors are able to perform on this level. The last one with this much talent that comes to mind is Chloe Moretz. Give this kid more roles, and give them to him now.

This movie's biggest strength, is also it's biggest weakness. It's a cleverly constructed horror story with multiple layers. The problem is that it never explains itself, nor does it even drop the faintest hint by the end. Thus, people who went into this thinking this is just a generic monster flick, will come out of it feeling pretty much the same. But that is not what this is.

The movie is far more intelligent than a lot of people give it credit for. It's also a credit to the excellent direction, that this movie never delivers some sort of forced explanation of what it is really about. Without spoiling the movie, this film tricks you into thinking you are going to see a typical horror movie, but it ventures into far darker psychological territory. But like I said, most viewers will not get it. This is why this movie has received some terrible ratings from some viewers, but this is not an accurate representation of the actual quality of the movie.

For the other half of the audience though, this is one heck of a ride. I suspect some viewers will get it halfway through, and some two-thirds into the movie. And everyone else won't get it at all. The acting is stunning, the cinematography and lighting are amazing, and I also really like the sound editing (except when they use a sound effect that's clearly from a very old and overused sound library). I found it especially compelling how the movie shifts focus several times during the story, regarding who the villain is.

See it, and judge it for yourself. Do not let impulsive ratings fool you.