Review of The Babadook (2014) by Sheila C — 31 Jul 2015
Stephen King once said that TERROR is the suspense of something bad about to happen, and HORROR is when you witness something bad.
'Babadook' is an effectively TERRORIZING movie!
Props to the first time filmmaker for leaving much to our imagination and revealing the Babadook demon in bits in pieces. The impending threat of the demon is what scares the crap out of us - And it is what propels this movie into a modern horror gem.
After losing her husband in a car accident, a single mother and her son battle inner demons of grief and guilt, which seemingly manifests in the form of a 'children's' book called 'The Babadook'. The book by itself was nerve-wracking.
So what really makes this movie scary? The psychological effect. Being a single mom raising a problem child is scary enough. Not being able to cope with the real world is scary. Being isolated after losing your best friend/spouse is also scary. Having a book which seemingly WRITES an epitaph in rhyme creeped me out!
Creepy rhymes get under my skin (remember 'One, Two, Freddy's coming for you'? Ughhh!).
. Evil supernatural threats make my skin crawl. Hideous, half-hidden monsters crawling around in the dark, making nasty hissing noises like bugs....stalky phone calls....weird visions....having a monster stalk you in broad daylight...all that shit is creepy, man. But the REAL 'WTF' comes from watching a mother descend into madness and watching her helpless child trying to save her soul.
THAT was more effective than anything else. This became my favorite recent horror movie since 'The Conjuring'.
This review of The Babadook (2014) was written by Sheila C on 31 Jul 2015.
The Babadook has generally received very positive reviews.
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