Review of The Babadook (2014) by Lihui C — 14 Jun 2015

The Babadook.

'It truly is one of the years' most honest and yet terrifying horror films.'.

Initial reaction upon seeing this film was somewhat mixed for me, because I didn't quite understand the last half of the movie. It bothered me so that I forgot to enjoy the experience as a whole. The beginning of the film is quite daunting, each scene colored in dark shades of hue depicting Amelia (main character, played by Essie Davis) and her depression over the lost of her husband years ago due to a car accident that cost him his life. His death consumes her and entraps her to years of hiding and feeling like she's lost her way. Amelia's state of mind is so heart wrenching to see; the close up of her face, the lines, the dark circles are all indication that Amelia is, herself, suffering. All the colors of her slowly fading into a cold grey just like the empty lifelessness of the hallways and the rooms of her house. Quiet but quickly interrupted by Amelia's son, Samuel (played by Noah Wiseman), who goes through the same grief as his mother but expresses them out loud, aggressively, towards the people he meets. The movie conveys the mother and son's relationship by showing how one copes with day to day life. Amelia, suffers silently but, is an open book. She doesn't say anything but we already know what she's feeling. A mixture of emotions portray across her face and yet all the while she's holding her tongue. Anger, depression, sadness, grief, lost and defeat. Yet, young Samuel is able to conjure up another emotion, frustration. Samuel is outspoken, loud, to the point and blunt. For the first 45 minutes he is conniving, disobedient, and annoying. He speaks, she listens. The struggles of motherhood, especially if a widow, is a heavy load to carry and not having another parental figure, adds at least another 50 pounds to the weight. Those scenes in the beginning will drive you insane. It gets in your head and numbs you with an overwhelming array of emotions. You feel as Amelia. It's unnerving both emotionally and psychologically. It's as if someone were pushing you, constantly in the same spot consistently. Jab after jab, you take it in. Until, you hit a breaking point. A breaking point in which happens as soon as the tension decides to carry itself into paranormal measures. Amelia reads a book on the shelf that Samuel chose for as a night time bed story. He decides to pick the Babadook. It's haunting passages and pop up images will creep you to the bone even as Amelia reluctantly agrees to read the rest of the book to him, curiosity definitely will kill the cat....(in this case, SPOILER ALERT, *** the dog).

That's when I just started losing the experience, and felt confused on why Amelia was doing the things that she was doing. The last half hour was entertaining but it felt like scene after scene. However, it does showcase another side of Amelia, the side that decides to completely breakdown. She becomes aggressively violent towards her son. It's as if the roles were somehow reversed. It does the viewer justice when we get to see Amelia become the iron rock instead of being the pushover. Then, in a quick flash of a moment, her mannerism becomes darker and more possessed. As a viewer you try to distinguish what's real and what's not, but we can all agree that she becomes the Babadook or it becomes her. All of that anger, frustration turns into an endless pursuit to kill her son. It's quite confusing to watch but oh so wickedly entertaining as hell!

Towards the end of it all, after about 5 minutes of viewing the film, I concluded that I had just watched one of the smartest horror films of the decade so far. It could be considered a horror film but it has many thematic elements of familial drama. The feelings of loss and grief is the main center focus of the storyline but it also talks about coping and dealing with such a tragedy on a day to day basis (as well as, in the long run). In fact, I conclude that last half hour deals with just that in a metaphorical way by way of using elements of supernatural surprise. If you've seen the film, you'll understand what I mean. From the passages of the book, to the downstairs basement, to the actual Babadook and what it actually represents, this whole movie takes you by surprise at how poetic it all is. In the end, Babadook really is moving and heartfelt, words that surprise when you're trying to describe a horror film.

4/5 stars.