Review of The Babadook (2014) by Thequietgamer — 05 May 2015

It's certainly a creepy film. One that had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. The atmosphere of the house is unnerving. It's aged to creepy perfection and is dark in all the right corners. The film does a remarkable job of building up tension. Although part of that is due to the praise the film has received.

Admittedly part of the reason I was so worked up during so many scenes in this film is because of all the good things I had heard about it in regards to how terrifying it was. The actual results were a tad underwhelming. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the film and I always ended up wondering why afterwards. "The Babadook" is a genuinely unnerving villain in how it messes with our characters in the form of children books, but it fails to deliver actual frights upon it's arrival. I felt so stupid about shivering in anticipation over expecting a big scare that didn't end up happening. Still, I have to give it credit for keeping me on the edge of my seat. The pop-up books are also actually genuinely frightening and it does some weird stuff along the way.

The strength of the film though isn't in the horror aspect, an area it ultimately ends up under-delivering in, but in it's drama. It's a tale of love and loss. It expresses the danger of how holding someone accountable for some horrible moment can lead to dark consequences. The mother and son dynamic is played to perfection and the symbolism in excellent. It's a horror movie that is genuinely saying something and that elevates it from the pack of horror flicks that are out there now and just want to provide cheap thrills.

While "The Babadook" isn't what the hype would have you believe in terms of being scary it makes up for it in other ways. It's a deep film with a mature message that may provide a few frights along the way. It truly is one of the best horror movies to come out in a long time. It's worth watching just for the pop up books alone. Those will seriously freak you out.