The Babadook by SHINYGOODGUY

CINEMA

The Babadook

POSTED BY: SHINYGOODGUY
UPDATED: Friday, January 9, 2015 04:50
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VIEWED: 4700
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Monday, December 15, 2014 4:19 AM

For those who like horror with a dose of crazy, go see The Babadook, the latest import from our allies down under. The story is of a young mother and her son, and a book called the Babadook. It centers around the young boy who believes that the monster in the book is real, and who tries to convince his mother of that fact. It is a tense, well-paced and scary story that is taught and well written, and as described "a real horror story."

There is much to like about this old-fashioned horror movie. It has all the classic earmarks a horror movie should have: dark shadows, creepy furniture, creepy trees, a dark forbidding basement, things that go bump in the night, creeky floors and doors, the nosy neighbor, but with just enough twists to make it seem new. Instead of a creepy cat, we have a dog and instead of blood and gore; well, there's very little of that. This is pure horror in a plain brown paper bag. But don't be fooled, The Babadook has guts and scare by the pound. All throughout the film I kept thinking is the Babadook supernatural or is it in the boy's mind.

Although filmed in color, you get the feeling that the director turned the color palate way down and dialed up the sepia tone. But that adds to the mood of the film, which is sparse and barren, but with just the right among of creep you would expect in a classic horror film. Another thing I liked was the unusual camera angles, that was meant to enhance the creep factor, the director was very specific where she placed the camera at all times, but, for me, it didn't detract or interrupt the flow of the film. It was another storytelling aspect of the film as though we were a fly on the wall. Brilliant move.

A film described by Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune as "a disturbing dream within a dream, within a nightmare." That about sums it up.
Think The Shining meets Mommie Dearest with elements of the silent movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, yeah, that's about right. This story may be about a young boy and his mom, but it's too tense for any child younger than 13 years old. If you should decide to go see, let me know what you thought about the ending. The movie is based on a short film by director and writer Jennifer Kent, who wrote and directed the short as well.

Go see it! But don't go alone!

SGG

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Monday, December 15, 2014 11:16 AM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

I rented it from Amazon since I was sure it would never come to the theaters near me. It's been more than a week, and I had been toying with the idea of doing a review, but have been putting it off.

I am not a big fan of horror, especially not of the gory nature or those that use manipulative shocks to get a rise out of you. I'm more inclined to enjoy the more subtle type of suspense, and I haven't seen many of those in such a long time. My idea of a good ghost story is The Haunting or The Innocents, both of which I recently bought on Blu-Ray.

The Babadook at least started out in a similar vein, and I did like it and think both Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman, who played her son, turned in very good performances. I'm inclined to believe it was all in her head, not the son's, and I'm pretty sure she is the one who created the book. However, I didn't care as much for the last 15-20 minutes since then they did go more toward the typical horror type of action. Either everything that happened was all in her mind, or else they were saying that her grief was so great that it actually created the terror and entity she feared.

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Tuesday, December 16, 2014 3:54 AM

SHINYGOODGUY

I'm with you in regards to the typical Hollywood horror movie - all gore and schlocky gimmicks to try to get you to soil yourself - no, that's not me. I am more into the suspense thriller or more like The Others, which I really enjoyed, especially with the logical surprise ending. I mainly went to see this for a couple of reasons, my son invited me (I like to see a movie with him, we've been at it since he was 6 months old - me and his mom brought him with us to see Return of the Jedi in '83, although he slept through most of it), and I heard it was a good film - which it was.

Essie Davis was fantastic as the strung out mother, and the boy, well I wanted to choke him myself by the time he had the fit in the car. So yeah, I'd say he did a good job. I loved the way it was shot and the camera angle choices - which were simple and subtle - even the art direction was well done. What I found interesting was how it was presented, from the point of view of the boy (my first thought was that he was crazy, but as the story unfolded it was a clever reveal that it was the mom's psychosis). It was his perception and intuitive response to his mother's melancholy and deep depression. The deep emotion and feeling of loss for both he and his mom, but it was definitely the mom's story.

My main problem with the film was the ending, it was so good up until then, it was anti-climatic after such a good build up (throughout the film I could not tell if it was a story of the supernatural or a psychological thriller). I like how the director toyed with me on that count, that's why I was slightly disappointed with her choices at the end. In particular, how seemingly calm and normal it finished with the boy's birthday party. Although the ending suggested that the Babadook was still around (obviously if it does well in the theater there will be a Babadook 2).

Oh, I thought the same thing about her creating the book. She tore it, she burned it, she found it at her doorstep.

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I rented it from Amazon since I was sure it would never come to the theaters near me. It's been more than a week, and I had been toying with the idea of doing a review, but have been putting it off.

I am not a big fan of horror, especially not of the gory nature or those that use manipulative shocks to get a rise out of you. I'm more inclined to enjoy the more subtle type of suspense, and I haven't seen many of those in such a long time. My idea of a good ghost story is The Haunting or The Innocents, both of which I recently bought on Blu-Ray.

The Babadook at least started out in a similar vein, and I did like it and think both Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman, who played her son, turned in very good performances. I'm inclined to believe it was all in her head, not the son's, and I'm pretty sure she is the one who created the book. However, I didn't care as much for the last 15-20 minutes since then they did go more toward the typical horror type of action. Either everything that happened was all in her mind, or else they were saying that her grief was so great that it actually created the terror and entity she feared.

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Tuesday, December 16, 2014 12:29 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Do you recall the scene where she was with the other women at the girl's party? She told them that she had been a writer, that she had done a few articles and stories in magazines...a few children's books. That, and the fact that Babadook is an anagram of A Bad Book, is what makes me believe she not only created the book, she's also the one who repaired it after she tore it up, she just didn't remember doing so.

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Tuesday, December 16, 2014 7:39 PM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

The Babadook review is here: http://moria.co.nz/horror/babadook-2014.htm
Essie Davis plays the mother as mousy and quiet for much of the show. However, the emotional range she is required to open up and deliver throughout the course of the film proves to be extraordinary. On one hand, The Babadook is a film about a childhood monster made real; an equal reading of the film could just as easily be that it is something inside the crumbling mind of a stressed-out mother. Much of the later sections of the film see Essie Davis in a stare of near mental collapse due to insomnia and fear.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/folder/1uwh75oa407q8/Firefly

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Wednesday, December 17, 2014 1:42 AM

SHINYGOODGUY

Yes, I do remember that scene. The anagram thing is a totally clever pick up on your part, and for me I didn't put it together until the book showed up on her doorstep. Then I figured her mind was playing tricks on her and she blocked out the fact she taped it back together.

The clues were there, but I totally ignored it thinking that this was a supernatural occurrence. The car accident, she lost control. It was her reading the book to her son, and the scenes of them sleeping in her bed at night, how she hid under the covers. It was her reaction and not her son's we were watching. It reminds me of the Sixth Sense, where the clues were so subtle. Come to think of it, the other women, except her neighbor, were so obnoxious to her - or that too could have been her mind playing tricks on her.

Was her sister really that harsh or was that her perception. She was so far gone that it could have been her warped sense of perception causing the distortion. Did you notice at the end, when they were harvesting the worms, that she was gardening black roses. When she went into the basement, I got the feeling that she has her husband buried down there. Although things seemed normal, it was far from it. Like I said, it was well written and taught.

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Do you recall the scene where she was with the other women at the girl's party? She told them that she had been a writer, that she had done a few articles and stories in magazines...a few children's books. That, and the fact that Babadook is an anagram of A Bad Book, is what makes me believe she not only created the book, she's also the one who repaired it after she tore it up, she just didn't remember doing so.

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Thursday, December 18, 2014 8:31 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Babadook sounds like Minion speak.

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