Sometimes we get genuinely fantastic horror films, while most of the time we get films like Ouija. I’m happy to say, “The Babadook” is a fantastic horror film. What other horror films get wrong these days is they rely on constant and predictable jump scares while having no story whatsoever. The actors are rubbish and everything is unbelievable. Nothing is truly that scary or terrifying. “The Babadook” is a original and classic styled approach to the horror genre.
Samuel and his mother live by themselves in a small house. A tragic accident seven years ago leaves the mother troubled and paralyzed internally. Every night she reads a book or bedtime story to Samuel. One night a mysterious book appears in their home. It depicts a monster called The Babadook that lives in the closet. After the reading Samuel reacts fearfully, and begins to have visions of the creature throughout the day. As time goes on, they both succumb to the torment of The Babadook, but it is the boys mother that actually lets him in.
This film is truly horrifying and quite beautiful. The cinematography is fantastic. It’s a very artistic film, which is surprising in this day and age. There is an actual genuine story at it’s core about a mother who has suffered a loss, and her relationship with her son. The film takes it’s time to build the story and the the environment before it gets scary. But when it gets creepy, it gets really creepy. Allot of footage from older horror films are used in certain scenes which is great because it really pays homage to them.
“The Babadook” is an inventive, fresh, brilliant, and somewhat touching new horror film that we rarely get. It’s beautiful to look at and will genuinely creep you out. It has allot of great tension, spurred along by its edgy score. Essie Davis is absolutely fantastic in this film. Her performance is heartbreaking and disturbing. An absolute must watch if you are a horror fan who desperately wants to see a solid horror film and not cheap badly acted garbage.
{4 and 1/2 out of 5 stars}
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