Do you remember what kept you awake when you were little? An errant shadow on the bedroom wall? A creak outside the door? Perhaps the wardrobe that was open just a crack… For Samuel (played with saucer-eyed intensity by Noah Wiseman), there are monsters lurking everywhere in the dark, ready to invade the home he shares with his exhausted, beleaguered mother Amelia (Essie Davis). One night, Samuel picks out The Babadook as his bedtime story – a pop-up book so sinister that no self-respecting parent would deem it suitable for their impressionable offspring. As Samuel becomes convinced that the Babadook is stalking himself and his mother, strange things start to happen in the house and Amelia begins to lose her grip on reality.
Like many classics of the horror genre (for example Don’t Look Now, The Omen and The Orphanage), The Babadook manages to be emotionally affecting and downright terrifying at the same time. Director Jennifer Kent’s film is a visually stunning story of fear and madness, that takes a simple premise and elevates it beyond scare tactics. Sudden edits and unusual framing take us inside Amelia’s muddled, exhausted mental state, creating a sense of unease and ambiguity – is The Babadook real or are we witnessing the breakdown of a single mother whose child is a constant memory of the tragic death of her husband?
Great consideration has also been taken in ensuring that Samuel is more than just a defenceless little boy. After a life lived in the shadow of his dead father, he has become withdrawn and unusual but also fiercely protective of his mother. While undeniably terrified of the monsters that infest his nightmares, he is resourceful enough to make home-made weapons. The design of The Babadook itself is just the right mixture of fairytale whimsy and supernatural menace – a dead ringer for that icon of horror cinema Dr. Caligari, its cloak and top hat hides its true form but not its skittering movements or rasping voice.
Despite its thoroughly modern visual flare, The Babadook feels like something of a throwback amidst the current horror trend for effective but forgettable fairground rides produced by the likes of James Wan. Kent builds the tension second by second to produce an intelligent, chilling experience that is perfectly complemented by its two leads. A Halloween treat.