The Babadook Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: After reading a mysterious children's book, a mother and her son are tormented by the Babadook!

Review: I waited so long to give this film a glance,
               hoping it would live up to the hype perchance.
               When I finally gave the film a thorough look,
               I found only disappointment from the Babadook!
                                                                           -famous poet

Okay, in fairness, this was actually a pretty damn good film, but it went in the direction I feared most. BIG SPOILER--there is no Babadook, and it's all in the mom's head. Arrrggghhhh! Fuck. The moment I saw the trailer I suspected as much, but it seemed too obvious. I figured that must be the red herring; instead the Babadook himself is the red herring. Maybe my expectations were too high since this was the movie I was most looking forward to all year. Oh well. Let's take a look at what they did right and where things went wrong (for me).

The story is most certainly original even if aspects do feel cliched. The idea of the boogeyman coming to life is not new, but the notion of the Babadook, specifically, was clever and refreshing. In fact, the little tale of the Babadook is, perhaps, the best part to the film as a whole. I liked the design of the Babadook as well; he's a mixture of the mythological "man in black" and a whimsical fantasy you'd imagine from a child. He can be scary naturally, but I think his voice was the creepiest part to him. Enhancing the scares are the foreboding nature to the scenes along with the ever increasing tension. You could tell the director was a fan of classic horror films and paid tribute to their style; the respect to conventional effects was also greatly appreciated. The mystery regarding the Babadook book, what it wants, how to stop it, etc. keep the audience invested in the situation and engaged; the steady pacing helps in this regard too. The main characters, Amelia and Samuel, are well acted as the story is almost exclusively centered around their relationship as mother and son. I was actually moved a few times by their relationship especially at the end. Plus, Samuel trying to fight the Babadook with "Home Alone" inspired tactics was amusing in the best of ways.

On the other hand, the film commits a lot of blunders. Firstly, we see the Babadook in all his glory far, far too early in the film. This aspect takes away from a lot of the scares that could have been awesome toward the middle and end of the film. While the acting is fine from Samuel, his character can be excessively annoying. I get that they wanted to portray Amelia's perspective of this annoyance, but, really, come on, man. At times this kid was rivaling Jar Jar, and I've never heard of a kid that annoying. I know you don't need kills to make a horror film, but, seriously, only the dog dies? The ending is a huge letdown in general, but, beyond the twist, I'm talking about the very notion of looking under the Babadook's coat. What, he was nothing but Pennywise's deadlights under there?!

Of course, the biggest problem, as I've already stated, is that the Babadook is in Amelia's head. Besides being cornball as fuck, it's predictable as hell. If you couldn't figure out Amelia wrote the Babadook book herself (both times) you are either blind or need to watch a movie without a crowd. I mean, they mention she was a writer of children's books, her hand is stained with the paint, and how else could it have ended up in Samuel's book collection? I understand that there is a debate regarding the realness of the Babadook, but the creature is an embodiment of Amelia's depression after her husband died--plain and simple. We even see that the clothes of the Babadook are the same shown hanging in the basement where all the father's personal items are kept. If you pay careful attention to the Babadook book, it subtly addresses what will happen if you let the depression get to you; we can imagine Amelia thinking these exact thoughts whenever she originally wrote the Babadook. The movie isn't clear regarding when she did this, or why she would forget, but all the possession shit is imagined. Samuel only sees the delusions, because he's already scared of monsters and is probably neglected. In essence, this is a straight up psychological horror that hides behind a creature feature. I wouldn't have been so bothered by this revelation if I didn't see it coming a mile away; therefore, I can acknowledge others enjoying this revelation more than I. As it stands, this was my biggest disappointment toward the film. Also, you know this is a lame plot twist when half the reviews are pretentious as fuck with the whole "you don't get it" line. Right.

Bottom line...the film succeeds in virtually all technical aspects. The story is imaginative, compelling, and presented interestingly. I would go as far as to say the film probably deserved an 8/10 had it followed through with a different ending. However, the ending is predictable and disappointing to the degree that it negates a lot of the other positives. Establishing an awesome setup only to pull out the rug from under the audience is hard to accept; it feels cheap that everything we've seen was simply imagined. I'm pleased with the final product, but I can't let go of the potential I believed it had. If one understands many of these facets ahead of time, I think there will be less polarizing reactions to the movie. "The Babadook" is a cool film hindered by an ending that will either make or break it for the viewer so keep that in mind when attempting a view.

Notable Moment: When Amelia and Samuel first read the Babadook book. I was probably more scared by that book than the film itself since it's a genuinely creepy concept.

Final Rating: 6.5/10