Despite the horror genre being wildly under appreciated in film, every few years we are blessed with a new classic. Well, Jennifer Kent’s new film, The Babadook, is that classic. What makes this film great, like any other great horror film, is that the plot is driven by more than just an unstoppable force coming to kill everyone. There is an actual story to The Babadook, a story that most people can find a way to relate to, and by doing so, scare the shit out of themselves even more.
Now, I don’t want to sound as if I have anything against cheesy, campy, scary movies. I don’t. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite things to do is watch a near cringe-worthy horror film where the cast inevitably makes just about every conceivable mistake — which in turn leads to me yelling advice to the screen, followed by a personal feeling of superiority and an earnest belief that had I been in their situation, I not only would have survived but thrived, eventually going on to talk shows to recount the harrowing tale to all who are watching…. Okay, I’m rambling.
The film follows a single mother and her son as they cope with tragedy, life, and the insincere people around them. The movie’s pacing is brilliant and adds to the films ominousness. From the start, you feel for the film’s stars and know it is not going to be getting any better for them. For the first half of the film, you watch as this tragic mother does everything she can to not succumb to the pressures of her life. She is alone, with no real friends or family outside of her young son. He has no friends and spends his time building weapons. He’s weird, his mom knows he’s weird, and you can see it is starting to terrify her. This relationship is so perfectly portrayed by the films stars (Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman) that you can feel their strange hopelessness in your bones as you watch. Slowly, the film makes you forget it’s a horror film. You just want to help this mother and son, and as you rack your brain for a solution to their ills, you remember that at some point something called a fucking “Babadook” is going to show up. You hope that it is an Australian slang for rich and loving step-father, but you know that’s a pipe dream.
I am not going to give the film away. It’s too good not to go and see for yourself. All I can say is that the movie beautiful, tragic, and weird. The Babadook is not just a jump out from a corner and scare you film (though it has that) — it is a film that shows you how much life can just kinda suck sometimes. But despite how much your life might blow, you don’t have a Babadook in your life, so chin up. Seriously.
Review by Timothy White. You can follow him on Twitter @TipToTheHip.
