7/10

“You can’t hide from The Babadook”. “The Babadook” is the story of Amelia (Essie Davis) and the struggles to discipline her ‘out of control’ 6 year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds at times impossible to love. Samuel’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called ‘The Babadook’ turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son’s behaviour, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real. I recently red a lot of positive reviews about this Australian horror film from actress turned director, Jennifer Kent. It currently holds a 96% of Rotten Tomatoes, and as a horror film that is huge. After checking it out, i can say that the percentage rating might be slightly exaggerated, but “The Babadook” sets a prime example for where horror films in America fail. For starters, it uses genuine horror to intrigue it’s audience. The cheap scares and pop up gags are left at home in favor of an eerie setting and haunting visuals that will leave clutching for cover. At my age, it’s hard for anything to actually scare me, but this film certainly made the most of it’s cheap budget. Davis and Wiseman mostly dominate 90% of the film’s 89 minute run time, and it’s clearly deserved. They are two characters that we actually feel for and care about their well being. This is an art often lost in today’s world of horror. In Davis, we see a woman clutching and the end of her psychological rope not knowing how to help her child who is growing more and more out of control. She is clearly walking in unfamiliar territory with this monster invading her home, and the subtle progression of her slip into insanity is one of the most riveting things about the film. Wiseman can be a little annoying, but incredibly charming when he needs to be. Compared to other creepy children in these kinds of films, Wiseman stands out above the rest because he is tough enough to fight back, plus he has a great back story reminiscent of Haley Joel Osment in “The Sixth Sense”. The design of The Babadook is also pretty three dimensional with animation that plays to the dark coldness of the house. The monster is creepy without us ever getting a real good shot into his face. The film’s first act does go a little slow when setting up the start of the film, but i think it’s the second act that will really grab the viewer into seeing where this story goes. The two big problems i had with the film were that of the ending, and The Babadook’s back story. Of the ladder, we are really told nothing about the origins of this monster, and i wish we could’ve gotten a brief history lesson even if those seem cliche in all horror films today. With the ending, i just felt it was very anti-climatic with the build of a powerful performance from Davis. I expected more out of the battle, and it all ended before i even got to appreciate it. As endings go, this one is a little far fetched, but it’s not horrible. I do recommend it, as it’s currently playing on pay per view and DVD. It’s definitely worth a look to show the viewer how cheated we have been in horror films (especially in 2014). “The Babadook” gave me an appreciation again for my favorite genre of film. It showed me that real horror does still exist even if you have to travel across the world for it.