The Babadook Review
Hey there, I'm Ross and this is my first ever movie review. Well that's not technically true as I tried to review Riddick for a radio show but I couldn't finish it as there was just way too much wrong with that movie.
Anyway I thought I'd start reviewing after watching this particular film last night. I was inspired to do so after hearing some mixed reviews about it. All major critics seem to call it a horror masterpiece, whereas as friends and family have told me that it's awful and boring. I'm hear to give my side of argument.
I call this blog Casual Movie Reviews because I'm not like other critics, I don't go out of my way to slam films, I go to enjoy them. It's hard for me to find a movie bad unless it has really pissed me off (looking at you Terminator Genisys) and I think I could give a review that represents people who aren't paid to critique films for a living and just give the view of an average movie-goer.
So with all that said, let's go on to reviewing The Babadook.
In brief, The Babadook is about a single mother, raising her somewhat abnormal son, whilst also dealing with the death of her husband, who happened to die right as she was about to give birth to her son, Sam. This is told right at the start of the film which I love as it immediately gives you a reason to sympathise with the characters so that you care about them, which is much better than the cannon fodder for the monsters we're usually given in horror movies.
Anyway, Sam has trouble sleeping at night due to the fear on monsters in his room and has to sleep next to this mother every night. On one night, he picks out a book called Mister Babadook, which just happens to be filled with frightening imagery and makes the problem even worse. Sam is acting worse than before and it's driving his mother to her wits end and I won't say too much more about the plot.
I have to say that Essie Davis (who plays the mother, Amelia) was just fantastic in this. She starts off as a quiet woman who keeps to herself and never raises her voice, going to almost psychopathic levels with the suffering she has to endure. It did remind me a lot of Jack Nicholson in The Shining, except Jack looks crazy all the time so he doesn't really have to work at it. You go from rooting for her to nearly rooting against her later on in the movie and the way she gradually goes insane is just so well done.
I also loved the design of the house as it was Tim Burton-likewith many grey and black walls and doors as it added to the horror of The Babadook.
The Babadook itself is a terrifying figure, and I think that's mainly because you barely see it. You do get certain flashes of it and it's those little pieces that stick in your mind more once the movie is over as you're trying to re-imagine what this horrible thing looked like.
The music and the sound was masterful, especially in one scene where the monster appears, and all it does is move it's hands slightly with the music violently picking up and it just does so much to frighten the life out of you.
This film does remind me of another couple of horror films that had the same idea. I'm not saying Babadook copied them, if anything it did everything better. The first one is a recent horror called Oculus which is about two siblings trying to destroy an evil mirror that killed their parents. Sounds silly I know, but it's actually a very clever film. The hook in this film is that the younger brother has been in therapy, whilst the older sister has been living a normal life. The brother doesn't think it's the mirror's fault due to his therapy sessions and the sister still believes it was the mirror that killed her folks. It's a fantastic premise that blurs the line between fantasy and reality, and you're constantly trying to guess which side is right. Is the sister crazy or is the mirror actually evil? It does kind of ruin it with it's ending but I won't spoil it.
The other film it reminds me of is the first Paranormal Activity, and I mean before any sequels which ruined the idea came out. I still consider the first one to be a masterpiece of horror due to it's lack of jumpscares, gore and CGI, and yet it still manages to scare the shit out of you. Anyway when there was only one of these movies, there was another way to take this film. It was a metaphor for a crumbling relationship. At the start of the film you see them getting along just fine, just an ordinary couple enjoying their life, and as the film goes on you can see their relationship deteriorating as the demon starts to torture them. The way it's done is brilliant and it all builds to this violent end.
Both of these movies are a lot like the Babadook as there's a blurred line of reality of what's real and what isn't, and the Babadook is definitely representing the feelings of grief and depression. Is this monster real or is the mother just going crazy due to the death of her husband and her out of control child? I'll let you decide for yourself.
I realise I haven't said too much about the horror in what is admittedly a horror film. Well this film doesn't need any cheap jumpscares (Annabelle and so many others) to scare you. It just needs a tense atmosphere in the one safe place in your house: the bedroom. There are so many great scary scenes in this film, with one in particular standing out. It starts off with Amelia trying to sleep with Sam next to her. She hears a faint dragging sound outside the door, and it starts to slowly open. Out of the corner of her eye something creeps in. I won't ruin the rest of the scene, but I will say that after you've seen it, you won't be able to look at your ceiling while you're sleeping again.
Overall a fantastic piece of cinema that has just everything I love in a movie; scary scenes, great characters, the story representing a particular topic, and something so important in today's film industry: an original idea. This is a horror movie totally worth going out of your way to watch and it's easily one of the best scary movies of the last fifteen years. A masterpiece that deserves more views and recognition, and should become a classic in the next couple of years.
Five out of Five from me.
