Review #823: 'The Babadook' (2014)

Ever watched Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999) and found yourself wanting to slap little Jake Lloyd, rather than the much-despised Jar Jar Binks? Can't stand Jonathan Lipnicki's sentiment-cloying turn in Jerry Maguire (1996)? Ever wished Jonathan Ke Quan's Short Round had met his doom in the eponymous Temple of Doom (1984)? Well, prepare yourself for Noah Wiseman in The Babadook, the most eye-gougingly annoying little shit ever to step in front of a camera. Only, he's meant to be, and Wiseman is astonishingly good as young Samuel, every parent's worst nightmare who sees a monster no-one else does.

His mother Amelia (Essie Davis), an orderly living with the memory of her lover's death on the day of Samuel's birth, is at her wit's end. Samuel's teachers have given up on him, her sister doesn't want her child anywhere near him, he fashions weapons meant for serious harm, and his behaviour is only getting more unpredictable. She pulls him out of school and takes some time off work to help deal with the problem. One day, Samuel gives his mother a pop-up he finds on his shelf - a terrifying, black and white tale of a monster named The Babadook, who enters your home and eventually your body, manipulating you and driving you mad.

Soon enough, strange things start to happen around the house, as the outside world becomes increasingly distant in Amelia's troubled mind. She finds glass in her food, doors open and close on their own, and social services are coming round looking suspicious. Samuel promises to protect his mother with his various traps and devices, but his erratic behaviour subsides, and Amelia starts to see the monster for herself. The Babadook is a manipulative, jet-black creature, crawling along walls and ceilings. But is the monster real or is it a result of Amelia's deteriorating mental state and increasing frustration with her child?

For a debut full feature, The Babadook is very impressive. Director Jennifer Kent directs with a natural flair and a definite knowledge of horror tropes. The film often resembles Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965), with the house becoming a metaphor for Amelia's psychological prison, and there are plenty of scares that don't rely on a loud noise to make the audience jump out of their seat (or skin). However, it does outstay it's welcome, taking a steady course from psychological study to full-blown horror, even though the whole thing is much more interesting in the build-up. The CGI monster is also an ill-fitting distraction from the realism of the drama. But, Davis is very good and Wiseman is probably better, and there is still plenty here to suggest that this is a director to keep an eye on.


Directed by: Jennifer Kent
Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall
Country: Australia

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie