The Babadook
5 out of 5 Stars
Family Appropriateness rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Not Rated (but it would likely be R if it were)
-Sexual content involving autoerotic stimulation
-Some blood and gore, but it would not be classified as a
"gore fest"
-Some strong language: about two f-words
-Scary images
It tells the story of Amelia (Essie Davis), a struggling single mother of the troubled-child Samuel (Noah Davis). About seven years prior, she underwent a tragedy, and now she has to cope with it while raising her son.
Samuel has been scared of a monster in his room, and Amelia tries to reassure him it is not real. He does not believe her, and he makes it his goal to protect them from it. This causes a lot of stress on Amelia. He does not just act up at home, he causes problems at school and with other relatives.
When she tucks him into bed one night, she finds a book called "The Babadook" and reads it to him. It looks like it was written for children, but it has a frightening message about a monster that will come over and haunt you. Weird things start happening after she reads the book, and she wonders if maybe this "Babadook" is real.
This may sound like I spoiled too much, but trust me, I did not. "The Babadook" has a much deeper meaning to it, and I will not reveal what it is because I would like you to see it for yourself.
The reason I mention this is I saw reviews on YouTube for it, and they spoiled what the movie was trying to do. Coming into the movie, this gave me certain expectations.
Did this movie meet those expectations? It actually exceeded them. It is both terrifying and deep. Unlike most horror movies these days, it does not rely on jump scares. There is only one part that made me jump, and it is effective.
Spoilers: What this movie means
As mentioned earlier, Amelia underwent a tragedy seven years ago. On her way to the hospital where she would go into labor, she and her husband were in a car accident. Her husband died, but she still had her son that night.
Now, whenever she looks at him, he reminds her of the tragedy. Samuel has characteristics that are similar to his father, and this is torture on her. She has not been able to face what happened, and whenever someone mentions her husband, she tenses up.
Going into this film, the question on my mind was "Is the Babadook real?" The answer is yes: in more ways than you would think.
The Babadook is the tragedy. She fears it, and the movie brilliantly puts you in her situation by comparing it to a horrifying monster. Just because it is in her head, does not make it less real. Everything she has to face is terrifying.
The Babadook does not only haunt her. It first goes after Samuel. For him, it is different. He does not remember the tragedy, but he has to cope with not having a father and living with a woman who seems to blame him for it.
Not only is the Babadook real in the context of the movie. It is actually real. It can visit anyone. It is the demons we all have to face. For me, it is the fear that people do not like me because I am overweight. This came about when I was in elementary school, and other kids would make fun of me. Even at a point in my life when I was thinner, it still haunted me. Anytime I liked a girl, the Babadook held me back from having the confidence to take my relationship with her any further.
The film ends on an empowering note. Amelia looks at the Babadook and tells it she will not let the monster hurt her or her son any longer. This is her owning up to her fears and not letting them control her. After she does that, she is able to talk about her husband without any problems. The monster is still alive, but now, she can control it.
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