Know this upfront, this won’t be amongst the reviews that propelled “The Babadook” to its 97% rating with Rotten Tomatoes (as of this writing). Nor will it be in agreement with the raves from the Sundance Film Festival and New Directors/New Voices film series. Although there are many things to like about this creepy mood piece, there are equally as many question marks and frustrations as the film unspools.
Written and director by Australian newcomer Jennifer Kent, “The Babadook” focuses on the intense mother and son relationship that is riddled by the anxiety-ridden claims from young Samuel (a shrill and persuasive Noah Wiseman) that a bogeyman monster is hiding within the house. The mother, Amelia (Essie Davis), is sleep deprived and on edge herself as night after night she tries to convince an uncontrollable Samuel there’s nothing sinister lurking in the shadows.
But when Samuel brings a bedtime book to read one night called “Mister Babadook,” Amelia begins to wonder if what’s playing out in the book might indeed be real. Or has everyone’s imagination gone awry?
With a slight nod towards Roman Polanski’s “The Tenant,” Kent attempts to make the case for a study in madness. But unfortunately what happens, as with many horror films, is the final climatic act is full of frustrations. Audience members may have more of a feeling of “Wait, what?!” followed by “what exactly is the filmmaker trying to say?”
Still, tech credits are fine, including the moody, dreamlike cinematography. But what might be the real star of the film as well as elicits the most chills is the Babadook pop-up book itself. Illustrator Alex Juhasz’s German expressionist drawings of the Babadook are indeed frightening. In fact, Kent and Juhasz are launching a campaign to publish the standalone, pop-up book for fans.
No matter if you’re taken in by “The Babadook” or not, one thing to note is that filmmaker Jennifer Kent is one to watch.
Written and director by Australian newcomer Jennifer Kent, “The Babadook” focuses on the intense mother and son relationship that is riddled by the anxiety-ridden claims from young Samuel (a shrill and persuasive Noah Wiseman) that a bogeyman monster is hiding within the house. The mother, Amelia (Essie Davis), is sleep deprived and on edge herself as night after night she tries to convince an uncontrollable Samuel there’s nothing sinister lurking in the shadows.
But when Samuel brings a bedtime book to read one night called “Mister Babadook,” Amelia begins to wonder if what’s playing out in the book might indeed be real. Or has everyone’s imagination gone awry?
With a slight nod towards Roman Polanski’s “The Tenant,” Kent attempts to make the case for a study in madness. But unfortunately what happens, as with many horror films, is the final climatic act is full of frustrations. Audience members may have more of a feeling of “Wait, what?!” followed by “what exactly is the filmmaker trying to say?”
Still, tech credits are fine, including the moody, dreamlike cinematography. But what might be the real star of the film as well as elicits the most chills is the Babadook pop-up book itself. Illustrator Alex Juhasz’s German expressionist drawings of the Babadook are indeed frightening. In fact, Kent and Juhasz are launching a campaign to publish the standalone, pop-up book for fans.
No matter if you’re taken in by “The Babadook” or not, one thing to note is that filmmaker Jennifer Kent is one to watch.
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