Essie Davis

Noah Wiseman

Hayley McElhinney

Daniel Henshall

Barbara West

Ben Winspear

Cathy Adamek

Craig Behenna

Hachi

Tim Purcell

Chloe Hurn

Jacquy Phillips

Bridget Walters

Adam Morgan

Pippa Wanganeen

Peta Shannon

Michelle Nightingale

Tony Mack

Carmel Johnson

Michael Gilmour

Craig McArdle

Terence Crawford

Tiffany Lyndall-Knight

Lucy Hong

Sophie Riggs

John Maurice

Stephen Sheehan

Alicia Zorkovic

Lotte Crawford

Chris Roberts

Annie Batten

India Zorkovic

Isla Zorkovic

Charlie Crabtree

Ethan Grabis

Sophie Allan

Jennifer Kent

Kristian Moliere

Kristina Ceyton

Radek Ładczuk

Simon Njoo

Nikki Barrett

Jed Kurzel

John Haratzis

Taera Shroff

Michael Fairbairn

Heather Wallace

Des Kenneally

Marty Pepper

Louis Puli

Scott McDonald

Matt Nettheim

Chris Chamberlin

Reg Roordink

Karen Hannaford

Clint Dodd

Sean Lahiff

Jennifer Drake

Ross Perkin

Frank Lipson

Robertto Karas

Alex Holmes

Olivia Beardsley

Michael Philippou

Danny Philippou

Pete Best

Kim O'Mallon

James Boorman

Nima Nabili Rad

Marion Lee

Ben Walsh

Conor Reid

Scott Illingworth

Brad Lanyon

Adam Camporeale

Gerard Maher

Paul Spencer

Wesley Champion

Michael Cusack

Tracy Phillpot

Dimitri Ellerington

Zac Murphy

Justin Dix

Natalie Wall

Aimée-Lee Curran

Chris Davies

Vicki Nhieu

Richard Chataway

Kasra Rassoulzadegan

Mike Smith

Sue Carroll

Maxx Corkindale

Jordan Agutter

Dimitri Zaunders

Judi Oehme

Gemma Salomon

Frank Hruby

Kelly Rivett

Tara Webb

Mark Kraus

Andrew McGrath

Marco Arlotta

Pete Smith

John Simpson

Julie Byrne

John Ward

Drama

Horror

The Babadook

Screen Australia

Smoking Gun Productions

Causeway Films

South Australian Film Corporation

Entertainment One

Australia

Canada

Ba Ba-Ba Dook! Dook! Dook!

The Babadook is written and directed by Jennifer Kent. It stars Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall and Hayley McElhinney. Music is by Jed Kurzel and cinematography by Radek Ladczuk.

Amelia is a single mother still haunted by the violent death of her husband, she is trying to deal with her young son Samuel's fear of a monster in the house. Initially tolerating it as a flight of fancy, the arrival of a book in the youngster's bedroom called Mr. Babadook, signals the start of a sinister presence that she herself can begin to fear as well.

Australia has been producing some great horror films in the last couple of decades, The Babadook is one of the best of the bunch. Jennifer Kent made it as a 10 minute short back in 2005 called Monster, itself a super piece of horror film making, now in full feature length form (Kent’s first), the vision and intelligence explodes off the screen in every frame.

The premise at the core is not exactly fresh, but Kent manages to make The Babadook its own entity, skilfully steering away from formula jolts and terrors. Which in this day and age of horror retreads, sequel frenzies and blood for blood’s sake, is most refreshing. This is a big character piece, a two hander of incredible emotional power, a mother and son dealing with their own demons before the eponymous Babadook enters the fray. We care about this pair of troubled souls, so much so that as we start to feel the dread, get the tingles down the spine, our hearts are also aching for them. The two performances of the actors quite simply magnificent.

Mr. Babadook is a pop-up picture book that suddenly arrives into their lives. The creature  is a sort of cross between a German expressionistic nightmare and Jack the Ripper. The book itself is creepy enough in its own right, more so as it starts to take on a more terrifying tone – and Amelia proves unsuccessful at getting rid of the thing – the picture starts playing its ace psychological cards. The monster is kept mostly to the edges of the frames, or just popping up for a quick glance in unexpected places, this is a great move and suits the narrative perfectly.

The tech credits are top notch. A key aspect to getting the most out of The Babadook is to make sure the sound is loud, for the sound mix is tremendous and can bring pounds of gooseflesh rising up on your arms. Ladczuk’s photography is at one with the themes pulsing away in the story, the colours paled and cheerless, enhancing the fractured psyches of mother and son, but Mr. Babadook is a jet black presence in this landscape. All told the art design from the book to the house and the creature is excellent.

Umbrella’s Australian All Region Blu-ray Release has a super transfer and does justice to the sound mix. There’s over an hour of interviews, which are a mixed bag of informative chat and back slapping, a 12 minute behind the scenes making of and some trailers. The bonus is the 10 minute short, Monster, The Babadook in its infancy but no less scary for it.

The Babadook is a superlative horror film for adults, like when Polanski met Kubrick and they decided to pay homage to Fritz Lang and George Melies. Yes it’s that good. 10/10

Gimly

The best pure-horror of the year. But that's not saying much.

Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.

<em>'The Babadook'</em> is a well done horror film, one that is most definitely creepy.

I would've liked more from the monster and how it works, though the film does give you enough and certainly does a fine job at building up the atmosphere of uneasiness that the thing produces. One great part I noticed is the sound editing, which is astutely crafted throughout.

Essie Davis does terrific in the role of Amelia, she shows every emotion that her character is feeling nicely - I felt her pain initially with the kid, too. Noah Wiseman plays her son, Samuel. He is actually quite impressive given his age, there are a few scenes where he adds a fair deal to them.

It's hearty, suspenseful and attempts proper horror as opposed to forcing things like jump scares, which I will always praise a production in this genre for. I wanted a little more, but overall I like this.

The Babadook is one of those elusive horror films, that's open to broad interpretation. 

My personal feeling have watched the whole film in the context of the single mothers predicament, is the real monster is the spectre of domestic abuse. Abuse that happens when a fundamentally decent person, is pushed too far by life and circumstance. 

I will warn you, this film is most definitely not for everyone. If, like me, you don't like films, that emulate the abuse of animals, you might want to give this one a hard pass.

That said, there is a lot to like in The Babadook. Its a grimly realistic insight into how life's tragedies can compound and grow, beyond the first tragic event. 

Acting too, as is so, so often the case with Australian films, is of a very high standard. Its easy to be drawn into the unfolding, sad tale of a struggling mother, who suddenly finds herself single, sad and alone, with a young son to support. 

In summary, quite brilliant, in a dark, at times sad and depressing way. By no means an easy watch but certainly a haunting one, that will remain with you, long after the closing credits.