If this year’s Oscar hopeful Wild offers a realistic take on the effects of personal tragedy and the difficulty in coping with the resulting revelation that life must in fact go on, Australian horror film The Babadook takes the same themes to terrifying new heights.
Essie Davis stars as Amelia, a single mother who – after her husband’s death – is faced with caring for her young son (Noah Wiseman) amid complaints from both family members and teachers that something is seriously wrong with her son. These mounting issues are only made worse when a disturbing children’s book about a sinister creature arrives on her doorstep. But is the Babadook real or just a figment of a traumatized child’s imagination?
That’s the question that drives much of director Jennifer Kent’s feature-length debut. The very best fantastical fiction (whether sci-fi, fantasy or horror) uses its more otherworldly plot devices as little more than extrapolations to investigate some fundamental truth about humanity or the world we inhabit. Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes nailed this concept perfectly and, thankfully, so does The Babadook.
Kent proves here that she just may be the next big thing in the world of horror, filling her film with a sense of foreboding and anxiety that puts the viewer in its protagonist’s shoes. Narratively and visually, The Babadook has enough flair to please a Chotchkie’s manager, featuring some of the best low-budget trickery since Wes Craven’s seminal 1984 classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. One especially mesmerizing effect even reminds viewers that sleep is the one respite where Amelia can escape the neverending deluge of stress and pain. In fact, the film has such style and its tale is told with such aplomb that Kent may very well be the next James Wan (Saw
Moreover, Davis delves deep into her character’s physical and mental suffering throughout the film. Her emotionally devastating performance anchors the film, more than illustrating the emotional core of what is largely a two-character piece. Wiseman is also impressive, especially considering the hit-or-miss nature of child actors, but Davis elevates The Babadook to an intimate story of parent and child. In the process, she proves herself to be the linchpin on which the entire production hinges.
Ultimately, the question of whether the Babadook is real or not is immaterial. A case could be made that the film’s title boogeyman is merely an excuse to explore how grief can manifest itself and wreak havoc on one’s family, if you simply give in. Without a doubt, The Babadook is harrowing in the best way, emphasizing genuine creep factor over needless buckets of blood, and through the clever conceit of a demented children’s story, it essentially deconstructs the dynamic of a family with an eloquence and sophistication that the Guillermo del Toro produced Mama
In a genre that is ripe for yet another reinvention, The Babadook brings a twinge of freshness, and perhaps more importantly, it offers substance to go along with all the jump scares and nightmarish imagery. Kent is certainly one to watch going forward; if The Babadook only serves as her entry into the world of horror, imagine what might be lurking right around the corner.