The Babadook

The Babadook (2014)

Directed by Jennifer Kent

95 minutes

 The Babadook is an Australian horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent. This is Kent’s first feature as a director.

The Babadook focuses on widower Amelia (Essie Davis), and her son Samuel (Noah Wiseman). Without a father figure Samuel’s has problems at school and believes in monsters. While Amelia fights patronising conversations of what it’s like to be a single mother. Amelia’s work friend Robbie (David Henshall), an ironically sexist character sees this as an opportunity to make his move. However he doesn’t get very far. Amelia prefers a dildo and memories of her late husband. Exploring Amelia’s sexual independency and her relationship with Samuel, you could say, makes up the emotional subtext of the film. The other part is horror. Upon request Amelia reads Samuel a children’s book and the fictional character the babadook, turns out to be an evil spirit. The babadook enters the home and embodies itself inside Amelia. Manipulating Amelia into thinking she has seen her husband and if she does what the babadook wants, he will return. It is Samuel who see’s truthfully and is able to castrate the spirit. The film ultimately test’s a mother and son’s trust and ability to work together.

Although Samuel is the real hero of the narrative and his character transgresses from having nightmares to behaving better in school. I really liked the fluidity of Amelia’s character, played convincingly by Davis.  Amelia is independent and at times matriarchal. I saw her as a combination of Regan (Linda Blair) in The Exorcist (Friedkin 1973) and Alex (Glen Close) in Fatal Attraction (Lyne 1987). In the obvious sense, she is demonic, has a similar exorcism and churns out body fluids. While she disrupts femininity by not being a nurturing mother and kills the pet dog is very Alex. Perhaps we are meant to look at Amelia like Alex’s character as a home wrecker. However Amelia’s appearance is still very feminine and bears a child, in this sense, Amelia isn’t as threatening as Alex’s masculine persona. I would like to use it as a statement of the film not going all the way. I did enjoy the emotional and feminine subtext, but in comparison to The Exorcist, The Babadook’s atmosphere suffers. It seemed there were wasted opportunities or times that could have relied on our imagination. The film’s setting of a two story house implied a paranormal atmosphere but never felt threatened or scary. Seeing the babadook visually was clumsy and looked like OTT character from The Mighty Boosch. These moments worked against the narrative and perhaps would have been metaphorically stronger and complimented the film if tensions were built in a different sense and not relied on through horror.

Whatever tensions you may seek after, they are here. If you enjoy substance and character development and not too fussed about horror aesthetics, then there’s enough potential in The Babadook.  But if you’re looking for atmosphere, then it is a shame to see opportunities like this go awry.