THE BABADOOK
[Film stats: Earned $964413 domestically. Got 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and 72% on Flixster.]
Hello, all!
Since we’re sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter, I thought I’d go with a film as scary and unsettling as this day must have been for the early Christian folk those many, many moons ago: THE BABADOOK.
I recommended this film back when I first decided to start writing up these self-indulgent movie “series” a few Halloweens ago, and it’s still absolutely worth a look. William Friedkin said, “I’ve never seen a more terrifying film than THE BABADOOK. It will scare the hell out of you as it did me.” When the director of THE EXORCIST says something like that about a film, it warrants a look.
The plot, per the IMDB, is: “A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled ‘Mister Babadook’ manifests in their home.”
Psychological horror films aren’t new, of course, and there have been some good ones ever since films like PSYCHO and HUSH… HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE were gracing the silver screen. It could even be one of the easier types of horror to write, at least insofar as the screenwriter and/or director are disciplined enough not to show the monster or bad guy, instead letting the viewer’s brain do the work. THE BABADOOK does this expertly, barely developing the titular baddie into anything beyond an idea.
In case you want to check out a trailer for the film, I’ve embedded one below:
Poop, meet pants.
This is simply a superb effort from the first-time director Jennifer Kent, who also wrote the film. The roles aren’t cardboard cutouts, with child actor Noah Wiseman happily being more than just a placeholder to advance the plot. It’s such a great concept, and so well realized, that it’s almost a shame that the director refuses to follow it up with another effort within the universe she created. But then, this film succeeds in part because it doesn’t answer all the questions it raises. It’s just a dynamite film that will probably manage to make its way into your dreams for at least a few nights after you watch it.
Enjoy!
P.S. For those of you who give this one a shot and enjoy it, you may also want to check out HEREDITARY.
[Film stats: Earned $964413 domestically. Got 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and 72% on Flixster.]
Hello, all!
Since we’re sandwiched between Good Friday and Easter, I thought I’d go with a film as scary and unsettling as this day must have been for the early Christian folk those many, many moons ago: THE BABADOOK.
I recommended this film back when I first decided to start writing up these self-indulgent movie “series” a few Halloweens ago, and it’s still absolutely worth a look. William Friedkin said, “I’ve never seen a more terrifying film than THE BABADOOK. It will scare the hell out of you as it did me.” When the director of THE EXORCIST says something like that about a film, it warrants a look.
The plot, per the IMDB, is: “A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled ‘Mister Babadook’ manifests in their home.”
Psychological horror films aren’t new, of course, and there have been some good ones ever since films like PSYCHO and HUSH… HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE were gracing the silver screen. It could even be one of the easier types of horror to write, at least insofar as the screenwriter and/or director are disciplined enough not to show the monster or bad guy, instead letting the viewer’s brain do the work. THE BABADOOK does this expertly, barely developing the titular baddie into anything beyond an idea.
In case you want to check out a trailer for the film, I’ve embedded one below:
Poop, meet pants.
This is simply a superb effort from the first-time director Jennifer Kent, who also wrote the film. The roles aren’t cardboard cutouts, with child actor Noah Wiseman happily being more than just a placeholder to advance the plot. It’s such a great concept, and so well realized, that it’s almost a shame that the director refuses to follow it up with another effort within the universe she created. But then, this film succeeds in part because it doesn’t answer all the questions it raises. It’s just a dynamite film that will probably manage to make its way into your dreams for at least a few nights after you watch it.
Enjoy!
P.S. For those of you who give this one a shot and enjoy it, you may also want to check out HEREDITARY.
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