Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Babadook (2014)

This is topic The Babadook (2014) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 11-30-2014, 03:38 PM:

A lonely and distraught widow has her hands full with her young son, who is convinced that he has to save her from a lurking monster. At the IFC Center, New York City.

*****

This critically acclaimed Australian film is probably the first horror flick in forty years that can draw a legitimate comparison to The Exorcist, in fact, you may want to think of it as The Exorcist in reverse, this time with the mother fighting off demonic possession and the child trying to save her. Or maybe it’s not a demon, maybe she is subconsciously taking out her rage at her intractable son, or maybe someone is messing with her head, or maybe it’s the evil manifestation of her dead husband, or maybe it’s an actual creature, or maybe she is just losing her mind, or maybe the audience is. The director of the movie has cleverly filmed it in such a way you can’t really be sure what the issue is until the very end, and even at that point there is room for doubt. Featuring a great performance by actress Essie Davis as the mother, The Babadook is likely not for people who need their movie solutions tied up neatly with a bow. For everyone else, this is one of the best horror films in years, much more interesting than Sinister or The Conjuring. Good sound mix as well, really well placed sound effects when the creature (or whatever it is) comes a callin'.