The Babadook Movie Information

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Movie Information

Overall Rank: 1390

Average Rating: 3/4

# of Ratings: 90

Theatrical Release Date: 01/17/2014

Blu-ray/DVD Release Date: 10/22/2024

Language: English

Genre: Drama, Horror

MPAA Rating: NR

Director: Jennifer Kent

Actors: Essie Davis, Daniel Henshall, Tim Purcell, Noah Wiseman, Benjamin Winspear, Craig Behenna

Plot: A woman loses her husband in a car crash on the way to giving birth to her
child, Samuel. Coping with life as a single mother, she watches as Samuel
grows, and as he begins to see monsters everywhere, with often violent
reactions. One particular book, The Babadook, talks of a monster hiding in
the dark places in houses - it affects not only Samuel, but her as well. -- Chris Kavan

Andulamb - wrote on 10/02/2020

The Shining+ Home Alone+ Gulliver's Travels. Bits and pieces of other movies, The Babadook doesn't make the effort to seek the full potential of any scene. Take the scene in which the boy ties up his mother in the basement. She comes to, she's tied up, she shakes herself free. Why not let that scene play out further? Take the scene in the tree house. The girl is mean, the boy pushes her out, end of scene. So much more could have been done with both scenes, and with many scenes. The movie flits from idea to idea too quickly. As do most movies these days, frankly.

Logan D. McCoy - wrote on 07/02/2019

There's not a single horror film like it. It packs scares while also having a thoughtful message.

Amy - wrote on 08/05/2015

Some creepy moments, but overall the story was more depressing than scary. The book is great, though.

Camper
Producer

A Monster You Can't Get Rid Of

Camper - wrote on 05/18/2015

So, this movie is pretty damn creepy but it couldn't really scare me, at least not in the ways that I was expecting it to. I think it had a lot to do with the fact that the nightmare in The Babadook is a very personal one. Basically, because the main character never discusses her husband's death, all of her pent up thoughts and feelings sort of manifested into this monster called the babadook- a monster that she can't get rid of. Even at the movie's end she doesn't get rid of it, she simply learns to live with it in the same way that she has to learn to live with her husband's death in a healthier way instead of just pushing everything back. I thought it was a very interesting horror movie- and one with a genuinely satisfying ending, which isn't something that happens a lot in this …

ikkegoemikke
Movie God

An excellent and breathtaking psycho-horror

ikkegoemikke - wrote on 02/16/2015

"If it’s in a word, or it’s in a look
You can’t get rid of the Babadook.”

For a horror to be successful, there are several opportunities for hands. Either you use gore elements in such a way that blood, guts and all sorts of other slimy ingredients start dripping, slipping and flowing from the screen. Either an old known creepy veteran (vampire, werewolf or serial killer) shows up and during nocturnal activities scares the shit out of people. Or you use a busload of "from the underworld" derived demons, who take control of a weak person or some ramshackle building and should be exorcised by applying religious rituals what leads to objects flying around and an in foreign language speaking monstrous-looking possessed person. "The Babadook" has none of this. This subtle …

Yojimbo
Movie God

"The Babadook" by Yojimbo

Yojimbo - wrote on 01/05/2015

An exhausted single mother struggling with a young son with behavioural problems is stalked by a supernatural creature featured in a children's book called "The Babadook". Mark Kermode's choice for best movie of 2014 is a psychological horror story using the format of a chiller to explore the taboo subject of the darker side of motherhood. Taking stylistic cues from J Horror and The Grudge in particular, the story is a harrowing tale of a mother, convincingly played by Essie Davis, who can't cope with her own child and falls into anxiety and depression, eventually fearing for her sanity. First time writer/director Jennifer Kent has created a film that is atmospherically shot and has a real feel for tension making for a genuinely chilling and thought provoking story. I suspect its impact …