The Babadook
2.5/4
Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman
Not Rated (probable R for Terror/Violence)
Critics like the late great Roger Ebert and James Berardinelli have a love/hate relationship with the star rating system. On the one hand, it gives a short, definitive opinion about a movie. On the other hand, it completely removes any context from said descriptor. As Berardinelli once pointed it out, not all movies with a 4/4 are alike. I gave both "Tommy Boy" and "Saving Private Ryan" a 4/4 rating, and have no regrets about either. But if there are any similarities between the two movies, I missed them. The former is a hilarious and heartfelt buddy comedy. The latter is as violent and devastating war movie as I've ever seen. Hence the frustration.
Which brings us to "The Babadook." As is my rule, I have given it a numerical rating, however, having to do that really frustrates me. On the one hand, it is a frightening film, dripping with atmosphere and containing a few scenes that will scare the living hell out of everyone. Aussie actress does a terrific job of a grieving woman descending into madness. On the other hand, the story is half-baked. It's easy to see what writer/director Jennifer Kent is trying to do, but trying is different from succeeding. She damn near does too, but all the same.
If there is classic example of someone on the edge of a breakdown, it's Amelia (Davis). Her life is not a happy one. Her husband died in a car wreck taking her to the hospital to give birth, and the pain hasn't healed. Her son Samuel (Wiseman) has behavior problems so severe that he is constantly switching schools and has left her almost completely isolated. The only people who pay her a kind word are her elderly neighbor Mrs. Roach (Barbara West) and Robbie (Daniel Henshall), a co-worker who likes her. One day Samuel finds a mysterious book on his shelf called "The Babadook," which could be a bedtime story for Damien from "The Omen." Samuel soon becomes obsessed with the book's titular character and becomes convinced that it's real. Amelia knows it isn't, but The Babadook won't go away, and things soon become very, very scary.
Like more than a few psychological thrillers, such as "Jacob's Ladder," "The Babadook" is a journey into the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic. Or at least someone who has a monster harassing her to the point where she feels that way. However, unlike the 1990 thriller, director Jennifer Kent isn't content with illustrating the madness; she wants the audience to experience it. She succeeds. Imagine "Requiem for a Dream" as a ghost story and you'll have an idea of what the film is like.
For her leading lady, Kent chose Essie Davis, her friend from acting class (Kent started out as an actress, but grew bored and ventured into directing). It was the right choice. Davis isn't well known in the US, although she did have a supporting role in the surprisingly effective period piece drama "Girl with a Pearl Earring." As a woman on the verge of total collapse, Davis is effective. My heart went out to Amelia for having to journey through a cerebral hell, and a lot of that is because Davis doesn't get upstaged by the atmosphere or special effects. Her young co-star, Noah Wiseman, is just as good. Samuel is a disturbed little child, all the more so because Wiseman doesn't play him as such. The young actor plays the character absolutely straight; as a result, Samuel feels like an insane character who is unaware of his insanity. That makes him all the more frightening.
It's not a spoiler to say that the tension comes from having the book be a predictor for Amelia's reality. They mirror each other, much like in "Candyman." The problem is that the script is a bit of a mess. There's too much ambiguity, and while that's an asset in certain movies, a movie like "The Babadook" isn't one of them. One last run through the computer would have given it more focus and a bigger punch.
One thing the film does right is its special effects. The power of suggestion is paramount for a horror movie to work, and Kent knows this. This is a low-budget movie (about $2 million), and a lot of the money for the special effects was raised on Kickstarter. But Kent uses this to her advantage. She's exceedingly careful with how she uses shadow and camera placement. In so doing she can get away with using minimal special effects while still making her audience paralyzed with fear. The fear of the dark is frequently preyed upon in horror movies, but Kent attacks this with the skill of a master. I can think of two scenes that nearly had me screaming.
"The Babadook" is maddening, yes, but not exactly in the way that Kent intends. It achieves a visceral level of fear that few horror films achieve, but there was always a part of my mind that was trying to piece together the plot. I was both scared and confused, which is as surreal as it sounds. The question is whether it's worth seeing. To that, I'm screaming in frustration.
Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman
Not Rated (probable R for Terror/Violence)
Critics like the late great Roger Ebert and James Berardinelli have a love/hate relationship with the star rating system. On the one hand, it gives a short, definitive opinion about a movie. On the other hand, it completely removes any context from said descriptor. As Berardinelli once pointed it out, not all movies with a 4/4 are alike. I gave both "Tommy Boy" and "Saving Private Ryan" a 4/4 rating, and have no regrets about either. But if there are any similarities between the two movies, I missed them. The former is a hilarious and heartfelt buddy comedy. The latter is as violent and devastating war movie as I've ever seen. Hence the frustration.
Which brings us to "The Babadook." As is my rule, I have given it a numerical rating, however, having to do that really frustrates me. On the one hand, it is a frightening film, dripping with atmosphere and containing a few scenes that will scare the living hell out of everyone. Aussie actress does a terrific job of a grieving woman descending into madness. On the other hand, the story is half-baked. It's easy to see what writer/director Jennifer Kent is trying to do, but trying is different from succeeding. She damn near does too, but all the same.
If there is classic example of someone on the edge of a breakdown, it's Amelia (Davis). Her life is not a happy one. Her husband died in a car wreck taking her to the hospital to give birth, and the pain hasn't healed. Her son Samuel (Wiseman) has behavior problems so severe that he is constantly switching schools and has left her almost completely isolated. The only people who pay her a kind word are her elderly neighbor Mrs. Roach (Barbara West) and Robbie (Daniel Henshall), a co-worker who likes her. One day Samuel finds a mysterious book on his shelf called "The Babadook," which could be a bedtime story for Damien from "The Omen." Samuel soon becomes obsessed with the book's titular character and becomes convinced that it's real. Amelia knows it isn't, but The Babadook won't go away, and things soon become very, very scary.
Like more than a few psychological thrillers, such as "Jacob's Ladder," "The Babadook" is a journey into the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic. Or at least someone who has a monster harassing her to the point where she feels that way. However, unlike the 1990 thriller, director Jennifer Kent isn't content with illustrating the madness; she wants the audience to experience it. She succeeds. Imagine "Requiem for a Dream" as a ghost story and you'll have an idea of what the film is like.
For her leading lady, Kent chose Essie Davis, her friend from acting class (Kent started out as an actress, but grew bored and ventured into directing). It was the right choice. Davis isn't well known in the US, although she did have a supporting role in the surprisingly effective period piece drama "Girl with a Pearl Earring." As a woman on the verge of total collapse, Davis is effective. My heart went out to Amelia for having to journey through a cerebral hell, and a lot of that is because Davis doesn't get upstaged by the atmosphere or special effects. Her young co-star, Noah Wiseman, is just as good. Samuel is a disturbed little child, all the more so because Wiseman doesn't play him as such. The young actor plays the character absolutely straight; as a result, Samuel feels like an insane character who is unaware of his insanity. That makes him all the more frightening.
It's not a spoiler to say that the tension comes from having the book be a predictor for Amelia's reality. They mirror each other, much like in "Candyman." The problem is that the script is a bit of a mess. There's too much ambiguity, and while that's an asset in certain movies, a movie like "The Babadook" isn't one of them. One last run through the computer would have given it more focus and a bigger punch.
One thing the film does right is its special effects. The power of suggestion is paramount for a horror movie to work, and Kent knows this. This is a low-budget movie (about $2 million), and a lot of the money for the special effects was raised on Kickstarter. But Kent uses this to her advantage. She's exceedingly careful with how she uses shadow and camera placement. In so doing she can get away with using minimal special effects while still making her audience paralyzed with fear. The fear of the dark is frequently preyed upon in horror movies, but Kent attacks this with the skill of a master. I can think of two scenes that nearly had me screaming.
"The Babadook" is maddening, yes, but not exactly in the way that Kent intends. It achieves a visceral level of fear that few horror films achieve, but there was always a part of my mind that was trying to piece together the plot. I was both scared and confused, which is as surreal as it sounds. The question is whether it's worth seeing. To that, I'm screaming in frustration.
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