The Babadook - Under your bed or in your head? (Spoilers)

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2017)

Jennifer Kent's, The Babadook (2014), manages to instill a level of horror and psychological terror in its audience that can rival any of the horror film greats while still maintaining its own unique identity and individual style. The Babadook does not rely on cheap jump scares and an onslaught of gore to scare its audience like many modern horror films have done. Rather, it calls upon its monster to provide commentary on mental illness and the psychological impact it can have on not only its sufferers but the people around them as well. Kent's monster on its own would be freaky to have in your house but on screen wouldn't do much to terrorize the majority of audiences, especially avid horror film fans. What makes this movie so terrifying however is what Kent uses her monster to represent. The allegory of the Babadook as Amelia's depression highlights the horror of mental illness. The personification of the disorder allows for it to be looked at in a new, terrifying light. Just like Amelia couldn't prevent the Babadook from entering her home and threatening both her and her son's sanity and safety, she can't prevent her depression from doing the same. From the first hint that the monster might be real, to her chilling confession of "I'm sick, Sam. I need help" it is clear that she is not in control of her own thoughts and actions. The monster has gained the upper hand and her depression has taken over her life. Seeing how much the presence of this monster can effect a person and how dangerous they can become because of it is what provides the psychological terror to this movie. A terror that is accentuated further with the chilling discovery at the end that even once to monster appears to have been defeated, it is still there, waiting under the surface, attempting to attack again, demonstrating that mental illness can never truly be defeated.