This is the most refreshing awesome classic horror that I've seen ever

Rating: 9/10 (20 July 2015)

I will get to the slight problems I have with the movie in a second, but firstly, I've got to seriously praise this film. One of the things I really really love about this film is it does not have the incredibly stupid jump scare thing that almost all horror films have. Now that alone doesn't make a horror good. So, how did the film handle the alternative to jump scares? Absolutely amazingly. The tension was built so freaken well. We didn't get jump scares. We got a whole lot better. Whenever the Babadook appeared, we saw him in his completeness and saw him approach steadily, with every increasing intensity coupled with great sound effects (I will address the voice in a sec) and truly great acting from Essie Davis and an awesome child performance from Noah Wiseman. Seriously, the great child acting really stood out for me. Now, to get into the details, let's talk about the plot. While you can predict that the end will be that the monster will be cleared up or dead or whatever (I won't spoil what actually happens), the story really isn't about that. The monster, and how the characters develop over the story (and seriously, TALK ABOUT THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT) all come together to produce this great metaphor for depression and great study into how human behavior in cases of extreme stress and tight circumstances. And while the overall plot is 'predictable', the specific scenes are not, and all of them are set up with great tension and buildup and terror, with many moments legit taking you off guard. There are many great scenes that are stuck in my mind and to me make movie history (like the scenes with the reading of the book, the scenes when a certain character gets crazy; I won't mention more cuz you should see for yourself), and all of this makes for a great story. Now, I also mentioned the characters and performances, and boy do these aspects shine in this film. The kid is actually, while incredibly annoying at times (though, to the discerning viewer, understably so), pretty cool with how he protects himself and his mother and how he is actually a good kid and a lot deeper than the viewer might initially think. In fact, by the end of the film, you go through a steady and complete 180 on the kid, and I always love that, because it reveals that humans are a lot more complex that we give them credit for. And the mother as well, how she deals with stress and depression, how she is gradually spiraling downwards and gets more and more desperate is so well written, so well directed, I can't praise this enough. They felt real, and are leaps beyond so many of these stupid horror movie characters that the mainstream audience has gotten used to. There are no moments where you think "Why the hell is that character doing that? Why are they so stupid?" No! None of that, and that is so dang refreshing. I loved it. And is this movie scary? Hell yes. For three days afterward, I kept imagining the Babadook in my closet, or on the walls, or in the darkness where I couldn't see, which is crazy cuz all we ever see is his outline! (And just on a tangent, I love the name Babadook. It is kind of catchy and iconic and really added to the character for me :).) And while the Babadook himself is really creepy due to his creepy smile and very large brooding figure, the reason the film is scary is the great cinematography (I mean wow, I always have my gripes of how something is shot in a film, but with this, almost none) and great sound effects and audio. I've mentioned, but I defiantly mention it again. THERE ARE NO STUPID JUMP SCARES! THIS IS ACTUALLY LEGITIMATELY WELL DIRECTED! WOO!! Now, to the issues. While I loved the fact that this film completely avoided a lot of clichÃ©s, it went a little bit too far at the end in not completely showing the Babadook. I felt like while the final scenes were powerful, it would've been even better if we actually saw the Babadook and him really physically harming the characters and them being in even more peril that what they already were. Also, there are a few characters that don't really fit too well in this world that is set up. For instance, there is the friend of the mother. Now, it is actually pretty realistic that she would venture into resent of the mother with how long she has been depressed and aloof, and especially how she would resent her child, there are times when she went a bit overboard, and it kind of felt like it wasn't really her but just how the rest of the scene was. What I mean is, while everything that happens with the kid and the scene is intense, some parts of the scene are a bit exaggerated so they meet with this intensity and at times, this is over the top. There is also the kind of clichÃ© of how the police officers won't help her, even though, at the very least, they would superficially investigate the case to satisfy such a desperate woman. However, the good far far outweighs the bad and the good is further boosted by this film being soooo refreshing from all the horror we've seen lately that I can't help but give this film a near perfect score. The score is 4.5/5, but really, it is more a 4.9/5, and this is one of my favorite horror films.