Great Allegory!!!

Rating: 10/10 (8 April 2019)

***SPOILER ALERT***
The Babadook, directed and written by Jennifer Kent, creatively uses the primitive foundation set by previous horror films that showcase our beloved monsters, such as Frankenstein and the Wolfman. As we learn more about main character Amelia, her son and the struggles they have overcome the last seven years with the loss of husband and father, we see that Kent gives this imaginative figure that haunts and lingers over their shoulders, the Babadook, a different face- mental illness. This film is very similar to Inside, directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, where again, a single mother finds herself depressed after the loss of her husband, and has to literally fight for her life against the monstrous feminine which was analogous of the inner demons of depression.
Amelia's character artfully evolves throughout the film, focusing on each stage of depression from denial to acceptance. She first denies the Babadook/ depression, but after she faces anger and bargaining, she soon accepts the Babadook/ depression, and is able to live with him in a coexisting matter. Using various angles, low key lighting and playing with darks and lights, Kent truly demonstrates the lingering depression and paranoia that mother, Amelia, has. As we see the Babadook doesn't only come at night, but haunts us all day, just as mental illness does. However, most of this film is shot at night, where Amelia and her son are home and most vulnerable in their everyday life. We often see Amelia watching television, with a close up of her face that is highly lit from the screen but swallowed by the darkness around her. Kent also uses camera angles that portray Amelia as cornered or trapped by the Babadook/ mental illness, by providing shots of her from above in bed alone, where again she is highly vulnerable.
This film also plays with sound by using everyday noises such as the opening and closing of doors, clashing of pots and pans and son on. Kent purposefully took these sounds and made them louder, almost giving a chaotic feel that we cannot escape. She also uses sounds of grasshoppers and other insects to provide an underlying theme of infestation- both of the house by literal roaches, but also of the mind by mental illness of depression and paranoia.
Overall, I highly recommend this film as it is highly creative and smart in demonstrating the battle of depression. Kent's The Babadook sets itself aside from other films, in that the main character overcomes depression- unlike other horror films that use depression as the monster such as, Inside by Bustillo and Maury, and Lights Out by David F. Sandberg where mother's with depression die. Kent gives us hope that we can live and coexist with our monstrous inner demons, giving a resolution and restoration to our problems.