The Ba-Ba-Ba, the Dook-Dook-Dook, that's all we need to scare you with!

Rating: 7/10 (16 January 2019)

You always need to be wary and skeptical of new horror movies that are coming out and instantly receive unanimously praising reviews from the press and international festival juries. Journalist have quota, festivals need positive publicity, and in the end, you are left behind feeling disappointed and ripped off. I also can't help thinking that our quality norms and standards for horror movies have severely lowered over the past decade. In recent years I've seen numerous horror movies that are world-widely labeled as original, genuinely terrifying and atmospheric, like "The Conjuring", "Don't Breathe", "The Witch", "It", "A Quiet Place" or "Get Out". Don't get me wrong, ALL of these are more than adequate, clever and recommendable horror/thriller films, but NONE of them are the mind-blowing and astoundingly petrifying masterpieces that their ratings or reviews suggest.
Does this statement also apply to "The Babadook"? Yes and no, I'd say. "The Babadook" is definitely a different and less conventional type of supernatural horror story. Writer/director Jennifer Kent clearly didn't feel obliged or pressured to make a traditional and mainstream blockbuster, and even downright refuses the use of typical genre cliches like false scares, polished and attractive lead characters or textbook villains/monsters. The ultimate proof of her devoted intentions, I think, is the fact that she keeps ownership of the film's legal rights just to prevent that someone will ever make a sequel. How exceptional is that in the horror industry? What Jennifer Kent did bring to the screen with "The Babadook" is a very personal, tangible and harrowing family drama that utmost benefices from its slow-pacing, foreboding atmosphere, bleak filming style and majestic performances (Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman). As to be expected from a psychological horror tale of this allure, it's a film with many layers; ambiguous and open for various interpretations.
Is the Babadook real or a fragment of the two emotionally troubled protagonists' imaginations? To be quite honest, I don't know. I'm not necessarily seeking out intellectual or thought-provoking cinema. I already have a lot of thinking to do for my job and I try to contemplate more deeply about raising my children, but I don't feel the desire to over-analyze every scary movie that I watch. I do tend to concur with the fellow reviewers who see "The Babadook" as an allegory on unprocessed traumas, everlasting guilt, difficult childhood years and the lack of strong role models. What matters is that Jennifer Kent masterfully brings the titular monster to life in a subtle yet unsettling fashion, and that both Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman empower its frightening existence through their stellar performances. Especially Davis is astounding, and I caught myself thinking stuff like: "Get some sleep, you poor woman") several times. "The Babadook" perhaps isn't the masterpiece that certain reviews claim it to be, but it's a truly impressive film and a must-see for genre fanatics. Jennifer Kent is familiar with the genuine masterpieces of horror, by the way, because her film contains footage of Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath/I Tre Volti Della Paura".