Excellent debut

Rating: 8/10 (1 November 2014)

I really like Australian movies, especially their horror and exploitation movies, so when this was announced I was exited because I liked the basic idea and trailer was interesting... and it didn't disappoint.
Made on tight budget, "The Babadook" looks lot more expensive then it actually is. It takes for about 30 minutes for a movie to finally start, and once things get going, the atmosphere and mood turns more and more tense. There are several scenes that are well made and quite effective, like "book reading" when book itself more or less explains to the audiences (or to it's main hero) what is going to happen. It's just a well made scene with really good sense of plotting.
We as the audience know far more in advance what could happen to our two lead characters, which only adds to sense of dread and unease, because we know some of those things will eventually come on screen.
Other note is that "Badabook" is quite simple in it's plot. There are no dozens of unnecessary twist that only end up ruining the movie. It is what it is and only ends up building upon it's basic premise. That doesn't mean that movie doesn't add some additional elements to it's story, but it keeps it simple in it's core.
While well directed, movie was perfectly aware of it's budget limitations, so there are no glossy effects, which only work well for the movie. It should also be noted that movie, while lacking in effects, is backup by really strong acting by Essie Davis.