a supernatural drama

Rating: 5/10 (1 February 2015)

The Babadook tells the story of a mother and son coping with the death of the father, who suddenly become aware of an evil presence in their house. The premise was good, and after reading that William Friedkin, The Exorcist's director, had considered it "the scariest movie" he'd ever seen, I thought I was in for a true horror gem. But not really.
I'd describe The Babadook, not as a horror movie, but as a metaphorical supernatural drama. If you watch the movie with this in mind, you will enjoy it, for sure. The acting is excellent - both main characters do a magnificent job and the little boy is very creepy. The story is original and makes you want to know who is this Babadook guy and why is he doing what he does. And, keeping the drama genre in mind, the ending has an interesting message that is worth watching. I'd say watch it, just remember it's not exactly horror.
*****SPOILERS FROM HERE ON (and why I say horror fans will be disappointed)******
Now, when you introduce a character like Babadook and end the movie without any explanation on its origin whatsoever, you're bound to get some negative reactions. My initial thoughts were "that's it?". No background, no messed up story to compensate for the lack of a good look at the monster, no dirty little secret haunting that family, no plot twist, nothing.
From the drama genre perspective, the ending for me was a metaphor for how you must deal with your personal demons. The little boy tells his mother that they will never get rid of the Babadook, as she will never get over the death of her husband. Instead, they must keep the monster locked away, but nurture it, to keep him quiet and allow them to move on with their lives. So, Babadook was basically a metaphor for loss, grief and coping with the death of a loved one.
This is actually very interesting and if I hadn't seen the movie hoping to get scared I would have had a satisfactory experience. A marketing error that has cost the movie a lot of terrible reviews.