Existential Horror

Rating: 8/10 (29 January 2015)

I can easily understand how this film might seem a disappointment for anyone seeking out a monster flick, as the title "monster" does not receive a great deal of screen time. If one expects buckets of blood or a high body count from your horror, again this is not your film. But for those who enjoy a little substance with their scare, you could do far worse than The Babadook. The fear in this film is pervading and intimately tied to the human experience in all its unpredictable subjectivity, and despite the backdrop of children's fantasy, much more real than the scares usually meted our in the horror genre. Unfortunately, the reveal is held out a little too long, and the audience gets to the punch before the film throws it, so long as you're not waiting for a literal axe to fall. If that happens to be what you're looking for, well there's always the next Taken movie...