Tread Cautiously in The Babadook

Rating: 9/10 (26 March 2018)

Audiences have been overwhelmed with the same genre tropes in horror films from the past few decades. From countless jump scares to insignificant horror monsters, audiences have been waiting for a horror film that exceeds and leaps over the rest. Is The Babadook that one that exceeds the rest? By just enough. Like its predecessors, The Babadook is plagued with the same traps in contemporary horror films that does nothing but bore the viewer. From the overdrawn score to the tawdry children's book chant of the Babadook, the film gives viewers a feeling that they've been there before. But, what makes The Babadook work is the hypnotic build-up of tension. And this tension is manifested from the conflict within Amelia. In the house, the overwhelming use of low-key lighting not only paints the ominous tone of the film, but also the inner turmoil that Amelia is struggling with. As the presence and pressure of The Babadook increases throughout the film, she becomes even more irritated and dangerous. She becomes more than just a helpless character in a classic horror film, but she morphs into the monster that is feared. Amelia symbolizes the breakdown of boundaries, becoming the embodiment of the abject. From the beginning, Samuel is presented as being the major conflict in the film. His frequent emotional outbursts and sometime violent behavior paints Samuel as the leading issue in Amelia's life. It is not until later in the film that the audience realizes that Amelia is the true destructive force. The constant close-ups of her face give the audience an intimate relationship with her and a deeper look into her emotional unraveling. And finally, the beautifully crafted allegory of mental health and instinctual repression is the major selling point to this film. Unlike many other modern horror films, The Babadook presents a great amount of character development and an in-depth analysis of a troubled individual. In this sense, The Babadook should be celebrated for not what it does well, but for what it does for its characters.