The Babadook: Promising but ultimately let down by the ending (SPOILERS)

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2014)

Contains SPOILERS.
First off, props to Jennifer Kent for crafting a pretty good Australian horror film. Amazing use of sound design to portray the mindset of Essie Davis character and her mental state. The kid was annoying and I guess he was meant to be but overdid it in the first 30 minutes but thankfully settled in and overall did a great job. Essie Davis was amazing and went from being helpless and out of her wits to borderline psychotic and handled the shift really well. The set design, music and the cinematography all combined to create a sense of foreboding and dread very effectively. A tight, taut thriller that goes BOOM in the last 30 minutes but then unfortunately I think is let down by the last 5 minutes to come to the weird ending. While I am OK with the ending being ambiguous, it seemed like the film-makers were going for the usual clichéd happy ending which given the events transpired before seemed almost too easy for Essie Davis character. I'm not sure what the whole toothache and her pulling her tooth out in the climax signified either?
Overall, an effective thriller with some amazing use of sound design to create a chilling atmosphere with some great acting by the two leads but let down by a weak ending that just didn't quite know where it wanted to go. In saying that, Jennifer Kent did a fantastic job for a first feature and it will be interesting to see what she does next..