A Brief Look at The Babadook

Rating: 7/10 (10 April 2019)

The lights flicker, bugs begin to crawl, shadows envelop the scene, the Babadook has arrived. Jennifer Kent's The Babadook (2014) is not your quotidian psychological thriller. Beneath the superficial paranormal threat, Kent artfully implements multiple double entendres to be unearthed by the viewer. While doing so, Kent tenaciously utilizes extreme but simple cinematographic elements to induce fear in her audience. Analogous to Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), this film frequently employs earsplitting sounds, disquieting dissonance and a woman's bloodcurdling screams to keep the viewer on edge.
Before being exposed to the Babadook, Kent constructs the platform for her narrative by using precise cinematography to delineate the hardships and emotions of the protagonist, Amelia (Essie Davis). From this structure, the audience is informed of the contemporary grief, stress and frustrations constantly surrounding her. Through such relatable downbeat emotions, Kent presents a character worthy of our sympathy. Moving forward, The Babadook departs from traditional transcendent psychological thrillers by translating Amelia's sentiments into the supernatural-being known as the Babadook. In other words, Amelia's underlying emotions are organized into one paranormal being, thus granting greater significance than the trite demonic antagonist capriciously haunting the principal characters of a film as seen in Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity (2007). Moreover, the initial presentation of Mister Babadook is arguably one of the greatest conventions the film has to offer. As Amelia sits down to read the seemingly innocent children's book, Kent employs an amalgam of close-up pans and cuts along with a shrill insect-like buzzing to hyperbolize the disturbing contents of the wicked red book, "Mister Babadook". Thus, leaving the viewer rid with anticipation and fear of the imminent occult threat.
Jennifer Kent's ability to sophistically develop the film to the latter electrifying zenith is subjectively unparalleled. The slow introduction to the tall, rigid figure dressed in a jet-black trench coat and top hat is both enticing and suspenseful, continuously leaving the audience hungry for more. By creating an indirect relationship between Amelia and the demonic aggressor, the viewer is immersed in a complex allegorical narrative rather than a rudimentary hedonistic thriller. Furthermore, the negative emotions that construct the relationship are emotions that many individuals have grappled with in life, resulting in an elaborate alignment between the viewer and the subliminal essence of the film. In retrospect, Jennifer Kent's The Babadook does not disappoint as it proves to be a captivating psychological thriller rich with concealed narratives awaiting subsequent analysis.