Not what I expected but very good indeed

Rating: 8/10 (31 October 2014)

As a Halloween treat I went to see The Babadook. I've waited a long time for the film to get here from Australia and I really enjoyed it. Not a traditional horror movie. No big shocks to make you jump and no slasher gore either. A darkly claustrophobic film with 2 brilliant central performances.
It's the story of a woman and her son who are terrorised by a ghoul from a bedtime book. The book is wonderfully horrible. I found it especially odd how the Babadook in the book seems to resemble the boy in some ways.
It triggered memories of horror films I saw in the 70s and 80s, films that left a lingering unease in the back of my mind as the lights went out at night. The electrical buzzing reminded me of the intense soundscapes from Eraserhead. The TV montages as she flicks channels increase the sense of psychological breakdown.
Spoiler alert: the whole nightmarish situation is very clearly the mother's anger at her child who she blames for the death of his father. Her mental anguish fuels the whole psychodrama.
I don't think everyone in the theatre felt the same as me. If you go expecting a traditional horror film you could be disappointed. If you are open to a dark, psychological drama with nightmarish overtones then you might feel like I did.