I don't think it quite lives up to all of it's hype.

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2015)

'THE BABADOOK': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Australian indie horror flick about a single mother, still trying to cope with the tragic death of her husband, who also has to now deal with their son's troublesome behavior and fear of monsters. When the mother reads her son a mysterious children's pop-up-book, about a demon called 'Mr. Babadook', it appears there could be a real monster haunting them as well. It was written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Jennifer Kent and it's based on her 2005 short film 'MONSTER'. The film stars Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman, as the distraught mother and her troubled son. It was made on a budget of just $2 million and is one of the best reviewed movies of 2014 (97% positive on Rotten Tomatoes)! I enjoyed it quite a bit but I don't think it quite lives up to all of it's hype.
Amelia (Davis) is a single mother who still has nightmares about the death of her husband, who died in a horrific car crash; on the way to giving birth to their son, Samuel (Wiseman). Samuel has recently been lashing out a lot at school and has an unhealthy fear of monsters, which he makes weapons to fight. Due to Samuel's behavior, Amelia has to take him out of school and homeschool him. To make matters even worse she reads him a scary children's book, that Samuel finds on his shelf one day, called 'Mr. Babadook'. Samuel becomes convinced that the supernatural creature, from the book, is really haunting them. After a series of disturbing incidents, Amelia starts to believe it as well.
I'm a huge fan of scary movies, monster flicks and most horror films in general. This is a really well made psychological thriller, that has a pretty cool looking creepy critter in it too, but it isn't really that scary in my opinion (a few scenes are though). That doesn't mean it's not a good movie, it just isn't what I was expecting. I also think the critics' overwhelming praise for the film built up my expectations for it too much. It is nicely directed and acted, especially for it's small budget; Davis is fantastic in it and I look forward to seeing plenty more movies from Kent too. I just wouldn't call it a great monster flick or classic horror movie. It's a good character study, with a pretty insightful message about the struggles of single parenting (a lot of people are calling it a 'feminist horror film' too, which is pretty cool). I still highly recommend it but I think viewers should know what type of movie it is, before seeing it, in order to best enjoy it.
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