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The Babadook (2014) - Movie Review


This movie is about a widow with a single child, who are being haunted by an entity known as The Babadook.

After hearing so much praise for this film, honestly, I'm a bit disappointed. The movie was shot well and I applaud it for not relying on cheap jump scares and instead use other means to inject fear into the viewer. Problem was that while there was some genuine creepy moments in the film, it always felt like they were cut short and didn't truly terrify me, leaving me unfulfilled. And while the movie did a good job of using the good old technique of keeping the monster in the dark and using its presence and the idea of it to scare, the movie did show the monster and I couldn't help but find it more funny looking then terrifying, which consequently reduced the fear factor of the scenes that followed. And it didn't help that there was literally no lore or info about the monster whatsoever.

Now, on to the good parts. The acting in the movie was fantastic. Essie Davis, who plays the mother, was absolutely superb. She did such a good job. Oscar Worthy Performance in my opinion. The kid in the movie was fantastic too and I was really surprised because kids, especially in horror movies, almost always suck. But he gave a great performance. I also loved how the movie turned the table and makes you change your sympathies for the characters. I also liked how it delved into the depression of the mother and showed its horrors. And used the situation at hand as an allegory to it.

All in all, the movie was disappointing as I had high expectations, but that doesn't mean it was bad. I still liked it overall. Issues aside, it is nice to see horror movies like these.

7/10
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