Director: Jennifer Kent
Starring: Essie Davies, Noah Wiseman
My Rating: Loved It!
Now this is a real psychological horror movie! The Babadook represents the mother's demons, and how one cannot ignore them nor should one dwell on them. I love that the movie relies on creepy, slow burning dread, rather than loud noises cranked up to 11. And wow, The Babadook features two incredible performances from its leads. Essie Davies plays this role perfectly. The movie wouldn't have worked nearly as well without her.
Spoilers
At the end of the movie, after she has "defeated" her depression (defeated the babadook) and locks it up in the basement, she has to bring food down to it every day. This was the cherry on top for me. It's a brilliant way to end it. Symbolizing you cannot ignore depression. You have to face it on a day to day basis and feed your demons, it's the only way you'll get better. If you repress harmful memories or ignore the way you feel, it will come back to haunt you, just like The Babadook. You can't ignore it, exactly like how the mom ripped up and ignored the babadook book. And then it came back. Then she set it on fire and then it came back again, each time stronger and stronger.
I didn't find it particularly frightening, but I know for a fact that if any kids see this, they will have some sleepless nights. No wide release American horror movie in 2014 even comes close to The Babadook. I had a fun time with As Above/So Below and The Sacrament, but The Babadook is another beast all together (see what I did there).
Don't let the babadook in! Baaa Baaaa, Dook.. Dook.. Dook