The Babadook (2014)
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A widowed mother and her son must confront a mysterious humanoid monster that manifests in their home.
The story
Amelia Vanek is a troubled, exhausted widow and single mother of six-year-old Sam living in Adelaide. Following the death of her husband, Sam begins displaying erratic behavior and becomes obsessed with an imaginary monster. The situation escalates when they discover a mysterious pop-up book titled Mister Babadook, which depicts a sinister creature. As the book's presence in their home becomes more intrusive and the occurrences more disturbing, Amelia must struggle to protect her son from the growing threat of the entity they believe to be real.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Amelia Vanek, a widow mourning her husband Oskar, lives in Adelaide with her young son, Sam. Sam's behavior becomes increasingly erratic as he becomes obsessed with a monster from a mysterious pop-up book called Mister Babadook. After Amelia finds the book again and it begins to display threatening imagery, she burns it, but the entity remains. The Babadook eventually attacks her, leading to a period of isolation and hallucinations. A vision of her late husband appears, and the Babaduk eventually possesses her, leading her to harm their dog and attempt to harm Sam. Sam manages to knock her out, and after a confrontation where she expels the entity, she realizes she cannot truly get rid of it. The film ends with Amelia and Sam in a state of uneasy peace, with Amelia acknowledging the monster's presence but choosing to coexist with it, even bringing it 'treats' in the basement.
- First release year
- 2014
- Runtime (minutes)
- 94
- Production countries
- Australia
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jennifer Kent
- Writers
- Jennifer Kent · writer
- Cast and characters
- Essie Davis · Amelia; Noah Wiseman · Sam; Daniel Henshall; Hayley McElhinney; Barbara West; Ben Winspear
- Genres
- psychological horror; supernatural horror
- Themes
- grief; parenting; fear of madness; trauma
- Tone and mood
- tense; claustrophobic
- Premise and plot tags
- mother-son relationship; supernatural; haunted house
- Source material / true-story basis
- Monster (2005 short film)
- Reception
- The film was praised for its performances, creature design, and themes, becoming a cult classic and receiving critical acclaim for its atmosphere and direction.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 98% · scale: percentage · review count: 248
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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