The Babadook
Starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear, the film follows a widowed single mother who with her son must confront a mysterious humanoid monster in their home.Filming took place in Adelaide, where Kent drew from her experiences as a production assistant on Lars von Trier's Dogville (2003).The Babadook premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 17 January 2014 and was given a limited release in Australian cinemas on 22 May 2014, initially failing to become a commercial success in its native country.In the years since its release, The Babadook has become a cult classic partly due to its popularity as an internet meme, with the titular monster being ironically adopted as a queer icon.Sam begins displaying erratic behaviour, causing problems at school and in their social life, and becomes preoccupied with an imaginary monster, which he has built weapons to fight.She also exhibits violent behaviour, including cutting the phone line with a knife, and has disturbing hallucinations in which she sees herself murdering Sam.[9] Kent drew from her experience on the set of Dogville for the assembling of her production team, as she observed that von Trier was surrounded by a well-known "family of people".[7] In terms of influences, Kent cited 1960s, '70s and '80s horror—including Eyes Without a Face (1960), Carnival of Souls (1962), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982) and The Shining (1980)—as well as Vampyr (1932), Nosferatu (1922) and Let the Right One In (2008).To attain the funds for the sets, Kent and Causeway Films producer Kristina Ceyton launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in June 2012, with a target of US$30,000.[13] Six-year old Noah Wiseman was selected as a standout, with Kent saying he had a certain innocence about him that older boys did not have, possibly as he is the son of a child psychologist.[15] Pre-production occurred in Adelaide and lasted three weeks and, during this time, Kent conveyed a "kiddie" version of the narrative to Wiseman, in which young Samuel is the hero.[5] Kent explained after the release of the film that Wiseman was protected throughout the entire project: "During the reverse shots where Amelia was abusing Sam verbally, we had Essie [Davis] yell at an adult stand-in on his knees."[7] In terms of the Babadook monster and the scary effects of the film, Kent was adamant from the outset of production that a low-fi and handmade approach would be used.[42] Glenn Kenny, writing for RogerEbert.com, called the film "the finest and most genuinely provocative horror movie to emerge in this still very-new century."[43] Dan Schindel from Movie Mezzanine said that "The Babadook is the best genre creature creation since the big black wolf-dog aliens from Attack the Block."[44] In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw described the film as a "Freudian thriller", giving it 4 out of 5 stars and praised the performances, themes and Kent's direction.Bradshaw said that "Kent exerts a masterly control over this tense situation and the sound design is terrifically good: creating a haunted, insidiously whispery intimacy that never relies on sudden volume hikes for the scares."[45] In Variety, Scott Foundas commended the production design and direction, saying that the film "manages to deliver real, seat-grabbing jolts while also touching on more serious themes of loss, grief and other demons that can not be so easily vanquished".[46] On 30 November 2014, William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist (1973) stated on his Twitter profile, "Psycho, Alien, Diabolique, and now THE BABADOOK.[65][66] The social media response became so strong that theatres in Los Angeles took the opportunity to hold screenings of the film for charity."[69] Writing for The Daily Beast, Tim Teeman contends that grief is the "real monster" in The Babadook, and that the film is "about the aftermath of death; how its remnants destroy long after the dead body has been buried or burned".Teeman writes that he was "gripped" by the "metaphorical imperative" of Kent's film, with the Babadook monster representing "the shape of grief: all-enveloping, shape-shifting, black".[71] The writers suggest that "healing from serious traumas in real life does not happen overnight, but takes a lot of mental and emotional processing.
Jennifer KentKristian MoliereEssie DavisHayley McElhinneyDaniel HenshallBen WinspearJed KurzelScreen AustraliaSouth Australian Film CorporationSmoking Gun ProductionsEntertainment OneUmbrella EntertainmentSundancepsychologicalhorror filmfeature directorial debutAustralian government grantscrowdfundingAdelaideLars von TrierDogvilleprotectedstop motion animationSundance Film Festival4th AACTA AwardsBest FilmBest DirectionBest Original Screenplaycult classicinternet memequeer iconpop-up booktop hatseizurephone linehallucinationspossessesNational Institute of Dramatic ArtTwo TwistedparentingbabarogaSerbo-CroatianboogeymanEyes Without a FaceCarnival of SoulsThe Texas Chainsaw MassacreHalloweenThe ThingThe ShiningVampyrNosferatuLet the Right One InKickstarterchild leadSouth AustraliaSouth Australian state governmentDen of GeekAustralian feelNorth AdelaideAdelaide Zooblack-and-whitepre-1950sB-grade horror filmsDavid LynchRoman PolanskiLondon After MidnightGeorges MélièsJean EpsteinThe Fall of the House of UsherHäxanstop-motionEmpireWaxwork RecordsAustraliaStanley Film FestivalSingaporeUnited KingdomUnited Statescinema closures due to the COVID-19 pandemicIFC Films2024 Sundance Film FestivalIFC MidnightScream FactoryBlu-ray DiscNetflixShudderlimited releaseFranceThailandWild BunchmultiplexesRotten TomatoesMetacriticGlenn KennyRogerEbert.comAttack the BlockThe GuardianPeter BradshawFreudianVarietyWilliam FriedkinThe ExorcistPsychoDiaboliqueMark KermodeParadecult filmart-horrorPan's LabyrinthAntichristAACTA AwardsBest ActressBest EditingBest Production DesignAACTA International AwardsCritics' Choice AwardBest Sci-Fi/Horror MovieBest Young ActorDetroit Film Critics SocietyEmpire AwardsBest Female NewcomerBest HorrorFangoria Chainsaw AwardsNew York Film Critics Circle AwardsOnline Film Critics SocietySan Francisco Film Critics Circle