No matter how much all children want a nice, comforting yarn to send them off to slumberland, we know that some of the best kiddie bedtime material is chock full of terrifying creatures and closet-lurking terrors just waiting for the moment to strike. It’s a base fear exploited by director Jennifer Kent in The Babadook.
Australian filmmaker Kent turned to Kickstarter to scrounge up the funds to make the story of Amelia (Essie Davis), a mother trying to raise son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) after the death of her husband. Samuel, it seems, is going through a thorny emotional time, bringing weapons to school and generally acting out. He’s spurred on by the belief that a ghoul known as the Babadook is haunting the house, but Amelia initially thinks it’s all in his head. How very wrong she seems to be…
The Babadook premiered to solid reviews at Sundance, where our Damon Wise said, “This very, very creepy film is more than mere homage, creating superb scares from an obviously limited budget.” This has the potential to be a Conjuring-style success, so hopefully the festival praise will spur distributors Entertainment One to get it on our screens this year. Meanwhile, WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?