Movie Review: THE BABADOOK - Nightmarish Conjurings

The Babadook is an independent horror movie that is getting rave reviews across the board. William Friedkin (director of ‘The Exorcist’) said “I’ve never seen a more terrifying film than ‘The Babadook.’” That’s a pretty solid statement coming from the director of my all time favorite horror movie. I didn’t know much about this movie, the only information I received about it was from a fellow horror friend. I became instantly fascinated with it when I did some research and found that it received a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it only had about a $30,000 budget. Here is what The Babadook is about:

“Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her ‘out of control’ 6 year-old, Samuel, a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called ‘The Babadook’ turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son’s behavior, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.”

I’ve said this time and time again, when there is a child involved shit gets crazy. I’ve had many people ask me why I don’t have kids yet or if I want to kids etc etc… yo, have you not seen what kids are capable of doing/becoming/seeing in horror movies?!?! This is another example of a child seeing some fucked up scary shit and NO ONE believing them till it’s too late.

This movie was terrific. I can not say that it was better than the Exorcist because there is no way I believe it but this movie was pretty awesome. It does something that is rarely seen in horror movies today – and that is it leaves out the blood and gore and relies heavily on your fear (of what the Babadook is) which allows your imagination to fill in the blank spaces. For such a modest budget this movie did a great job doing what horror movies that have millions of dollars in budget can’t do: scare us.

I feel like I need to watch the movie again to get the full effect of what actually happened. I watched it and was fascinated by it and definitely scared but I feel like it’s one of those movies that you need to watch again to really understand what’s going on. I would NOT want to fuck with a Babadook that’s for sure. I also don’t like when things crawl on the ceiling and talk in really creepy voices such as what the Babadook did. The Babadook is our worst fear and it clings to us in hopes to suck us dry of happiness and joy and love – the Babadook wants us to turn into everything that is wrong and evil in the world.

I definitely suggest watching this movie – regardless of if you like horror or not. It’s interesting to see the dynamic between a mother (who feels as though she has lost everything) and young son (who just wants love and attention from his mom) – especially in this day in age when autism and other behavioral issues seem to be on the rise. It really focused on showing that sometimes there is nothing wrong with a child except for them just being different, and you know what? That’s totally fine. Instead of pushing those children away we should embrace them and learn from them. This kid just wanted him mom’s love and to also let her know there was a fucking scary ass dude in his closet named Mister Babadook.

I give this movie 4 skulls out of 5 skulls… if you don’t want to go to the movies and spend a million dollars then have no fear – this movie is on Amazon Instant to rent for $6. Give it a whirl, I promise you, it’s worth it.

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Shannon McGrew

Founder/Co-Owner at Nightmarish Conjurings

Shannon is the Founder of Nightmarish Conjurings and a lover of all things horror and haunt related. When she's not obsessively collecting all things "Trick 'R Treat" related, or trying to convince everyone that "Hereditary" is one of the greatest horror films ever made, you can find her designing interiors for commercial restaurants. An avid haunt fan, Shannon spends the entire year visiting haunts and immersive experiences throughout the Southern California area and hopes to one day design her own haunted attraction.

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