pushing out from the comfort zone a bit with this one
billed as a horror film - australian - starring essie davis
best known in her role as miss fisher - murder mysteries
scanning the audience pre-film revealing mostly young couples
the odd loner older dude (ahem) but thinking date flick - surely not?
amelia lost her husband in a car accident the day her son was born
samuel is now 6 years old and quite a handful - loves magic tricks
they live together in a large house in adelaide with an elderly neighbour
she works as a volunteer at an aged care facility while samuel is at school
evening/nights they spend mostly alone watching old tv shows or reading books
there are early signs that samuel is not a normal kid - speaks his (affected) mind
the lack of father figure suggested as a root of the boy's behavioural problems
mother is also missing her man (oskar) but mostly in vehement denial of that
one night samuel hauls out a book titled the babadook for mum to read
she flips through the pages - some text but mostly pop-up drawings
the babadook is a nasty creature that promises to get under your skin
and make you do terrible things - kill dogs and children - uh-oh
most impressive acting so far and a good build of the tension
our 2 leads are then isolated - samuel suspended from school
amelia falls out with her sister due to samuel harassing his cousin
and she takes sick leave from work to look after her messed up son
so all setup - time to reveal the monster - we are a nervous audience
it starts out as suggestive and not unexpectedly it is amelia's monster
hubby oskar appears as an apparition in the basement to confirm this
just a bit too obvious i feel and now my own cynicism then kicks in
the babadook's increasing presence in the house equal to amelia's demise
firstly cockroaches, flickering lights, then noises and phone-calls (huh?)
finally the film steps over from suggestive to actual nasty beings
the lack of budget then also apparant with the trickery used there
i'm now moving into the mode of comedy-horror - intended or not
laughing at the absurdity of some scenes and realising i am alone here
my neighbouring couples seen cowering at the same time - oops
but essie davis saves the day - a brilliant portrayal of a women losing it
she goes from attractive doting mother to a mad screaming psychopath
large knife in hand - here's johnny springs to mind seeing that weapon
of course it then comes down to her overcoming the monster (within)
a classic case of confronting it to overcome it and then taming it
her and son finally seen happily gathering worms for their monster
it now contained in the basement where oskar appears again
hmmm - well - good story and a potential seriously good film
but that it is not as it does not deliver on the scary stuff
no visible monster at all would have been more effective
still a very good start for first time director jennifer kent
essie davis - astounding - as is 7 year old noah wiseman
unfortunately the complete film is not the complete deal
the shining or the exorcist it is not even though it tries
one reviewer claiming it the best australian film in years
don't think so - they have churned out better than this
me - still wary of horror flicks - this one spared me...
