The Babadook (2014) Dir: Jennifer Kent

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Directed by Jennifer Kent, this Australian horror film has accrued a useful reputation as one of the best modern horror films of the last fifteen years. I can vaguely recall watching it once as a teenager, but it's safe to say I was more than due a revisit. I was sure it would be worth it, although, it is also worth pointing out that the films people call the 'scariest ever made', prove, more often than not, unable to carry that moniker.

I thought the film looked okay for the most part, considering it's, relatively speaking, meagre budget of around two million US dollars. The implicit and psychological horror was far more effective than the explicit, in part because of the slightly cheesy-looking editing of the film's monster. Some of the shots used were just a little too clunky to take seriously. It's not to say that these elements of the film looked entirely poor, but they definitely didn't inspire fear either.

Grief as a theme in horror is not exactly a new thing, on the contrary, it's one of the most common themes in the genre, but I would argue that this is one of the more notable and impactful examples of it in recent years. The sheer emotional ferocity of the film's narrative, particularly in how it makes the antagonist of the film a physical manifestation of grief, neglect and PTSD.

Although I did enjoy the film's story, it was definitely a little tropy. The idea to have a protagonist read a mysterious and disturbing book, and subsequently unleash horrors upon themselves and those around them, is not exactly new. In addition, I found the very first scene of the film incredibly cringe-inducing and awkwardly acted. Thankfully, however, this was the only significant occasion that this happened.

Essie Davis, with the exception of a couple of dodgy scenes, including the one illuded to above, was fairly solid in her leading role. I felt she excelled more when her character's composure faded, which in turn allowed her to express herself in a far more interesting way.

Noah Wiseman provided an adequate, but by no means exceptional, performance as the child protagonist of the film. Some of his dialogue very much felt like a child reciting lines, rather than a character speaking their mind, which was a little unfortunate. With that said, when it came time to act scared, I thought Wiseman did a tremendous job, for the most part.

Overall, I thought this was a very watchable horror film, but certainly not the so-called scariest film ever made. Ignoring that always contentious weight on its shoulders, this was a good horror film. It was held back by a few issues here and there, but nothing that ruined my viewing experience. It works well for what it is, and deserves to be amongst the more highly appreciated independent horror films.