The Babadook
1h 33m
Directed by Jennifer Kent • 2014 • Australia
Starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall
An instant cult classic of psychological horror, the feature debut from Jennifer Kent packages a disquieting exploration of trauma, grief, and healing in the form of a spellbinding fairy-tale nightmare. Six years after the sudden death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her “out-of-control” six-year-old Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love and whose dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called “Mister Babadook” turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. As his hallucinations spiral out of control, Amelia begins to sense that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.