The Babadook

Some of our friends felt this movie was a let down, possibly because it was hyped up too much for them to enjoy it. But, maybe because of their hyping it down, we were able to enjoy it that much more, though we might not classify it as a straight-up horror. If you watch the Babadook knowing it's a character study focusing on grief and sanity with strong horror elements, you might enjoy it as much as we did!

The plot unfolds something like this: On the way to the hospital while in labor with their first child, Amelia and her husband are involved in a car accident and Amelia is left a widowed single mother. As a result, Amelia and her son Samuel are dysfunctionally close. Samuel has problems sleeping at night and habitually wakes his mother to read to him, keeping her in a state of sleep-deprived delirium. When Samuel has his mother read him a book called The Babadook-dook-dook they discover a sinister presence creeping into their lives.

Reasons to watch: This movie nicely balances horror and psychological thriller and with it's surreal presentation, you're never sure when things are in her head, in her son's head, or are very real.

Wait, that was written and directed by a lady?: Yup!

What we learned: Sometimes to enjoy an overly hyped movie all you need is a friend to intensely dislike it first!