THE BABADOOK
Top hat and nails
RELEASED 21 JUNE
2014 | 15 | Blu-ray (4K & standard – dual format)
Director Jennifer Kent
Cast Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley Mcelhinney, Daniel Henshall
Jennifer Kent’s eerie, emotional horror masterpiece gets a well deserved special edition.
Essie Davis plays Amelia, a single mother struggling with the grief she still feels after the death of her partner. At the same time, her six-year-old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) is driving her up the wall as his behaviour grows increasingly difficult – and that’s before the demonic Mister Babadook shows up and starts to wreak havoc in their lives.
With his top hat, taloned fingers, creepy/funny pop-up book and kohl-lined eyes, the Babadook is a cross between Papa Lazarou, Lon Chaney and an especially nasty Tim Burton creation. He’s brilliant, but at its heart this is a film about trauma, motherhood and depression. The horror here lies in Amelia’s fathomless grief and pain, brilliantly realised by Davis, whose performance of a woman teetering on the edge of psychosis is never less than utterly convincing.
Despite this, Kent still has fun with the more lurid aspects of her film’s premise. One sequence almost feels like a cursed Home Alone sequel, and it delivers an intriguingly metaphoric ending that’s both cathartic and well earned. The Babadook is a vivid portrait of parental anxiety.
Extras This 4K edition adds a boatload of new interviews with cast and crew (totalling 134 minutes). Specifically: Essie Davis,
Hayley Mcelhinney (who played Amelia’s awful sister), producers Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere, editor Simon Njoo, production designer Alex Holmes, book designer Alexander Juhasz, and composer Jed Kurzel. There’s also an audio commentary by critics Alexandra Heller-nicholas and Josh Nelson. The most interesting thing here, though, is one of the six extras ported from the previous release: Kent’s short Monster (11 minutes), a fascinating prototype for the main feature. The set also includes a 150-page book including essays, an interview and artwork concepts, and six art cards. Will Salmon
An adult stand-in was used instead of Wiseman for scenes of Amelia screaming at or acting threateningly around Samuel.