“Okay ready? 3…2…1!” Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, if you were to listen in on my phone calls on any given night, you may hear this attempt at streaming a movie at the same time as my friend. The idea of a “movie night” has truly been redefined. Perhaps the only thing more difficult than hitting the play button at the same time is deciding what movie to watch. Last week, in the mood for a little horror—as if the current state of the world isn’t enough—we settled on The Babadook.
A full plot summary of The Babadook can be found on Wikipedia. Like many good horror movies, we enter the story in medias res as a pregnant woman is being rushed to the hospital by her husband. After watching shards of glass and blood surround the woman as the car spins in slow-motion, we arrive in the present with a mother and her son: the only survivors of the crash. This suspenseful scene had my adrenaline running from the onset of the film, expecting only more suspense as the story progressed. I was not disappointed. The camera angles, lighting, and general eeriness are, in my opinion, what every good horror movie should have. Many scenes would show the actors at a distance or toward the side of the screen to compel the viewer to search the rest of the screen for shadows or anything that seems out of place. This added suspense had me bracing myself throughout the entire movie.
In addition to the cinematography, another thing this film does exceptionally well is set up a feeling of isolation. When the young boy begins acting out and pushes another girl out of a tree house, friends and even family members begin to turn their backs on the two main characters. With nowhere and no one to turn to, the feelings of loneliness and exclusion encompassing them allow the monster to prey readily on the mother and her son.
This leads to the final and perhaps most provocative point of my interpretation of this film. Though I found myself laughing at the mediocre CGI and the tragically underwhelming manifestation of the monster—as shown in the clip above—this movie will have you staying up all night for an entirely different reason. The ending of the movie finds the mother and the boy happily coexisting with the monster, for, as the boy says, “You can’t get rid of the Babadook.” It seems that the Babadook is the physical manifestation of the depression and grief they must learn to live with forever.
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Wow. Ok to start off, scary movies are most definitely NOT my thing at all. However, after reading this blog post it does make me want to watch this movie. What are some of your other favorite scary movies? My friends forced me to watch insidious 2 with them one night and I still continue to have nightmares from it. I feel like most people either love or hate scary movies to be honest. I also tried to watch the clip of the scene you put in but I got too scared so I had to exit. Maybe one day I will be able to finish a scary movie without having my eyes closed for the majority it :/
Olivia
Hi Hannah,
I love this! The Babadook is such a good movie when you really look into it. It really isn’t a movie about a monster. Like you said, it’s a metaphor about depression and grief. The most uncomfortable scene for me in that movie was when the mom was possessed by the Babadook and terrorizing her son.
My friends and I also resorted to this new way of movie night. We found this really cool website (https://www.netflixparty.com/) where there’s a host that plays the movies and other people can join with a link. Check it out!
Amazing blog, even though I despise horror movies haha. I love that you focused on things beyond the plot line and went into detail about specifics you liked from the film. I would have never noticed the camera angling or lighting, possibly because I would be closing my eyes, the same way you did. It provides an in depth look at what goes through the process of making a film that often goes undetected. I’m excited to see what you write about next and to possibly get movie recommendations from you as long as they’re not horror movies :).
I love scary movies, but I have yet to watch Babadook. After reading this I am going to watch it. I like how detailed you made the description about how well the filming was including the lighting, angles, etc, and how overall it was a good cinematic experience. I am definitely going to watch it this week sometime, and I am excited for the future movie recommendations.