The Babadook (2014)
I do not particularly fancy horror flicks. The usual senseless gore, blood and scream does not turn me on. I have to admit, however, that one of the best horror film that scared the hell of me was 'Blair Witch Project' (1999). I decided this one a watch as it was said to a cerebral one. I did not know Australians also ventured into horror movies!
Even though at first glance, it just looks like another effort to scare the wits of its viewers with poor lightings and high decibel screams. Look deeper and you realise that it screams of symbolism. Symbolism of the stresses of life, of loss, hardship of sailing the sea of life despite of its drags. Like they say, the show has to go on!
Amelia, a widow with a young boy of 6, leads a mundane lonely life with a few friends with an equally depressing job of nurse in a geriatric ward. The son, Samuel, has a vivid imagination and imaginary friend, can sometimes be destructive and a spoilt brat. He talks about a character from a pop-up story book - The Babadook. (Don't know who would approve such a scary book for children bed time reading?)
Slowly, Babadook manifests as a poltergeist like character who terrorises the occupants of the house, i.e Amelia and Samuel. Amelia becomes possessed, unkempt, uncaring of her soon and even at one instance resorted to kill her offspring.
The real story is that Amelia's husband died enroute to hospital as he was sending a labouring Amelia to hospital. Her grief all the while was suppressed but as bringing up Samuel single handedly proved too difficult, she plunged into the dark shadows of depression and hatred towards what she perceived as the cause of loss of her place of support and personal gratification. She kept going in and out of being 'possessed', denoting that she was fighting the disease. At the end of the day, she fought her 'inner demons' and locked it in the cellar and looked forward to brighter days with her son. (Symbolically signifying successfully fighting the depressive illness). Looks like the filmmakers are thinking of a sequel to this one!
I do not particularly fancy horror flicks. The usual senseless gore, blood and scream does not turn me on. I have to admit, however, that one of the best horror film that scared the hell of me was 'Blair Witch Project' (1999). I decided this one a watch as it was said to a cerebral one. I did not know Australians also ventured into horror movies!
Even though at first glance, it just looks like another effort to scare the wits of its viewers with poor lightings and high decibel screams. Look deeper and you realise that it screams of symbolism. Symbolism of the stresses of life, of loss, hardship of sailing the sea of life despite of its drags. Like they say, the show has to go on!
Amelia, a widow with a young boy of 6, leads a mundane lonely life with a few friends with an equally depressing job of nurse in a geriatric ward. The son, Samuel, has a vivid imagination and imaginary friend, can sometimes be destructive and a spoilt brat. He talks about a character from a pop-up story book - The Babadook. (Don't know who would approve such a scary book for children bed time reading?)
Slowly, Babadook manifests as a poltergeist like character who terrorises the occupants of the house, i.e Amelia and Samuel. Amelia becomes possessed, unkempt, uncaring of her soon and even at one instance resorted to kill her offspring.
The real story is that Amelia's husband died enroute to hospital as he was sending a labouring Amelia to hospital. Her grief all the while was suppressed but as bringing up Samuel single handedly proved too difficult, she plunged into the dark shadows of depression and hatred towards what she perceived as the cause of loss of her place of support and personal gratification. She kept going in and out of being 'possessed', denoting that she was fighting the disease. At the end of the day, she fought her 'inner demons' and locked it in the cellar and looked forward to brighter days with her son. (Symbolically signifying successfully fighting the depressive illness). Looks like the filmmakers are thinking of a sequel to this one!
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