The Babadook - Good or Bad?
 

What do you all think of The Babadook? I personally think it was one of, if not the best horror film of 2014. It has 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 87% on Metacritic, has won over 30 awards and is generally viewed as a great horror film. I hadn't heard of anyone saying it was bad, until last night.

A friend of mine came round and we started discussing horror films. He isn't a fan of them and struggles to find many that he actually likes. When I mentioned The Babadook, he could not believe that I liked it and thought it was one of the best 2014 horror films. He thought it was terrible. He said "nothing happened" (he says that about a lot of films actually. Doesn't really make sense, does it?), that the boy in the film was one of the ugliest and most annoying children he has ever seen (a bit harsh) and that he didn't care if he died or not. He then started checking off all the major plot moments from beginning to end, making them sound as mundane as they come, and then concluded again that "nothing happened" and that it "wasn't even scary".

Is it me, or has my friend completely missed the point of this film? It isn't supposed to be "scary", at least not in the conventional sense. It's not that kind of film. The trailers wrongly advertised it as a monster flick; that The Babadook was like Freddy Krueger or something. Instead it was a mature, challenging psychological thriller about depression and grief, that doesn't rely on any CGI, jump scares or gore. It also features a truly excellent performance from Essie Davis.

I believe that because my friend doesn't really like horror films that he fails to dig deeper beneath the surface when it comes to these types of films, and that really saddens me - not that I'll ever say this to his face of course.

So what did you all of think of the film? I'd love to hear some real criticisms from others that didn't like it, whatever they might be.

If we don't take into account the third act of the film, then without a doubt, The Babadook is the best horror film of the year (hell maybe even the decade considering the amount of sh!tty horror movies there are...).

It really got under my skin and Essie Davis gave the best performance of the year in my opinion. Where it disappointed me was the ending! Sure it was unique and heartwarming but it was also cheesy and unnecessary. I'm half/half on it, but overall the movie was great.

Now if you want a movie that gets under your skin and doesn't let go to the very last second, I'd recommend Coherence. It's not a 'horror' movie per se, but it's an absolutely terrifying grounded idea that makes my skin crawl just thinking about it. With a budget of maybe $10, it managed to give the same feelings Babadook gave me but amplified to the max!

Just don't look up ANYTHING on the movie, cause it's best viewed not knowing anything about it like I did...

I really liked it. The main actors were good, the Babadook book was fantastic in the movie. Hated that one stock monster scream they used, I think it's been in a game or a cartoon before, a really dumb decision to use that in the final movie. The Babadook itself wasn't as creepy as I hoped, or they could have just shown it less. Overall one of the better horror movies and it got many of the things right I want to see in horror.

My friend's "nothing happened" phrase still baffles me...

Funny, you're the first person I've seen say that. Everyone else seems to think it was the perfect example of less-is-more. :P

What was wrong with the third act exactly? I'll definitely check out Coherence too.

I just feel it underscored the themes of loss and grief at the end. It turned out much less about the mother accepting loss and moving on and more so about The Babadook just...kind of giving up.

I appreciate the message at the end but I feel it lessened the impact of the darker themes of the film. (Also it was just getting ridiculous by the end; with all the screaming, flying, puking etc.)

BTW, I totally agree with the 'less-is-more' notion and I think it's the main reason why The Babadook and Coherence were such thought-provoking films for me. :tsmile:

It is hard to come up with a good ending when you're dealing with themes like that though. I agree The Babadook's ending could have been better, but I still like the ending that it has.

Oculus is another that I would recommend if you haven't seen it already.

My friend did mention that he really liked Open Windows, by the way. Make of that what you will. :P I haven't seen it yet so I can't comment, but I hear it wasn't that good.

Oh I still liked the ending! Just wasn't as good as the rest of the film.

I have seen Oculus actually. I was told it was a terrible film by all my friends even though it got decent reviews. I personally really liked it, especially the dynamic between the brother and sister.

And...yeah Open Windows, not my idea of a 'thrilling' movie...

I thought the movie was put together well. The acting was also great but man did the monster and ending suck... I was greatly let down when I saw this movie because it was called "the scariest movie" by the director of The Exorcist and it honestly wasn't even scary at all.

Anyone who says it's "scary" or "not scary" don't understand what the film is supposed to be. :P

It's a psychological horror film. That makes it a scary movie and it isn't. Just because it has a story and does more than being the typical dumb horror movie doesn't mean it's not supposed to be a scary film. I appreciate that it wasn't a dumb film and that the characters and plot were actually interesting and well written but when it came time to scare it was just lame. No one went to go see this movie for anything other than they wanted to see a scary movie and imo it was a major let down. The Babadook just isn't the horror movie I was looking for, though to be honest, I don't think I'll ever find it.

$20 says a U.S. remake will be announced this year making the title "monster" a literal threat.

Correction: It's a psychological thriller. There is a difference. ;)

I sincerely hope not. :P

If you went into The Babadook expecting a horror/monster film, then you, along with lots of others, were misinformed by the misleading trailer. Not to mention the fact that some audiences have forgotten what real horror is.

It's both. It's a thriller, a drama, and a horror film. Don't play dumb.

Since psychological thrillers are a sub genre or horror, I'll agree with that. :P No need for the attitude though, this isn't a YouTube comment section.

Someone's got sand in their vagina...

Yes, yes it was necessary to ensure you got the point.

You were off-topic, but no harm done.

You clearly didn't understand the movie if you don't think it was a horror film. It was. You even said it was yourself, now you're saying it isn't? Make up your mind!

Enjoy the rest of your life living in ignorance about it though. :roll:

Was it necessary to edit your post with the same exact VM and PM you left me? The attitude is because you're on my case about this movie because you have an appreciation for it that I don't which somehow means that I didn't understand the movie. I understood the movie just fine and I didn't care for it. You say it's not a horror film and now it's a horror film but that I was mislead by a trailer and apparently forgot what real horror is... I've said many positive things about this movie except that the horror aspect of it was terrible, not because there wasn't enough of it or because I wanted a full on monster movie, but because I genuinely thought it sucked. The Babadook guy was lame, his phone calls were dumb, the magical book was cliche, etc. But what do I know? The movie was clearly not a horror film in any way, shape, or form... Also, in reference to your VM/PM, I fail to see how I'm off-topic...