The Babadook

[ToxSocks]

Looking forward to this one....

[Rausch]

[Fish]

Watched this last night. It was tragically dumb, irrational, and wasn't very scary. The acting by the little boy was so terrible I wanted to feed him to the ****ing Badabook about 10 minutes into the movie.

[The Franchise]

I can't even tell what the **** is supposed to be happening in the trailer.

[Fish]

If you make it to the ending, you're going to punch yourself in the testicles...

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by Fish

Watched this last night. It was tragically dumb, irrational, and wasn't very scary. The acting by the little boy was so terrible I wanted to feed him to the ****ing Badabook about 10 minutes into the movie.

I watched it on Halloween.

I'm still debating with myself about it.

I think it's a very Love it or hate it movie with not a lot of in between.

It's a not a cheap thrills movie, there aren't really any "jump out and gotcha" moments.

I thought it was actually pretty good up until the end, which was very open ended and leaves a lot to the imagination. I watched it with the others. Two females and a teenage boy.

The teenage boy hated it.

The two women were into it until the end. They didn't like the ending and therefore dismissed the rest of the movie.

I thought it had a a lot of good artistic qualities to it, but it's not a traditional horror movie and there are moments when it makes you remember that it's a low budget movie.

[ToxSocks]

Overall, im not sure how i feel about it. There's a lot of things i liked about it, a few things that i didn't.

Either way, it's still fun to annoy the shit out of my wife in the middle of the night with the "Babadook dook dook dook dook"

[The Franchise]

Seriously? That's the plot?

Spoiler!

Plot[edit]
Since the death of her husband Oskar while driving her to the hospital to give birth, Amelia has raised her precocious son Samuel alone. Samuel is preoccupied with magic tricks, bedtime stories, and building homemade weapons to fight imaginary monsters. Amelia is forced to take her son out of school due to his ongoing behavioral problems. Sam’s issues also complicate Amelia’s budding romance with nursing home coworker Robbie. Samuel asks his mother to read from a mysterious pop-up storybook found on his shelf called, “Mister Babadook.” The book tells of a supernatural monster that cannot be dismissed once someone is made aware of its existence. After hearing the story, Sam becomes convinced that the Babadook has started stalking him and his mother. Amelia attributes strange events occurring throughout the house to Sam acting out, although Sam insists that the Babadook is real. Amelia rips up the “Mister Babadook” book and disposes of it in the trash bin outside. At his cousin Ruby’s birthday party, Sam pushes Ruby out of a treehouse and accidentally breaks her nose in two places when she teases Sam for not having a dad and for refusing to believe in the Babadook. Meanwhile, Amelia’s sister Claire admits to Amelia that she cannot stand to be around Samuel, and suspects that Amelia feels the same way. Sam has a seizure after experiencing a vision of the monster. Amelia convinces a doctor to prescribe sedatives to help Sam sleep, and also some for herself so that she may finally get some rest. Amelia hears knocking at the door and finds the repaired “Mister Babadook” storybook on the stoop. She reads a passage about how the monster becomes stronger the more someone denies its existence and sees new pop-ups that depict her strangling Sam. Amelia burns the book on the outdoor grill. After a strange phone call, Amelia goes to the police to report a stalker, but realizes that she sounds delusional. Prue and Warren from the Department of Community Services come to Amelia’s house to inspect Samuel’s home life. Amelia thinks she sees the Babadook stalking her neighbor Mrs. Roach. As more unexplainable events and strange visions occur, Amelia gradually comes to believe that the Babadook is haunting her and her son, and that she is becoming possessed. With her mind cracking, Amelia shows signs of intending to inflict harm on Samuel. Sam stabs her and leads Amelia into the booby-trapped basement where he captures her amongst stored items belonging to Oskar. Amelia coughs up a black substance and escapes. An invisible force pulls Samuel throughout Amelia’s bedroom. The Babadook appears and Amelia threatens it to not harm her son. The Babadook collapses and its spirit retreats to the cellar. Some time later, Amelia and Sam collect worms from the backyard. Amelia unlocks the cellar door and brings the bowl of worms down for the Babadook to eat. Afterward, Amelia prepares a proper party for Sam on his actual birthday.[4]

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

I can't even tell what the **** is supposed to be happening in the trailer.

It's more of a Pysch thriller than a Horror and you'll spend most of the movie wondering if there is a monster or if Mom is simply unraveling due to her stress and lack of sleep.

I thought the movie did a really good job with that. The acting from the mother was outstanding. The boy was so annoying that you wanted to punch him in the face about 5 minutes in, but that was clearly by design to demonstrate how much the mother is stressing because she can't handle her son's behavior.

One of the females and the teenager i watched it with said the same thing Fish said, "I hope the babadook eats the little ****er".

Essentially, the movie is about the unconditional love between a mother and son and the mom's inner demons. You're left to wonder if the monster is real or a manifestation of the mother's psychotic breakdown.

Then the ending happens.....And i think that's what really makes or breaks this movie for a person. The ending is very "wtf".

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Seriously? That's the plot?

Spoiler!

Plot[edit]
Since the death of her husband Oskar while driving her to the hospital to give birth, Amelia has raised her precocious son Samuel alone. Samuel is preoccupied with magic tricks, bedtime stories, and building homemade weapons to fight imaginary monsters. Amelia is forced to take her son out of school due to his ongoing behavioral problems. Sam’s issues also complicate Amelia’s budding romance with nursing home coworker Robbie. Samuel asks his mother to read from a mysterious pop-up storybook found on his shelf called, “Mister Babadook.” The book tells of a supernatural monster that cannot be dismissed once someone is made aware of its existence. After hearing the story, Sam becomes convinced that the Babadook has started stalking him and his mother. Amelia attributes strange events occurring throughout the house to Sam acting out, although Sam insists that the Babadook is real. Amelia rips up the “Mister Babadook” book and disposes of it in the trash bin outside. At his cousin Ruby’s birthday party, Sam pushes Ruby out of a treehouse and accidentally breaks her nose in two places when she teases Sam for not having a dad and for refusing to believe in the Babadook. Meanwhile, Amelia’s sister Claire admits to Amelia that she cannot stand to be around Samuel, and suspects that Amelia feels the same way. Sam has a seizure after experiencing a vision of the monster. Amelia convinces a doctor to prescribe sedatives to help Sam sleep, and also some for herself so that she may finally get some rest. Amelia hears knocking at the door and finds the repaired “Mister Babadook” storybook on the stoop. She reads a passage about how the monster becomes stronger the more someone denies its existence and sees new pop-ups that depict her strangling Sam. Amelia burns the book on the outdoor grill. After a strange phone call, Amelia goes to the police to report a stalker, but realizes that she sounds delusional. Prue and Warren from the Department of Community Services come to Amelia’s house to inspect Samuel’s home life. Amelia thinks she sees the Babadook stalking her neighbor Mrs. Roach. As more unexplainable events and strange visions occur, Amelia gradually comes to believe that the Babadook is haunting her and her son, and that she is becoming possessed. With her mind cracking, Amelia shows signs of intending to inflict harm on Samuel. Sam stabs her and leads Amelia into the booby-trapped basement where he captures her amongst stored items belonging to Oskar. Amelia coughs up a black substance and escapes. An invisible force pulls Samuel throughout Amelia’s bedroom. The Babadook appears and Amelia threatens it to not harm her son. The Babadook collapses and its spirit retreats to the cellar. Some time later, Amelia and Sam collect worms from the backyard. Amelia unlocks the cellar door and brings the bowl of worms down for the Babadook to eat. Afterward, Amelia prepares a proper party for Sam on his actual birthday.[4]

That summary doesn't do it justice though. It's not really fair to the movie. The summary is very dismissive and it acts like the movie is cut in dry. It's not, it's very much up to interpretation.

The ending is very much up to interpretation. If you're the kinda person who takes something at face value, then the ending will appear incredibly stupid. If you like to dig a bit deeper and think about the meaning of things and seek out clues during the course of the movie, then you might've enjoyed it a bit more.

Like i said, people will either hate it or love it, depends on your taste in movies. It's by no mean your typical Hollywood Horror movie.

[ToxSocks]

This movie got a 96% on Rotten tomatoes....

but i don't see the general public giving it anywhere close to that kind of rating.

[ThaVirus]

You're really hyping up this movie, Detox...

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

You're really hyping up this movie, Detox...

Ehhh...not trying to hype it, just trying to give credit where credit is due.

It wouldn't shock me at all if someone watches it, comes back and says they hate it.

Different strokes for different folks.

I think the trailer makes it seem like more of a horror movie than it is, which actually takes away from the movie.

It's an Australian, low budget indie film.

I enjoyed it. It had me thinking about it the next day. The 3 people i watched it with didn't like it and neither did Fish.

Movie critics seem to really love it.

I don't know. I can't sit here and tell you, "you have to watch this movie, you'll love it".

But if you're into the horror/thriller genre, i say you should at least give it a shot.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Seriously? That's the plot?

Spoiler!

Plot[edit]
Since the death of her husband Oskar while driving her to the hospital to give birth, Amelia has raised her precocious son Samuel alone. Samuel is preoccupied with magic tricks, bedtime stories, and building homemade weapons to fight imaginary monsters. Amelia is forced to take her son out of school due to his ongoing behavioral problems. Sam’s issues also complicate Amelia’s budding romance with nursing home coworker Robbie. Samuel asks his mother to read from a mysterious pop-up storybook found on his shelf called, “Mister Babadook.” The book tells of a supernatural monster that cannot be dismissed once someone is made aware of its existence. After hearing the story, Sam becomes convinced that the Babadook has started stalking him and his mother. Amelia attributes strange events occurring throughout the house to Sam acting out, although Sam insists that the Babadook is real. Amelia rips up the “Mister Babadook” book and disposes of it in the trash bin outside. At his cousin Ruby’s birthday party, Sam pushes Ruby out of a treehouse and accidentally breaks her nose in two places when she teases Sam for not having a dad and for refusing to believe in the Babadook. Meanwhile, Amelia’s sister Claire admits to Amelia that she cannot stand to be around Samuel, and suspects that Amelia feels the same way. Sam has a seizure after experiencing a vision of the monster. Amelia convinces a doctor to prescribe sedatives to help Sam sleep, and also some for herself so that she may finally get some rest. Amelia hears knocking at the door and finds the repaired “Mister Babadook” storybook on the stoop. She reads a passage about how the monster becomes stronger the more someone denies its existence and sees new pop-ups that depict her strangling Sam. Amelia burns the book on the outdoor grill. After a strange phone call, Amelia goes to the police to report a stalker, but realizes that she sounds delusional. Prue and Warren from the Department of Community Services come to Amelia’s house to inspect Samuel’s home life. Amelia thinks she sees the Babadook stalking her neighbor Mrs. Roach. As more unexplainable events and strange visions occur, Amelia gradually comes to believe that the Babadook is haunting her and her son, and that she is becoming possessed. With her mind cracking, Amelia shows signs of intending to inflict harm on Samuel. Sam stabs her and leads Amelia into the booby-trapped basement where he captures her amongst stored items belonging to Oskar. Amelia coughs up a black substance and escapes. An invisible force pulls Samuel throughout Amelia’s bedroom. The Babadook appears and Amelia threatens it to not harm her son. The Babadook collapses and its spirit retreats to the cellar. Some time later, Amelia and Sam collect worms from the backyard. Amelia unlocks the cellar door and brings the bowl of worms down for the Babadook to eat. Afterward, Amelia prepares a proper party for Sam on his actual birthday.[4]

Seriously....

Spoiler about the plot and finale:

Spoiler!

First, what bothered me the most is that the movie has no real likable characters. The mom is a selfish crazy bitch. She curses at the kid, gets very violent with him, tells him to eat shit because the kid interrupted her nap, doesn't allow him to celebrate his birthday on the day of his birthday because that's also the day the father was killed, etc. The woman playing the mother did a good job acting, but the character just didn't make sense and came off selfish and hateful. The mixed in a lot of suspense to make you sort of think the mom was losing her mind, it just didn't work for me. The kid was an insufferable asshole, but you still feel a tiny bit sorry for him because everyone else in the movie is even more of an asshole.

The movie does a good job at building up lots of tension. It finally results in a big showdown finale of the Mom vs. the Babadook. Up to this point, the Babadook has been able to do all kinds of badass poltergeist stuff, like move objects, make noises, invisibly pick up people and objects, completely posses people, etc. There's a standoff between mom and monster, and the mom screams at it, and all of a sudden the monster loses all its power for no explained reason at all. From that point on, the mom and kid keep the Babadook in the basement and take care of it as a bizarre pet of sorts, and bring it food like a bowl of worms. Everyone lives happily ever after. The end.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by Fish

Seriously....

Spoiler about the plot and finale:

Spoiler!

First, what bothered me the most is that the movie has no real likable characters. The mom is a selfish crazy bitch. She curses at the kid, gets very violent with him, tells him to eat shit because the kid interrupted her nap, doesn't allow him to celebrate his birthday on the day of his birthday because that's also the day the father was killed, etc. The woman playing the mother did a good job acting, but the character just didn't make sense and came off selfish and hateful. The mixed in a lot of suspense to make you sort of think the mom was losing her mind, it just didn't work for me. The kid was an insufferable asshole, but you still feel a tiny bit sorry for him because everyone else in the movie is even more of an asshole.

The movie does a good job at building up lots of tension. It finally results in a big showdown finale of the Mom vs. the Babadook. Up to this point, the Babadook has been able to do all kinds of badass poltergeist stuff, like move objects, make noises, invisibly pick up people and objects, completely posses people, etc. There's a standoff between mom and monster, and the mom screams at it, and all of a sudden the monster loses all its power for no explained reason at all. From that point on, the mom and kid keep the Babadook in the basement and take care of it as a bizarre pet of sorts, and bring it food like a bowl of worms. Everyone lives happily ever after. The end.

Yeah, you kinda missed some of the finer points.

Her screaming at the kid and being an asshole was something that evolved over time as she continued to lose her mind. That was the point the movie was trying to make. Remember, the movie doesn't start that way. She starts off as a very caring mother and progressively gets worse, assuming under the pressure of her misbehving child and the death of her husband that she tries to push under the rug, even though its consuming her.

And the standoff...that was very well explained several times through out the movie....it's even noted in the trailer.

As far as the ending goes, i feel that it's very, very open ended. Im not sure it's SUPPOSE to be taken literally.

Im not sure that the Babadook was even a REAL thing, but rather a manifestation.

If you notice, the handling of the Babadook shared a lot of similarities to the way she handled her dead husband. And the end was essentially symbolic of her coming to terms with her OWN inner demons.

I think the message is a lot deeper than you're giving credit for. I don't believe it's intended to be taken at face value.

it's the same conversation i had with my wife, who enjoyed the movie up until the confusing ending.