The scariest monsters of all: Ourselves.

While Jenifer Kent's The Babadook (2014) may exhibit some of the hallmarks of a traditional horror film, there's a lot more going on here than meets the eye. As I was sitting down to watch this film I was prepared for a cheesy monster and cheap jump-scares but instead what I watched was a compelling representation of the effects that mental health issues have on a family. I felt completely empathetic for the characters in this film and fully invested in the story of their struggles. The plot follows a widowed mother named Amelia (Essie Davis) who is struggling to raise her “troubled” son Samuel (Noah Wiseman), meanwhile they've discovered an otherworldly picture book called “The Babadook” that somehow mirrors the family's internal struggles. 

This Australian horror film introduces its titular monster as a classic creepy crawler, representing a stereotypical cautionary tale warning parents not to let their kids get scary stories in their heads. A hyper-active, young Samuel quickly becomes obsessed with the idea of “The Babadook” and is convinced he needs to save his mother from it.

Meanwhile, an already exhausted Amelia tries to tame her son's outbursts by repeatedly letting him stay home from school and yelling “The Babadook isn't real." Amelia's character is what initially got me invested into this film, something about a mentally-ill single mother with a dark cloud over her head really pulled at my heartstrings. As someone who unfortunately has loved ones with mental illnesses, Essie Davis's performance felt a little too real at times and I can honestly say that no other character in a horror film has ever made me feel as heartbroken as she has. There was an intense suffering behind Amelia's eyes and a genuine sounding strain to her voice that resonated with me in ways that made my body tense up. From scenes of Amelia being isolated by other parents to scenes of her attempting to escape it all with excessive hours of sleep, her character turns a surface level monster flick into a heavily emotional horror-drama.

Now I will admit, at the beginning of the film I did see Samuel as an annoying little boy who needed a "time-out" but as the film goes on I realized how brave and resilient he is. Samuel continually tells his mom to “not let the Babadook in” and promises to protect her from it. At first it seems as if he's just a little boy with a wild imagination but what's really happening is Samuel attempting to save his mom from herself because… Surprise! “The Babadook” is actually just Amelia when she's having an intense emotional episode. The thought of a young child with virtually no support system having to protect himself while also attempting to protect his abusive mother from herself is definitely the most frightening thing about this film. This thought haunted me for days and made me realize this topic isn't usually brought up in film and that was probably one of the reasons it had such an effect.

The scene that really set this film apart and honestly brought me to tears (like no other horror film has) was in the latter half of the film when Amelia is having one of her episodes in front of Samuel. After getting home from crashing the car, Samuel finds his mom sitting fully clothed in the bathtub with a lifeless look on her face that conveys she is past the point of no return. He desperately offers ways to help her but she simply dismisses him and pulls him into the murky, filled tub with her. Signifying that Amelia has succumbed to her dark thoughts and is bringing her innocent son into that dark place with her. The look on Samuel's face as he's pulled into the tub is what sent me over the edge. His little eyes are so scared and helpless as he utters “I don't want you to go away mum”.

With all that being said, I truly feel so grateful for Jennifer Kent's The Babadook, which so perfectly encapsulates the reality of hidden mental illness while giving life to the complex experiences of a mother, a child, and outside observers. Safe to say this Australian indie film will crawl under your skin and evoke deep emotions that normally wouldn't be brought up during most other horror films.