Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The Babadook (2014)



Who's In It: Essie Davis (the Matrix sequels, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, The White Princess) and Noah Wiseman (just this for now).

What It's About: A widow's (Davis) struggle to raise her special needs son (Wiseman) becomes harder when a character from a spooky children's book comes to life in their home.

How It Is: The monster looks great and there are cool, scary moments, but the beauty of the film is that it creates a new monster to represent a modern fear. I know single parents who are raising kids with special needs and/or challenging behaviors. I see just the tiniest part of their struggle and can't imagine how they do what they do. The Babadook doesn't make the "how" part any clearer, but it sure does highlight and underline the impossibility of the job and how much support is desperately needed. Throw a big helping of grief about a deceased spouse on top of that and it's even more powerful. I'll be watching this again and sharing it with others.

Rating: 4 out of 5 monsters under the bed.



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