The Babadook (2014)
Released: 28 November 2014
Genre : Drama | Horror | Thriller
Summary:
Amelia, a widowed orderly, has raised her son Samuel alone following her husband's tragic death. Sam begins displaying erratic behavior: he rarely sleeps through the night, and is constantly preoccupied with an imaginary monster, which he has built weapons to fight. Amelia is forced to take her son out of school due to his ongoing behavioral problems. One night, Sam asks his mother to read from a mysterious pop-up storybook he found on his shelf. The story, titled "Mister Babadook", is about a supernatural creature; once someone is made aware of its existence, the monster torments that person indefinitely. Amelia is disturbed by the book's contents, while a traumatized Sam becomes convinced that the Babadook is stalking them in their home.
Strange events begin occurring throughout the house. Doors open and close on their own, Amelia finds glass in her food but not in Sam's, and strange sounds are heard with no apparent source. Amelia attributes them to Sam acting out, but Sam insists that the Babadook is responsible. Amelia eventually rips up the "Mister Babadook" book and disposes of it. At his cousin Ruby’s birthday party, Sam pushes Ruby out of a treehouse after she refuses to believe in the Babadook and teases Samuel for not having a father. Amelia’s sister Claire admits to her that she cannot stand to be around Sam, and suspects that Amelia feels the same way.
Sam has a seizure after experiencing a vision of the monster in their car. Amelia convinces a doctor to prescribe sedatives to help her son sleep, hoping that it will allow her some much needed sleep as well. One morning, Amelia hears knocking at the door and finds the "Mister Babadook" storybook, reassembled, on the front step. The book sadistically taunts her, claiming the more Amelia denies, the stronger the Babadook will get, and that it will grow inside Amelia. There are new popups of a possessed Amelia strangling her dog, killing Sam, then slitting her own throat. Terrified, Amelia burns the book on an outdoor grill. After receiving an eerie phone call, Amelia goes to the police to report a stalker, but is turned away when she is unable to produce the storybook. The police officer notices that Amelia's hands are black, which may have been the charcoal from burning the book but also may be from the black pastel used in the book, implying that she was perhaps the one who reassembled it. This is also supported when she states at the birthday party that she used to write children's books.
Amelia begins to see the Babadook wherever she goes, and spends several nights in a row without sleeping. With her mental health deteriorating, Amelia becomes hostile and shows signs that she intends to harm Sam. After Sam phones a neighbor for help, Amelia goes into a fit of rage, cutting the phone lines and killing the family dog, just as the book had depicted. During an altercation, Sam stabs Amelia in the leg with a kitchen knife and lures her into the cellar, which he has booby trapped in order to combat the Babadook. Sam manages to incapacitate his mother, and pleads with her to fight the monster inside her. After nearly choking Sam, Amelia momentarily comes to her senses and fights the Babadook until she vomits up a black substance and returns to normal. Although she initially believes her ordeal to be over, Sam reiterates that "you can't get rid of the Babadook" and then is dragged upstairs by an unseen force. The Babadook attempts to take Sam from Amelia, but she stands up to the creature, screaming that she will kill it if it harms her child. The Babadook collapses. Amelia approaches its body; upon her touching it, the creature retreats into the cellar.
Some time later, Amelia and Samuel's lives appear to have achieved some balance and normality again. After collecting a bowl of worms with Sam, Amelia takes it to the cellar, where the Babadook now resides. After offering the worms to the creature, Amelia returns to Sam and the two celebrate his birthday in their backyard.
Cast:
Essie Davis as Amelia
Noah Wiseman as Samuel
Daniel Henshall as Robbie
Hayley McElhinney Claire
Barbara West as Mrs. Roach
Benjamin Winspear as Oskar
Cathy Adamek as Prue
Craig Behenna as Warren
Adam Morgan as Sergeant
Peta Shannon as Mother #2
Hachi as Bugsy
Box Office:
The Babadook opened in North America in a limited release in 3 theaters and grossed $30,007, with an average of $10,002 per theater and ranking #42 at the box office. The film has so far grossed $608,103 in the United States and $3,917,000 internationally for a total of $4,525,103 worldwide, above its estimated $2 million production budget.
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