The acting is simply fantastic. The movie solely evolves around the relationship between the mother and the son and they spend most of their time in the house. With other actors, it could have been a disaster. In that case, it was brilliant.
The descent into madness is illustrated in a poignant way. It is dark, sad and oppressing, primarily demonstrated through the dull colours, the succession of scenes where the characters sleep or talk about sleeping, the insertion of television footage and the amount of time they spend wandering in the living room in pyjamas. All supernatural elements put aside, it was a relevant and heart-breaking rendition of mourning, mental disease and depression. This is a movie about humans, not monsters.
The Babadook is a vibrant homage to early cinema (such as George Mélies) and, most specifically, the aesthetic of German expressionism. He is probably the best new villain to have hit the screens in a long time! You see just enough of him to have a good idea of what he looks like, but never enough to completely unfold the mystery.
The only downside, in my opinion, is the unnecessary use of possession movies tropes towards the end- convulsions, shaking furniture, etc. It all felt a little over the top, and even a desecration of its slow-paced, very original approach to the horror genre.
The descent into madness is illustrated in a poignant way. It is dark, sad and oppressing, primarily demonstrated through the dull colours, the succession of scenes where the characters sleep or talk about sleeping, the insertion of television footage and the amount of time they spend wandering in the living room in pyjamas. All supernatural elements put aside, it was a relevant and heart-breaking rendition of mourning, mental disease and depression. This is a movie about humans, not monsters.
The Babadook is a vibrant homage to early cinema (such as George Mélies) and, most specifically, the aesthetic of German expressionism. He is probably the best new villain to have hit the screens in a long time! You see just enough of him to have a good idea of what he looks like, but never enough to completely unfold the mystery.
The only downside, in my opinion, is the unnecessary use of possession movies tropes towards the end- convulsions, shaking furniture, etc. It all felt a little over the top, and even a desecration of its slow-paced, very original approach to the horror genre.