A mother, Amelia, and her son, Sam, find what appears to be a child’s book called Mister Babadook about a monster with a top hat and long claw fingers. Both characters are still dealing with the death of husband/father Oscar on the day Sam was born. Sam has trouble at school and Amelia has increasingly sleepless nights worrying about Sam and the Babadook story.

This is a slow burn psychological horror that will make your skin crawl. Many times I expected some sort of jump scare and was pleasantly surprised when it went a different direction. While I would have liked to see a bit more of the Babadook character, I’m glad he was kept obscured and in the shadows. It was appropriate for the story and kept the character away from Freddy Krueger buffoon territory.

You think it is the kid’s story, but it is really the mother’s story. Though, the kid is incredibly important, because he manages to use his traps and weaponry to stop the Babadook.

Some may think the ending is ambiguous, but after some thought, I think it is exactly what it needs to be. In fact, I can really appreciate the use of supernatural metaphors for real world problems. You can only hide from the Babadook for so long, before he’s going to come in and make himself at home.

Rating: