The Babadook (2014)

A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.

Director:

Jennifer Kent

Writer:

Jennifer Kent

Stars:

Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall

56 wins & 64 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Essie Davis	...	Amelia Vanek
Noah Wiseman	...	Samuel
Hayley McElhinney	...	Claire
Daniel Henshall	...	Robbie
Barbara West	...	Mrs. Roach
Ben Winspear	...	Oskar
Chloe Hurn	...	Ruby
Jacquy Phillips	...	Beverly (as Jacqy Phillips)
Bridget Walters	...	Norma
Annie Batten	...	Old Woman in Corridor
Tony Mack	...	Principal
Carmel Johnson	...	Teacher
Tiffany Lyndall-Knight	...	Supermarket Mum (as Tiffany Lyndall Knight)
Lucy Hong	...	Supermarket Little Girl
Sophie Riggs	...	Checkout Chick

Storyline

Amelia, who lost her husband in a car crash on the way to give birth to Samuel, their only child, struggles to cope with her fate as a single mom. Samuel's constant fear of monsters and violent reaction to overcome the fear doesn't help her cause either, which makes her friends become distant. When things can not get any worse, they read a strange book in their house about the 'Babadook' monster that hides in the dark areas of their house. Even Amelia seems to feel the effect of Babadook and desperately tries in vain to destroy the book. The nightmarish experiences the two encounter form the rest of the story.

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Plot Keywords:

book | single mother | mother son relationship | monster | fear | 

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Taglines:

Don't let it in.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the birthday party scene, the adults are all wearing shades of gray/black, the boys are all wearing blue, and the girls are all wearing pink. The mother, however, is wearing a pink dress under her black coat.

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Goofs

When Amelia is screaming at the Babadook after the picture on the dresser falls over, the black frame on the wall to the left of her head is noticeably slanted, but when she is shown again the frame is perfectly straight. When Amelia says "You're trespassing in my house!" the same frame falls. A few seconds later, when she is shown again, it is back on the wall. Then right after they show Sam hugging Amelia from behind the frame is gone again.

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Quotes

Amelia: [Amelia is driving Sam home from his aunt's house] Where did you get those firecrackers?
Samuel: You got them for me on the internet!
Amelia: [livid] Well, that's the end of the internet.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 50 Scariest Horror Movie Scenes of ALL TIME (2018)

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Soundtracks

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565
Written by Johann Sebastian Bach
Courtesy of The Image Music Library

User Reviews

Powerful Australian movie

This movie is a slightly pretentious, but powerful and original movie about guilt ridden mother and some metaphorical horrors, that ring only too true. Good cinematography, competent acting, original story, nice concept. A bit contrived and pretentious, but well worth a watch.

Details

Official Sites:

Causeway Films - Festivals & Awards Causeway Films [Australia]

Country:

Australia Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 November 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Babadook

Filming Locations:

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,007, 30 November 2014

Gross USA:

$964,413

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,312,540

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Australia, Causeway Films, The South Australian Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (5.1 surround)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1