The Babadook Standard Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray review

4 stars of heart-stopping Australian psychological horror.

The Babadook is an Australian horror film originally released in 2014. It is written and directed by Jennifer Kent (The Nightingale) and was her very impressive feature directorial debut.

Following on from the Limited Edition release it is now available on Standard Edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray courtesy of Second Sight Film.

“If it’s in a word, or it’s in a look. You can’t get rid of the Babadook.”

Amelia (Essie Davis – Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears) is a struggling young single mother. Her husband Oskar (Ben Winspear – Panic at Rock Island) was killed in a car accident while taking her to the hospital to give birth to their son Sam (Noah Wiseman).

She is still haunted by that crash and Sam is becoming an insomniac, obsessed with the monster under the bed. So much so in fact that he has even started to craft homemade weapons in order to combat it. When hen is taken out of school for showing violent tendencies, Amelia’s problems get even worse, as she is forced to miss work to look after him.

One night, to try and get him to sleep, she offers him the opportunity to pick a book to read before bed. He selects one from the shelf, Mister Babadook, a book that Amelia believes hadn’t been there before. Straight away, they are disturbed by the book, it’s sinister drawings and content not at all suitable for children. She puts it on top of the wardrobe out of the way, however it keeps reappearing.

Sam’s behavior continues to degenerate and he insists on blaming it on the Babadook. Her attempts to get rid of the book keep failing and as more of the story gets written, can she hold herself and her family together long enough to survive this nightmare?

The Babadook is a very good film, brilliantly written and genuinely disturbing. Rather than relying solely on jump scares (although there are plenty of those too) it builds the tension beautifully and allows you time to really start to care about the characters.

It is very well worked out as we see the supernatural elements taking advantage of the deteriorating mental health of this over-worked single mother with an unruly child. The Babadook itself is terrifying and certainly makes you look over your shoulder for a little while after watching.

A truly brilliant horror film, insightful, frightening and well worth adding to your collection.

“I promise to protect you if you promise to protect me. Then I won’t mention it.”