Horror movie enthusiasts have only a few days left to watch one of the most productive horror movies of the 21st century before it leaves Netflix. If you like genuinely horror movies that manage to combine horror with sincere feelings and compelling characters, this one should be on your watchlist. this week before it runs out.
The Babadook is an Australian psychological supernatural horror movie that came out in 2014 from first-time director Jennifer Kent (The Nightingale). It’s definitely one of the best scary movies I’ve seen in recent years, and since it’s now a decade old we can safely call it a “classic” of the horror genre. The Babadook boasts a near-perfect 98% Rotten Tomatoes score, which is pretty rare for horror flicks. Audiences are a bit more divided, with a Popcornmeter score of 72%, though that’s still certifiably “fresh.”
Whether or not you’re a big horror movie fan, this is one you should check out if you haven’t yet, and if you’ve already seen it and want to give it a rewatch you have until this Friday. The film leaves Netflix on Saturday, January 25th.
The story centers on Amelia Vanek (Essie Davis), a widowed mother whose husband died a violent death six years prior to the opening of the film. She struggles to raise her troubled six-year-old son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman) who has been acting out in strange ways. When a mysterious pop-up book called Mister Babadook appears in his room, things take a disturbing and supernatural turn.
The movie is minimalist in design, inspired by German Expressionist films, and blends themes of grief and depression, as well as the struggles of parenting, with its horror elements, blurring the lines between psychological and supernatural horror.
“This is a horror film that moves away from reasonable emotions,” wrote critic Wael Khairy of the film, “and approaches anything genuine; genuine human fear, pain, anxiety, and depression. . . the more idea I have of Babadook, the deeper it penetrated my psyche.
Critic Jason Adams praised the film, writing, “From the start, there’s something magnificent about its rhythms: an unsightly arrhythmic pulsation like a hiccup in our chest or an air bubble in our bloodstream, heading toward our heart. Squeeze and squeeze and oh, what a glorious high.
Dana Stevens of Slate echoed many other critics who praised the film’s sublime blend of domesticity and horror, writing, “The Babadook makes domestic life feel like the maximum herbal high possible. ” to encounter monsters of all kinds, adding our own monsters. ability to become. »
In other words, this is a horror movie that is not only genuinely terrifying, but it is also a movie that parents in particular can relate to, stoking not only the fears of childhood, but also those of adulthood and everything that implies. I haven’t noticed this since it came out. I may have to rewatch it myself before it leaves Netflix on Saturday, just watching the trailer makes me feel a little stressed.
Have you seen The Babadook? What did you think? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.
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