The Babadook
| The Babadook | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Jennifer Kent |
| Produced by | Kristina Ceyton Kristian Moliere |
| Screenplay by | Jennifer Kent |
| Based on |
Monster by Jennifer Kent |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Jed Kurzel |
| Cinematography | Radosław Ładczuk |
| Edited by | Simon Njoo |
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Production
company |
Causeway Films
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| Distributed by | |
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Release date
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country |
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| Language | |
| Budget | $2 million |
| Box office | $7.5 million |
The Babadook is a 2014 Australian-Canadian psychological horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her directorial debut, and produced by Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere. The film stars Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear. It is based on the 2005 short film Monster, also written and directed by Kent.
The Babadook was initially not a strong commercial success in Australia and was given a limited release in art house theatres. However, largely after its strong reception at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the film generated more attention in the United States and Europe which ultimately helped its reputation in Australia.
It was a major success, gaining $7.5 million over a $2 million budget, and received critical acclaim.
Amelia Vanek is a troubled and exhausted widow who has brought up her six-year-old son Samuel alone after her husband Oskar's death from a car accident that occurred as he drove Amelia to the hospital during her labour. Sam begins displaying erratic behaviour: he becomes an insomniac and is preoccupied with an imaginary monster, against which he has built weapons to fight. Amelia is forced to pick up her son from school after Sam brings one of the weapons there. One night, Sam asks his mother to read a pop-up storybook: Mister Babadook. It describes the titular monster, the Babadook, a tall pale-faced humanoid in a top hat with pointed fingers who torments its victims after they become aware of its existence. Amelia is disturbed by the book and its mysterious appearance, while Sam becomes convinced that the Babadook is real. Sam's persistence within the Babadook leads Amelia to often have sleepless nights as she tries to comfort him.
Soon after, strange events occur: doors open and close mysteriously by themselves, strange sounds are heard and Amelia finds glass shards in her food. She attributes the events to Sam's behaviour, but he blames the Babadook. Amelia rips up the book and disposes of it. At Sam's cousin Ruby's birthday party, Ruby bullies Sam for not having a father, in response to which he pushes her out of her tree house and breaks her nose in two places. Amelia's sister Claire admits she cannot bear Sam to which Amelia takes great offence. On the drive home, Sam has another vision of the Babadook and suffers a febrile seizure, after which Amelia makes a successful plea for sedatives to a paediatrician.
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Wikipedia