The Babadook

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Paul & Amy knock three times on 2014’s Australian psychological horror film The Babadook! They learn how director Jennifer Kent was influenced by classic creature features, spotlight a trope most horror films use that this one avoids, and explore why the film is such a relatable depiction of parenting. Plus: A look at the Babadook’s second life as an LGBT icon.

This is the second episode of our “Unghouled” horror miniseries; next week’s film is Night Of The Living Dead! Learn more about the show at unspooledpod.com, follow us on Twitter @unspooled and Instagram @unspooledpod, and don’t forget to rate, review & subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Spotify. Also check out our live Spool Party episodes on youtube.com/earwolf, and apply to be a guest on Screen Test at unspooledpod@gmail.com! Photo credit: Kim Troxall

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Haven't seen this movie since it was in theaters in 2014, but I liked it a lot at the time. I thought Kent showed great control over the cinematic form (lots of smart show-don't-tell visual storytelling) and that the metaphor was well delivered under the horror surface: the monster is the stress of being a widowed single mother (maybe it doesn't even exist!), and you "defeat" it by learning to live with it, not by killing it.

So it's really good, but I'm a no vote because (1) it's still pretty new and (2) I'm not sure if this is really the best Jennifer Kent can do. She might have an even better masterpiece coming down the line, and this is her Mean Streets or something. The Nightingale also had some pretty impressive filmmaking going on.

I'm also now realizing I saw this before becoming a parent, so it might resonate differently upon rewatch.

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

I had not seen this before, but was particularly impressed by the movie. I think it works on <i>soooooo</i> many levels, from simple just watch and be creeped out to breaking it all down as metaphors to its distorting of horror norms (which Paul & Amy bring up).

I still vote no though, because I think there are better choices to send into space as an example of horror. It's very close though, and I do like it the more I think about it too.  

[FictionIsntReal 79]

Australia is an English-speaking country, so there was no need for an English-language remake. Amy is wrong about the American remake of Let the Right One In, but that was already litigated over at the Canon. The linked video explains how that remake screwed things up, but there's another American horror film which could be considered a sort of remake of LtROI, but since it's not officially a remake was able to be consistent in its deviations: Justin P. Lange's 2018 film "The Dark". It's not actually great in its own right, but it is coherent in having a story about a boy who is NOT a budding serial-killer but still chooses to befriend a monster.

This might be the best horror movie of the 21st century. Is that enough to be one of the 100 films shot into space? That's a higher bar.

[The Other Miles 0]

I have to cast my vote for The Babadook being shot into space not because it's the scariest of horror movies (while it's effectively creepy, I don't actually find it very scary), it shows the horror that can exist in human relationships. If an alien watched this, I'd like to think it would come away with the impression that people can have complicated, fraught, hurtful dynamics at work between them while still loving each other and committing to each other fully.