A mother and her son—Amelia and Samuel—live in a quiet Australian suburb. Samuel is only six and has frequent issues at school and home. His abnormal behavior, such as breaking a window with a makeshift catapult, suggests he needs some special attention. One night, he chooses a big red picture book titled Mister Babadook for his mom to read. Mister Babadook is like a boogeyman but with his own style. In the book, it says, “A rumbling sound then three sharp knocks, ba Ba-ba DOOK! DOOK! DOOK! That’s when you’ll know that he’s around.” The book seems cursed. Disgusted at such a horrid book, Amelia rips the book to shreds, easing her worries for the time being. However, the horror intensifies as Samuel passes out after encountering Babadook. Amelia develops insomnia due to the stressful time with her troublesome child, and the tension builds. She reaches a point where she almost does the unthinkable, killing her son. This movie may sound like a typical occult film in which an evil spirit takes over to perform sinister deeds; however, it is not.

 When I watched it for the first time, the movie was confusing. I wondered why the kid was so annoying. I thought the mother must have such a hard time raising a kid like that! Halfway through, however, when Amelia starts having illusions and suffering from insomnia, which makes her son’s life a misery, I started to pity the boy more than her. In the end, I realized what Babadook is: a tower of grief over her husband’s death. There were clues, in fact, throughout the film. This movie is about how being stricken with grief over a long period can be dangerous to not only a person’s mental health but also to the people around the griever. Once Babadook fills the void caused by overwhelming grief, Babadook takes control.

 This film is great. It is so different from typical horror films involving demonic possession. It may be that Babadook lives in everyone but is simply not strong enough to take control. It was clever to depict deep grief as Babadook taking over. Grief caused by the loss of a loved one could overwhelm any of us with harmful consequences. After watching the movie, I wondered if I had felt grief in my life and about how I handled it. However, the real question is whether I am truly over that grief or whether it is still affecting me. The movie is also about how strong a mother’s love can be. Anyone looking for a unique horror film and wanting to know what happened to Samuel and Amelia should check it out.