The Babadook at 10: supernatural horror film Stephen King called ‘deeply disturbing’ is unafraid to tackle a taboo

Amelia, a grieving widow, and her young son Samuel form the heart of The Babadook, a psychological horror movie where, we discover, nothing is as it seems

At first, the villain is a storybook bogeyman, but halfway through, the film pulls back to a more objective viewpoint – and we learn the real horror

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Essie Davis (left) as Amelia and Noah Wiseman as Samuel in a still from The Babadook (2014), a horror film that poses questions no one dare ask.

Published: 4:15am, 27 May 2024

If horror is about saying the unsayable, it is no wonder that Australian writer-director Jennifer Kent’s 2014 debut, The Babadook, is held in such high regard by those in the know.

Legendary author Stephen King called it “deeply disturbing”, and The Exorcist director William Friedkin said, “I’ve never seen a more terrifying film.”

Based on Kent’s 2005 short, Monster, inspired by silent films and infused with Freudian psychology, The Babadook tackles a taboo hardly ever explored on screen: what if you cannot stand your own child?

“It’s the great unspoken thing,” Kent told The Guardian newspaper of her masterpiece, which turned 10 in May 2024. “We’re all, as women, educated and conditioned to think that motherhood is an easy thing that just happens.

The Babadook Official Trailer #1 (2014) - Essie Davis Horror Movie HD

“But it’s not always the case. I wanted to show a real woman who was drowning in that environment.”