The Babadook

"If it's in a word, or it's in a look, you can't get rid of..."

2014 1h 34m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🔥

98%

CERTIFIED FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 6,584🍅98%Rotten Tomatoes●86Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 265,823

DramaHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A grieving single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book manifests in their home.

“If it's in a word, or it's in a look, you can't get rid of...”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Essie Davis
Amelia Vanek
Noah Wiseman
Samuel Vanek
Hayley McElhinney
Claire
Daniel Henshall
Robbie
Barbara West
Gracie Roach
Ben Winspear
Oskar Vanek
Cathy Adamek
Prue
Craig Behenna
Warren

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jennifer Kent
Writers: Jennifer Kent
Languages: English
Countries: Australia, Canada

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Australia, Canada.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jennifer Kent, shot by Radek Ładczuk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jed Kurzel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Simon Njoo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman and Hayley McElhinney carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jennifer Kent directs. Radek Ładczuk behind the camera. Jed Kurzel scores. Simon Njoo cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Australia, Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 5.2× over at the box office.
3Released 12 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: Australia, Canada.
5Directed by Jennifer Kent, shot by Radek Ładczuk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Jed Kurzel. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Simon Njoo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman and Hayley McElhinney carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "If it's in a word, or it's in a look, you can't get rid of...".
10IMDB entry: tt2321549 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "monster", "nightmare", "parent child relationship", "dysfunctional family".

The technical file

Cinematography: Radek Ładczuk
Original score: Jed Kurzel
Editing: Simon Njoo
Production design: Alex Holmes
Costume design: Heather Wallace
Makeup / hair: Marion Lee
VFX supervisor: Marty Pepper
Sound: Pete Smith
Stunt coordinator: Reg Roordink
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $10,300,000
Return: 515% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Babadook (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 86/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 265,823 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

56 wins & 64 nominations total

AACTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
AACTA Award for Best Direction
AACTA Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Jennifer Kent

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-11-19
★ 10/10
Ba Ba-Ba Dook! Dook! Dook! The Babadook is written and directed by Jennifer Kent. It stars Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall and Hayley McElhinney. Music is by Jed Kurzel and cinematography by Radek Ladczuk. Amelia is a single mother still haunted by the violent death of her husband, she is trying to deal with her young son Samuel's fear of a monster in the house. Initially tolerating it as a flight of fancy, the arrival of a book in the youngster's bedroom called Mr. Babadook, signals the start of a sinister presence that she herself can begin to fear as well. Australia has been producing some great horror films in the last couple of decades, The Babadook is one of the best of the bunch. Jennifer Kent made it as a 10 minute short back in 2005 called Monster, itself a super piece of horror film making, now in full feature length form (Kent’s first), the vision and intelligence explodes off the screen in every frame. The premise at the core is not exactly fresh, but Kent manages to make The Babadook its own entity, skilfully steering away from formula jolts and terrors. Which in this day and age of horror retreads, sequel frenzies and blood for blood’s sake, is most refreshing. This is a big character piece, a two hander of incredible emotional power, a mother and son dealing with their own demons before the eponymous Babadook enters the fray. We care about this pair of troubled souls, so much so that as we start to feel the dread, get the tingles down the spine, our hearts are also aching for them. The two performances of the actors quite simply magnificent. Mr. Babadook is a pop-up picture book that suddenly arrives into their lives. The creature is a sort of cross between a German expressionistic nightmare and Jack the Ripper. The book itself is creepy enough in its own right, more so as it starts to take on a more terrifying tone – and Amelia proves unsuccessful at getting rid of the thing – the picture starts playing its ace psychological cards. The monster is kept mostly to the edges of the frames, or just popping up for a quick glance in unexpected places, this is a great move and suits the narrative perfectly. The tech credits are top notch. A key aspect to getting the most out of The Babadook is to make sure the sound is loud, for the sound mix is tremendous and can bring pounds of gooseflesh rising up on your arms. Ladczuk’s photography is at one with the themes pulsing away in the story, the colours paled and cheerless, enhancing the fractured psyches of mother and son, but Mr. Babadook is a jet black presence in this landscape. All told the art design from the book to the house and the creature is excellent. Umbrella’s Australian All Region Blu-ray Release has a super transfer and does justice to the sound mix. There’s over an hour of interviews, which are a mixed bag of informative chat and back slapping, a 12 minute behind the scenes making of and some trailers. The bonus is the 10 minute short, Monster, The Babadook in its infancy but no less scary for it. The Babadook is a superlative horror film for adults, like when Polanski met Kubrick and they decided to pay homage to Fritz Lang and George Melies. Yes it’s that good. 10/10
Gimly2019-12-18
★ 6/10
The best pure-horror of the year. But that's not saying much. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.
r96sk2020-07-10
★ 7/10
<em>'The Babadook'</em> is a well done horror film, one that is most definitely creepy. I would've liked more from the monster and how it works, though the film does give you enough and certainly does a fine job at building up the atmosphere of uneasiness that the thing produces. One great part I noticed is the sound editing, which is astutely crafted throughout. Essie Davis does terrific in the role of Amelia, she shows every emotion that her character is feeling nicely - I felt her pain initially with the kid, too. Noah Wiseman plays her son, Samuel. He is actually quite impressive given his age, there are a few scenes where he adds a fair deal to them. It's hearty, suspenseful and attempts proper horror as opposed to forcing things like jump scares, which I will always praise a production in this genre for. I wanted a little more, but overall I like this.