The Babadook (2014)
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Jennifer Kent's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- Before Essie Davis was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- Jennifer Kent originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
The Babadook is a 2014 Australian psychological horror film written and directed by Jennifer Kent in her feature debut. Essie Davis stars as Amelia Vanek, an exhausted, grief-stricken single mother whose husband was killed in a car accident while driving her to the hospital to give birth to their son Samuel, played by Noah Wiseman. Six years later, Amelia is barely coping โ Samuel's behavioral problems have made them social outcasts, and she hasn't processed her grief.
When a mysterious, sinister pop-up book called "Mister Babadook" appears on Samuel's shelf, its terrifying illustrations seem to manifest as a malevolent entity in their home. Jennifer Kent used the Babadook as a metaphor for suppressed grief and depression โ the monster grows stronger the more Amelia denies her pain, and the film's resolution comes not through destroying the Babadook but through acknowledging and containing it, a powerful metaphor for living with grief rather than being consumed by it. Essie Davis's performance, depicting a mother simultaneously loving and resenting her child while descending into psychological crisis, was one of the rawest in modern horror.
The Babadook earned $10 million worldwide on a $2 million budget.
