The Babadook (2014)

• Directed by Jennifer Kent
• Written by Jennifer Kent
• Stars Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Denshall
• Run Time: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5WQZzDRVtw

Synopsis

Amelia dreams about being in a traffic accident with her husband. Her son Samuel has nightmares about monsters. Credits roll.

Samuel is an annoying child, and he’s obsessed with monsters. Amelie is a nurse, and she gets a call from school about Samuel’s obsession with weapons. He has “significant behavioral problems.” Amelia wants Samuel to get special, individual attention from the public school system.

Samuel explains to a stranger that his father died in a car accident driving Amelia to the hospital to give birth to him seven years ago. Amelia’s friends don’t want their children to play with Samuel anymore, because he’s so troubled and off. Amelia finds the dog scratching at her basement door, but the door is locked, so there can’t be anything down there.

Samuel picks a bedtime story from the shelf. It’s a book called “The Babadook.” It rhymes, and it’s about a friendly monster. But it quickly gets dark. It’s not a children’s story, and Samuel goes into a screaming fit.