The Babadook

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1 hr. 33 min.

Horror

Mystery & Thriller

List

98%

247 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A troubled widow (Essie Davis) discovers that her son is telling the truth about a monster that entered their home through the pages of a children's book.

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Critics Consensus

The Babadook relies on real horror rather than cheap jump scares -- and boasts a heartfelt, genuinely moving story to boot.

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Aidan B

Genuinely terrifying while also providing a shockingly heartfelt story, "The Babadook" stands as one of the best and most innovative horror movies in a long time.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

Full Review

Kaden F

amazing film, everything was great, especially the lead actress

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/07/24

Full Review

Patrick F

Art and Psychology combine to create a powerful and thrilling experience. With solid directing and an underated acting performane by the lead actress. This is a must watch for horror fans in my opinion.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/06/24

Full Review

Eitan K

Beautiful actors but terrible movie. Why did they keep the babadook as a pet in the end? So many things unexplained. This movie was so cringey and left me confused, was scary but silly scary. Do not recommend for a romantic date night unless you want to make fun of this movie and be disappointed. Please do not watch this unless you want to be let down in the end -babadook😢😢

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

Full Review

Nate C

The story has an interesting setting but the ending was so meh... (SPOILERS) The babadook get locked in the basement and the moms feeds it once a while. The babadooks powers are still there I don't know why he's not using it on her. Other than that it was meh

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/24

Full Review

John L

Saw the Babadook recently for the first time. Funny name, but a really good horror movie. With so many ghost and monster horror/thriller movies, no matter how scary it is, you can say that ghosts and monsters are not real, and it loses impact. You can't do this with the Babadook. Really well done multi-level film. Rotten Tomatos was spot on with 98%. IMDb clearly only saw this movie at face value and didn't realize the other level, otherwise they would have rated it higher.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/24

Full Review

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Jennifer Kent

Director

Essie Davis

Amelia

Daniel Henshall

Robbie

Noah Wiseman

Samuel

Hayley McElhinney

Claire

Barbara West

Mrs. Roach

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

Nestled deep within this teeny Australian thriller packs a simple yet profound message about what it often feels like to be a single parent, and even what it feels like to be the child of that parent.

Rated: B+

Sep 1, 2017

Full Review

Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

The Babadook's villains and victims are still running amok in my brain. I think they might be there for some time.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 5, 2016

Full Review

Noel Murray

Nashville Scene

What's most terrifying about The Babadook is that Kent grounds a bizarre supernatural premise in very real feelings of anxiety and depression.

Oct 5, 2016

Full Review

Wael Khairy

The Cairo Scene

Here’s a horror film that strays away from cheap thrills, and taps into something real; true human fear, grief, anxiety, and depression...the more I thought of The Babadook, the deeper it sank into my psyche.

Apr 22, 2024

Full Review

Brian Bisesi

Horror Movie Club Podcast

The Babadook succeeds on nearly every level. Its supernatural scares are effectively grounded in real-life tragedy and broken relationships that are depicted brilliantly by a superb performance from Essie Davis.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jan 17, 2024

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Essie Davis is a revelation in Jennifer Kent's meditation on grief and the challenges of single parenting. It's easy to hate Samuel, but the film is actually carefully calibrated to shift the villain status from son to mother. It all really works

Rated: 4/5

Jan 16, 2024

Full Review

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Synopsis

A troubled widow (Essie Davis) discovers that her son is telling the truth about a monster that entered their home through the pages of a children's book.

Director: Jennifer Kent
Executive Producer: Jan Chapman, Jeff Harrison, Jonathan Page, Michael Tear
Screenwriter: Jennifer Kent
Distributor: IFC Films
Production Co: Causeway Films, Entertainment One, Smoking Gun Productions
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English (Australia)
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 28, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 5, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $933.1K
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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