Editor’s Note: Read my review of “The Babadook” right here.
IFC Midnight has got you covered for Halloween and beyond with a new genre film called THE BABADOOK.
Kim Newman, of EMPIRE MAGAZINE, describes it as, “one of the strongest, most effective horror films of recent years – with awards-quality lead work from Essie Davis, and a brilliantly-designed new monster who could well become the break-out spook archetype of the decade.”
The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival Midnight Section and it absolutely terrified audiences ever since. The film is a psychological thriller in the tradition of Polanski’s classic domestic horror (Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant, Repulsion). In addition, The BABADOOK just won the “Best Horror Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress” Awards at the 2014 Fantastic Fest. The film is coming out theatrically on November 28th but it also has an exclusive debut with Direct TV starting October 30th so Direct TV subscribers will have a chance to catch the film in their home on Halloween!
Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her ‘out of control’ 6 year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called ‘The Babadook’ turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son’s behaviour, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real. THE BABADOOK is a psychological thriller in the tradition of Polanski’s classic domestic horrors (Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant, Repulsion). Using her award winning short horror Monster as a springboard, writer/director Jennifer Kent developed the script for her feature film debut at the Binger Lab in Amsterdam with assistance from SCREEN NSW and SCREEN AUSTRALIA.
Release Date: November 28, 2014 (Theatrical and VOD); October 30 (DirectTV)
Distributor: IFC Midnight
Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West and Ben Winspear.
Director: Jennifer Kent
Screenplay By: Jennifer Kent
Running time: 93 minutes
