The Babadook (*****)

THE BEST HORROR movies don't answer all your questions, they don't leave you fulfilled, nor do they often leave you content in your bed at night. So it goes with "The Babadook," the Australian hit that is making waves across the world, heralding in a reinvigoration of the horror genre (even though we are a few months past the Halloween season). Most 'horror movies' have the ability to scare an audience with cheap thrills and jumps that make you throw popcorn in the air and laugh about it moments later. It's rare for a movie to really unsettle you; to burrow under your skin and send chills up and down your back. Horror is hard, but the set up is even harder. This movie is a masterclass.

We have Amelia, a single mother raising her son Samuel. Her husband died in a car crash years earlier, leaving her alone with her thoughts. To her family, she says she is over it. She doesn't speak of her husband and his possessions are locked away in the basement. The only evidence she casually displays is her wedding ring.

Samuel is no older than 6. He is a typical boy: plays by himself, has a collection of toy guns, talks about monsters under the bed... To his teachers, he is seen as a disruption and is advised to be taught under supervision. After bringing a weapon to class, Amelia decides to relocate him to a different school rather than try and get to the root of the problem. At a Birthday party for his cousin, Samuel pushes her out of her tree house. There are clear issues visible to everyone but Samuel's mother.

One night, they find a bedtime story to read. "Mister Babadook." It's innocent enough... Until it's not. With nightmarish images that pop out of the pages and rhymes that are peculiarly morbid, Amelia hides the book and attempts to calm Samuel's inevitable nightmares. Where did the book come from? The movie cares and it also does not. What motivates most of the film is essential to understanding its meaning, and yet some things are left up to the imagination, which oftentimes do a better job at scares than any movie ever could.

Night after night, and in a progressively intense nature, their house seems visited by a creature whose silhouette is easily identifiable as the Babadook. Lights flicker and doors knock. It's a wonder they don't keep all the lights on in the house... As I sat watching this film, I knew what the horror conventions were and what the heroine should not do in certain situations (don't open that door!). Yet even under the safety of her blankets, there is no protection.

What elevates this movie above the traditional horror flick is the attention to detail and the incredibly rich set up the film gives us. We know so much about these characters by the time they read this book that we are truly invested in their well-being throughout the nightmare. Maybe you think you know how it will end, or that the "twist" will reveal the true monster. Not so, and surprisingly the end was just as invigorating as the beginning; offering so many more ideas and theories than I initially could have conceived.

"The Babadook" understands horror and pulls from a rich tapestry of source material. It crawls under your skin and slowly settles in. It's one of the most exciting movies I've seen all year, and bar none the best horror movie I've seen in years.

(Awards potential: Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing)