A sharp, emotionally loaded horror film that uses a haunted-house setup to externalize grief, burnout, and the strain of single parenthood. It’s more unsettling and psychologically precise than it is flashy, with a memorable central performance and a genuinely nasty sense of dread.
A grieving single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book manifests in their home.
Director
Jennifer Kent
Cast
Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, emotionally loaded horror film that uses a haunted-house setup to externalize grief, burnout, and the strain of single parenthood. It’s more unsettling and psychologically precise than it is flashy, with a memorable central performance and a genuinely nasty sense of dread.
Best for
Viewers who like psychological horror with emotional subtext
Fans of grief-driven, character-first horror
People who appreciate bleak domestic tension and slow-burn unease
Viewers interested in horror as metaphor rather than pure shock
Skip if
You want fast-paced, gore-heavy horror
You prefer straightforward supernatural rules
You’re not in the mood for child-centered stress and family breakdown
You dislike bleak, oppressive atmospheres
Overview
The Babadook is one of those horror films that gets under the skin because it understands how grief can feel like a presence in the room. Jennifer Kent builds the dread patiently, turning a cramped home, a difficult child, and a mysterious book into a pressure cooker of exhaustion and fear. The result is less a monster movie than a portrait of emotional collapse with a monster inside it.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is the control: the sound design, the stark visual palette, and Essie Davis’s raw, exhausted performance all work together to make the supernatural feel inseparable from the psychological. It’s also a film that invites interpretation without losing its immediate power as a scary, deeply uncomfortable experience.
Bottom line
Some viewers will bounce off the child’s relentless behavior or the film’s abrasive mood, but that friction is part of the point. If you want horror that is intimate, sad, and genuinely unnerving, this is an easy recommendation.
Top Letterboxd reviews
mia 🦇 · 6890 likes
the b in lgbt+ stands for babadook, no printer just fax
minick (3.5★) · 6633 likes
im glad im not the only one who thinks of my depression as a gay man in a top hat that i feed worms to in my basement
Holly-Beth (4★) · 4920 likes
i'm never ever having kids
sophie (3.5★) · 4607 likes
my ideal man: -tall -dark -handsome -always smiling -wears a hat -it's the babadook
james💫 (3.5★) · 3258 likes
“IF YOU’RE THAT HUNGRY, WHY DON’T YOU GO AND EAT SHIT?” so true queen