Reviews for this film from our members:
- Marco Albanese @ Stanze di Cinema [Italian]
- Excerpt: E’ un buon esordio. Attendiamo però di ritrovare la Kent su un altro soggetto, prima di proclamarne la prematura canonizzazione.
- José Arce @ LaButaca.net [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Una de esas grandes sorpresas que el terror nos regala cada temporada. Estupenda fábula universal, que aúna el miedo que potencia la febril imaginación infantil y el que para millones de personas supone la pesadilla de la conciliación laboral y familiar. Muy, muy buena.
- Jason Bailey @ Flavorwire
- Excerpt: Kent is tapping into something far more unnerving than serial killers or the supernatural: the everyday terror of being a parent. When the stress and stakes are so palpably familiar, they aren’t “fun” like other horror movies, at least for those whose reality — and nightmares — they invade.
- Nicholas Bell @ Ioncinema
- Excerpt: Satisfying genre films are generally few and far between these days, so it’s with absolute delight to discover something as genuinely impressive as Jennifer Kent’s directorial debut, The Babadook.
- William Bibbiani @ CraveOnline
- Excerpt: Although Kent oversells The Babadook’s climax, with a little too much child-in-peril cliché to keep her film’s ugly realism completely intact, the majority of her movie is truly terrifying.
- Bill Clark @ From The Balcony
- Excerpt: Thick with atmosphere and rife with foreboding happenings, The Babadook is one of the best horror films so far this decade.
- William Clark @ From The Balcony
- Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Using the imagery of German Expressionism and the creepy techniques of David Lynch, Kent has created a psychological horror which gradually shifts the ground beneath our feet.
- Andy Crump @ Paste Magazine
- Edwin Davies @ A Mighty Fine Blog
- Excerpt: While the haunted house elements of The Babadook call to mind Poltergeist or The Orphanage, the most unnerving aspects have the same nameless dread of Roman Polanski’s best work. The second half of the film, which takes place almost entirely within the confines of the house, is reminiscent of the claustrophobia and paranoia Polanski conjured up in Repulsion and Rosemary’s Baby, as is the way that the film focuses on the mental deterioration of one woman when faced with terrifying and inexplicable external forces.
- Carlos del Río @ El rincón de Carlos del Río [Spanish]
- Excerpt: “Babadook” es confusa. No es que su trama sea confusa, porque ves perfectamente la evolución de los acontecimientos, sino que es confusa porque no sabes muy bien por qué pasan las cosas, y siempre resulta caprichosa.
- Mark Dujsik @ Mark Reviews Movies
- Excerpt: The film’s scares rely on the unknown, and Kent shows a great deal of restraint in avoiding the typical tactics of the genre…
- James Jay Edwards @ FilmFracture
- Excerpt: The Babadook’ Will Follow You Home And Haunt Your Dreams
- Candice Frederick @ Reel Talk Online
- Panagiotis (Pete) Gkaris @ www.moviesltd.gr [Greek]
- Mark Harris @ About.com
- Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: I didn’t expect to actually be moved by the events of the plot, but that’s exactly what happened. The Babadook is a horror film that ranks high with the very best of the genre.
- MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: Genuinely horrific and deeply scary in a way that draws on the most primal of emotions. A horror flick with rare emotional and psychological resonance.
- Dan Kelly @ eFilmCritic
- Excerpt: Kent’s fixations are incredibly mature, and her focus is stellar. “The Babadook” never sells out, safeguarding its human interests, even when the shit hits the fan.
- Jeremy Kibler @ The Artful Critic
- Excerpt: Classically composed, chill-inducing, and challenging, “The Babadook” is much more than a bump-in-the-night tale with the writer-director’s thematic metaphors gnawing under the surface. For any discerning horror enthusiast out there, this is a must.
- Kristin Dreyer Kramer @ NightsAndWeekends.com
- Daniel Lackey @ The Nightmare Gallery
- Excerpt: The Babadook knows what the monster under the bed really means.
- Glenn Lovell @ CinemaDope.com
- Excerpt: … a minor masterpiece of the macabre … reminds us that the real monsters under the bed are Mommy and Daddy.
- Dan Lybarger @ KCActive.com
- Excerpt: Director Jennifer Kent also understands that it’s easier to believe supernatural stories if the people who occupy them are credible.
- Mike McGranaghan @ The Aisle Seat
- Simon Miraudo @ Quickflix
- João Pinto @ Portal Cinema [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Esta produção da antiga estagiária de Lars Von Trier será sempre uma escolha segura dentro do género dos filmes de terror.
- [New – 7/2/15] | Nuno Reis @ SciFiWorld Portugal [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Mesmo sabendo partes do que vai acontecer desde muito cedo, e mesmo havendo algumas pontas soltas quando acaba, a impressão geral do filme é muito positiva por nos dar algo inédito: hora e meia de um terror refrescante, ligeiro para quem tem calo no género, mas sempre cativante, e com algum cariz social.
- David William Upton @ So So Gay
- Excerpt: Elegantly focusing on the extended chills the genre can provide, rather than short sharp shocks, Kent’s film will not be for those who favour their horror with buckets of blood, but it may prove impossible not to be drawn into the increasingly insular world.
