'The Babadook' Horror Film Review

'The Babadook' is the 2014 independent Australian-Canadian Horror film directed by Jennifer Kent.   The Film depicts a tale of Amelia; a struggling widowed mother and her erratic son Samuel. As a result of Amelia's late husband's violent death, her and Samuel's world is engulfed in darkness and depression. This darkness starts to overtake their lives as they discover and read the seemingly harmless children's book 'Mister Babadook' only to find it's disturbing contents start to become all too real...

Now in recent years, apart from a few exceptions, I've become increasingly annoyed about the direction that modern horror films are going in. Increasing reliance on cheap jump scares and the lack of effort to build up REAL tension has lead to the decrease in the standard of modern horror; one of my favourite genres. Sure these films are fun to watch mindlessly with friends and they can be very entertaining but I would also love to see more quality horrors with excellent screenplay and directing. In my opinion 'The Babadook' is the best horror film made in years and I found it truly, TRULY unsettling!

I watched the film with a couple of friends and within the first minute of the film we were on the edge of our seats. It does an excellent job of building tension through not only the extremely creepy but brilliant score but also the cinematography. It uses awkward angled shots throughout which made me feel very unsettled and the overall look of the film, the use of shadows and the cleverly crafted sets all added to the build up of tension.

The actual 'monster' in the film was TERRIFYING! It was clever in never revealing too much of the monster and when you do finally see the 'creature' the film had already been building up the tension for around an hour without any cheap jump scares! My friends and I almost wet ourselves it was that scary....which is exactly what you want from a horror right?

Although even if you are not the biggest fan of the horror genre I would still highly recommend it as due to it's excellent screenplay and acting (The main actress Essie Davis is OSCAR WORTHY seriously!) you really come to empathise and care about the characters; which for me is probably the most important factor in a film.      

For me 'The Babadook' is fresh, original and gripping. On one side you can view it as a 'monster movie' but it contains plenty of metaphorical imagery and is extremely clever in also dealing with issues concerning the consequences of grief and depression. I would encourage any film lover to watch it, I promise you won't be disappointed!
  

Short Film Review of 'Room 8'

Room 8 

'Room 8' is a BAFTA Award winning short film directed by James W. Griffiths and written by Geoffrey Fletcher. The Film tells the story of a man Ives who has somehow come into trouble with the law and is taken to a Polsih prison. In his cell he meets his secluded, intellectual room-mate Sheers who owns a mysterious red box. Curious and against Sheers warning, Ives opens the box; which results in serious personal consequences.  

From the opening shots of the film I was instantly transported to a very different type of world. Not just because the film was shot in Poland but also the overall grey tones of the imagery used in the film transported me to a more harsh, cruel plane of life. The prison location added to the realism of the situation the character of Ives enters, which contrasts starkly with the later surrealistic themes. In the opening scenes of the short film the un-subtitled harsh voices of the Polish prison guards made me feel, as a viewer confined and uneasy.   

I loved the overall look of the film. The slightly shaky camera shots added to the unpredictability of the storyline and the strong colour of the red mysterious box, in contrast to the surrounding faded colours of the sets, really added to the curiosity of  the box's contents for the viewer. The brilliant set design makes the story believable and as a viewer I  believed that the events that took place in the film could be possible in every-day life.    

Throughout the Film I continued to feel an underlying sense of dread that the film cleverly created through a combination of great understated performances by the actors (Tom Cullen and Michael Gould) and a brilliant haunting score by Lennert Busch. The storyline is unpredictable and Griffiths delivers a original and spell-binding perception on the lengths people will go to escape confinement.  

I don't want to spoil too much but 'Room 8' is a highly intriguing film with a brilliant original concept that is best watched with no expectations or knowledge about the plot. It will surprise you, perhaps terrify you and definitely give you something to think about.I would highly recommend it.