50 Years of SIFF: The Babadook
February 23 - March 10, 2024
Six years after her husband’s death, which coincided with the birth of their child, Amelia is struggling to raise her son, Samuel. When a book entitled “Mister Babadook” appears among Samuel’s possessions, it portends a chilling, spectral descent into fear and paranoia. MARCUS GORMAN & CORY RODRIGUEZ CHOICE.
Seattle International Film Festival 2014 selection.
Related Event
POLTERDOOK: Festival Fright Night
Celebrate the Seattle International Film Festival’s upcoming 50th birthday with this one-night-only double feature of two frightful masterpieces from the Festival archives–Poltergeist (SIFF 1982 World Premiere) and The Babadook (2014).
“‘Why can't you just be normal?!; A hundred horror-as-trauma narratives would follow (a worthy pursuit, IMO) to varying degrees of success, but The Babadook planted its flag at just the right time to achieve landmark status, introduce iconography that breezily bled into the zeitgeist, and position Jennifer Kent as an uncompromising and polarizing new filmmaker.”--Marcus Gorman, Seattle International Film Festival Programmer
“Director Jennifer Kent wields one of the most relatable experiences out there (grief/trauma) and manifests a dreadfully daring icon of fear before your very eyes in her debut feature. If you like authentic horror or you wanna be shook, you definitely have to watch The Babadook.”--Cory Rodriguez, Seattle International Film Festival Programmer
“If it’s in a word or it’s in a look, you can’t get rid of the Babadook.” Six years after the death of her husband, which coincided with the birth of their child, Amelia is struggling to raise her son, Samuel. A disciplinary problem at school, Samuel’s behavior only gets worse after he begins to suffer from vivid, violent nightmares. But when a mysterious children’s book entitled “Mister Babadook” appears among Samuel’s possessions, it portends a chilling, spectral descent into fear and paranoia. “I’ll wager with you. I’ll make you a bet. The more you ignore me, the stronger I get.” Amelia tries to convince Samuel that there is no Babadook, even as her son’s tantrums grow more frequent and intense, drawing her own deeply troubled nature to the surface. “A rumbling sound then three sharp knocks—ba-BA-ba DOOK! DOOK! DOOK!” In her feature film debut, director Jennifer Kent crafts a frightful masterpiece that draws influence from H.P. Lovecraft, The Exorcist and Poltergeist while creating one of the creepiest movie monsters in recent memory.
- Director: Jennifer Kent
- Principal Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West
- Country: Australia
- Year: 2014
- Running Time: 94 min.
- Producer: Kristina Ceyton, Kristian Moliere
- Screenplay: Jennifer Kent
- Cinematographers: Radek Ladczuk
- Editors: Simon Njoo
- Music: Jed Kurzel
- Website: http://www.causewayfilms.com.au/#!the-babadook
- Awards: Gérardmer Fantastic Film Festival 2014 (Audience Prize, Critics Award, Grand Jury Prize, Youth Jury Prize)
- Filmography: The Nightingale (2018)
- Language: English
- US Distributor: IFC Midnight
- International Sales: eOne Entertainment International