A brilliant and engaging tale that questions the dynamics and emotional drains in the relationship between a widow and her son, The Babadook isn’t all just fun and sunshine. The Australian horror film from writer/director Jennifer Kent centers around a mysterious book that shows up in the house of this fractured family, a harbinger that promises bad things to come for anyone who reads it. (It’s like an Amazon version of The Ring). The film is excellently made and full of well-maintained dread, as our own A.A. Dowd pointed out, and it’s also filled with a lot of rich imagery that evokes works by diverse talents such as Roman Polanski, Edward Gorey, Neil Gaiman, and Andrew Wyeth. The best example of that imagery can be found within the pop-up book of doom that kicks off the plot, Mister Babadook. Now viewers have a chance to help turn that book into a reality.
The Babadook Book Clip from Kristina Ceyton on Vimeo.
Those interested can preorder the book for $80 and help ensure it will be made. The filmmakers and publishers are promising it will be an exact replica of the one used in the film (hopefully minus the slow unraveling of sanity that comes with it). It’s a charming piece of utterly macabre reading that will certainly be enjoyed by horror fans and their children for many years. Let’s pray this leads to further horror movie pop-up books of other family-friendly favorites, like Candyman, Motel Hell, and The Last House On The Left.