MovieChat Forums > The Babadook (2014) Discussion > Disappointed with the hatred towards thi...

Disappointed with the hatred towards this film.

posted 8 years ago by afrodome
25 replies | jump to latest

Before I start, let me just say that I respect everybody's opinions towards film, because in the end, ones' taste is subjective. If we are going to give our 2 cents to a film, then we must respect the opinions that differ from ours.

Now that I put that out of the way, I'm a bit confused as to why this film receives so much trashing from the general public. "The kid is such an annoying brat!" - Uh, yeah, have you ever been in a grocery store, mall etc, and saw a single mother with dark circle under her eyes, exhausted with her hair tied in a knot trying to keep her screaming kid under control? It's not that uncommon. Furthermore, do you know any widowed mother whose husband past away and has only herself and child to look after? The lack of compassion is crazy on these boards; I guess we're all perfect in our private lives after all.

Nobody seems to recognize good filming when they see it. The use of sound (sans the dragon noise, which is debatable), lighting to set a dreary and depressing mood, very small glimpses of The Babadook, no pop-up scares, and great acting make for a great thriller. Horror isn't just about visceral violence and shocks!

Now, I watched The Conjuring & The Conjuring 2, but I honestly don't understand how those films received a 7.5 while this received a 6.8? A multimillion dollar budget was put into both and they used it for CG monsters and people flying through the air. It's all been done before. They were both well-made, but mega-budget homage to The Amityville Horror doesn't keep me up at night with the lights on.

Has the art of subtlety died? Because storytelling and 'mood' doesn't seem to be a priority for a moviegoer when watching a horror film.

This is the only film that kept me up with the lights on. The last time that happened was when I saw Deliverance when I was 13 and The Exorcist when was 11.

[–] CharlotteGoldenblatt 8 years ago

For me, this story was unoriginal and the theme has been beaten to death (demon, depressed mother, troubled kid, was it or was it not? etc.) I didn't hate it but didn't think it was anything special or great. 6.8 is generous imo.

[–] Darklightmoon777 8 years ago

It has? Please, enlighten me. Cause I can barely think of one movie from the past that was of horror genre and the centralized characters are a depressed mother and a smart mouth son.

[–] cgsofwa 8 years ago

Its called having differing tastes. Why is that such a hard concept to grasp?

[–] Darklightmoon777 8 years ago

It is a thought provoking film for sure. 9/10 from me.

[–] leyenda61 8 years ago

I haven't seen this yet if it's good.

-- Sent from my 13 year old P.O.S. Desktop®

[–] Ufology 8 years ago

Unfortunately, this movie fell quite short for me. It felt very similar in tone to other horror franchises(Insidious, The Conjuring), both of which I enjoyed better. It feels like people are still trying chase the success of paranormal activity. Placing a family in a normal house setting where things go bump in the night. This is such a tired premise for me.

The mother I felt was a good actress, and did well in most scenes. You felt she was seriously disturbed over the course of the film. However, I cannot excuse the child actor who played the son. Whether it was a directional choice or the kid, the performance was extremely annoying and took me right out of the experience. A lot of scenes with her and the son dragged on for days for me, and just kept repeating its idea of the son being disturbed. Killing the dog offers nothing for the film or the audience either and was there for merely shock value. Also, saying there's not jump-scares eer..sorry "pop-up scares" is silly, because I counted a bunch.

I enjoy of the idea of a horror film trying to do things differently, and having a subtly approach to scaring you, but the execution here falls flat on its face IMHO. The whole notion of the Babadook feels forced, derivative and honestly quite silly to me. Even just the name Babadook sounds really stupid. The design in not scary, but rather a mixture of modern comic heros and villains. Whether the Babadook is real or the manifestation of her depression doesn't matter since because the film fails to make it believable.

I am curious to know what you think of the "The VVitch" afrodome. I feel its an amazing horror film if you're looking for something a bit non-traditional with a great sense of mood. Easily once the best modern horror films I've seen.
I respect your view, however the film just didn't do it for me.

[–] afrodome 8 years ago

I had mixed feelings about The Witch. I thought it was a solid film. The writing, costumes, cinematography, the score, the acting etc. everything was good, but in the end it just didn't do anything for me. I didn't really think about it much afterwards and it didn't render that 'afterglow' of dread you get after seeing a really good horror movie.
It Follows & Green Room were the most impressive horror films I've seen over the past year. But again, everything is subjective. I thought The Shining was ridiculous but was also horrified by Pet Sematary and I usually hear the opposite.

[–] Ufology 8 years ago

I can totally understand where you are coming from. It would be a boring world if we all liked the same things.

I happen to be very into folktales, and dark fantasy themes from an older time in history. The Witch is pretty much tailored to my artistic and thematic tastes, so its impossible for me to not be obsessed with the film.

I actually laughed at "It Follows." Not sure what that says about me. I've heard good things about Green Room, so maybe ill give that a go.

[–] Eve_of_Destruction 8 years ago

Whether it was a directional choice or the kid, the performance was extremely annoying and took me right out of the experience.

That was my issue. I kept getting jarred out of the story.

[–] modica (4169) 7 years ago

Yes, kids can make and break it for me too. The kid here did not annoy me, but the ones on Stranger Things do. They annoy me so much that I won't waste my time with season 2.

[–] Eve_of_Destruction 8 years ago

Uh, yeah, have you ever been in a grocery store, mall etc, and saw a single mother with dark circle under her eyes, exhausted with her hair tied in a knot trying to keep her screaming kid under control? It's not that uncommon.

I watch movies to escape that. (And I don't have any kids but I do work with them). It would be fine if it was 20 minutes out of the film but it's pretty much the entire thing.

This is the only film that kept me up with the lights on. The last time that happened was when I saw Deliverance when I was 13 and The Exorcist when was 11.

Same for me about the Exorcist (at 7). I wish this movie did that for me.

HOWEVER, I am watching it now again to see if I can get past the kid's screaming and enjoy the movie.

[–] Ufology 8 years ago

The Exorist at 7! OMG! No wonder you had nightmares. Where were your parents, and how did you end up seeing this?

Poltergeist 3 and is what freaked me out around age 9. Also, Fire in the Sky still scares me to this day, let alone when I was about 12.

[–] Krieg (56) 2 years ago

You watch movies to escape from annoying kids throwing tantrums and you watch a movie about a mother, a kid, and a kids' book. It does not add up.

[–] Voorhees (12) 8 years ago

I watched The Babadook last night and while discussing it online afterwards I was surprised by the sharp divide between people who loved it and people who hated it. I heard that it was marketed as a monster movie so I suspect a lot of the people who disliked it didn't go in to it expecting a psychological horror. I knew what it was about, I specifically watched it because I knew it was a psychological horror, and I loved it.

There seems to be a real backlash against these sort of horror films amongst fans. I'm lumping together films like The Babadook, The Witch, It Follows etc. here. Lots of people seem to find them "boring", "slow" or "not scary" which I think it fair enough. I think a lot of these people probably expect to see a lot more gore and jump scares in horror films these days and are disappointed when they get two hours of tension building instead.

My partner is one of those people. She didn't enjoy The Witch. She asked me to turn off It Follows half way through. But she loves shlocky horror films like Braindead and Street Trash. It's just that different horror fans have different tastes, I guess.

[–] Cornelia123 (784) 8 years ago

I thought it was a great 'psychological horror' film. I saw it in the big screen, and I do think many of the haters saw it in their mobiles or laptops, and it's just not the same. Others were just expecting more 'scares' or gore, I guess.

Although I'm fine with slasher films and gore etc, I especially love my old school horror films, including the more psychological ones. Don't Look Now is one of my favourites psychological horror films, and so is Polanski's The Tenant. The sense of foreboding they convey is just brilliant. And out of the most recent Psychological Horror films to come out that I enjoyed in the big screen are Black Swan and The Babadook.

I would hate to be with somebody who does not appreciate a fine psychological horror film. Maybe you are the type of person who appreciates any good character driven film whereas your partner finds those films boring? Maybe you're more of a cinephile, whereas your partner is more of a 'comic con' type of person? Yes people do have different taste, but I know how to appreciate all genres, even a 'comic con' type of film, if it's any good.

[–] ShogunofYonkers (77426) 7 years ago

Well... Im just some old random guy on the 'net but i found it really creepy and good too!
I think the backlash you speak of might be due the overwhelming and very real phenomenon of guys just not liking stories about women...suppose im guilty of this as well Afro
Anyway...this was a fine creepy story and i liked ot a lot!
Haters be damned lol...

[–] harro (497) 6 years ago

Excellent post and well said. It's actually been a long time since a horror movie left me feeling genuinely icky a not wanting too go to bed afterwards. This one did the trick.