The Babadook sounds innocent and almost playful, and that's appropriate considering the name originates from a children's storybook. Yet when the real creature is revealed, any amount of childlike fun associated with that name quickly slips away. The pop up book depicted in the film contains a catchy poem about The Babadook, a supernatural creature that will terrorize anyone who reads about him. "If it's in a word or it's in a look, you can't get rid of the Babadook." In particular he torments those who won't acknowledge his existence and refuse to believe he's real. Director Jennifer Kent wisely places the Babadook mostly in the shadows throughout the film, but when you do see him, he has a ghost white face, a top hat, some sort of black coat and long, sharp claws. Even scarier than his appearance is his voice, letting out a long, croaky "Baaabbaadoooooook." What's also really interesting about the Babadook is that he ends up becoming a metaphor for grief and depression, something far more meaningful than most horror villains in history. He serves a real purpose in developing the theme of the film, and that's something you can't say about the majority of horror creations.
