12 Greatest Horror Films Of The Last 5 Years
1. The Babadook (2014)
The Bababook is another horror film that trades loud bangs for quiet, psychological drama, tormenting both the audience and the protagonist in equal measure. Written and directed by Jennifer Kent and released in 2014, it wasn't immediately successful in its home territory of Australia until it received critical acclaim at Sundance, generating increased attention in the process.
The story centres on a woman (Essie Davis) and her son (Noah Wiseman) as they're constantly hounded by an enigmatic entity know as The Babadook, which is unleashed from a Burton-esque children's book. Putting aside the two leads brilliantly believable performances, there are a bunch of reasons why The Babadook is something special.
If you're mostly used to jump scare laden modern horror, you'd be forgiven for initially wondering when the frights are coming, but The Babadook trades knee-jerk reactions for unsettling, slow-burning suspense – the kind of fear that builds gradually but runs much deeper. What's also commendable is how the events of the film have an internal logic: there's a realistic explanation why Essie might be enduring such an experience, and it's got nothing to do with a malevolent spirit.