15 Most Terrifying Horror Film Moments Of The Decade (So Far)

The Babadook features a terrifying monster with black fur and claws, yet the film's scariest scene doesn't even have the creature in it. Really, the movie is far more about mental illness and depression than it is about supernatural entities, and so the real threat is actually Amelia herself.

That's the case in this moment, where Amelia is forcing Samuel to stay up late with her. She flips through channels on the television before coming upon a news report of a woman who stabbed her son to death. It cuts to a wide shot of the building, and in one of the windows you can clearly see a creepy face staring and smiling. That's already freaky enough, but then the camera cuts in to show that it's Amelia herself, looking directly at the camera with a twisted grin.

First of all, this gives the rest of the film such a sense of dread, as it's clearly foreshadowing Amelia going out of control and killing her own son. This is around the time you're questioning if there even is a Babadook at all or if it's all just in her head. Besides that, though, it's such a creepy moment both because it looks so much like a real newscast before turning into a nightmare, and because that smile is simply so, so haunting.