2. THE BABADOOK
http://youtu.be/k5WQZzDRVtw
‘The Babadook’ is a 2014 supernatural horror film directed by Jennifer Kent. It is one of the
most terrifying and effective horror films of the last decade, and in order to understand and
draw inspiration from its success, it is necessary to analyse the first feature-length trailer for
the film.
The trailer opens with a black screen and a non-diegetic sound being played. Due to the lack
of action on the screen, this forces the audience to pay attention to the single, low note being
held, reminiscent of a church organ, and allows viewers to gain a sense of foreboding
atmosphere before even witnessing any events on screen. This initial omission of any other
non-diegetic sound is suggestive of an equilibrium of sorts, which indicates the state in which
the audience finds the characters at the beginning of the film. In accordance with this, the
black screen then cuts to a high-angle, POV shot of a woman holding a childrens book,
before cutting to a long shot of her and her son on the bed. It is a seemingly innocent reading
session that many parents amongst the audience will be familiar with, but various sinister
cues are made noticeable almost immediately. An example of one such cue is the use of
lighting and colours – the mother and her child are bathed in the light of a lamp, but
shadows are very prominent around the edges of the frame, and almost appear to be leaning
towards the two characters. This indicates an oncoming threat, and is supported by the red
and black cover of the ‘Mister Babadook’ book itself, as these are colours associated with
pain, blood, and death – a rapid contrast to the light pastel colours found on most childrens
books. Furthermore, the combination of diegetic and non-diegetic sound bridging through
each of the shots generates a certain sense of unease. The mother’s comforting tones and
change in non-diegetic sound (it now sounds like a slowed-down childlike lullaby) create an
effect contrapuntal to the sinister nature of the book being read, and the look of fear on the
child’s face only serves to enforce this. As the mother continues to read, shot-reverse-shot is
used to demonstrate the effect the book is having on the boy, and the paper drawing of the
‘Babadook’ intersected with the fearful look in Samuel’s eyes suggests a connection between
the two characters that serves as a continuing theme throughout the film.
The single, low note that was being held is cut off abruptly by a non-diegetic growl as the
scene cuts to a strap displaying the director’s name. As the scene changes, the soundtrack
becomes more infrequent, with a high-pitched note occasionally being hit. This gives a sense
of intrigue to the next few scenes, with the break in instrumental melody being implicative of
something breaking in to this family’s lives – ‘if it’s in a word, or it’s in a look, you can’t get
rid of the Babadook’. Medium shots are unveiled by the characters as the mother opens
closet doors and checks under beds in order to reassure her child (through a sound bridge)
that the creature isn’t real. Furthermore, the fact that she checks these areas and finds
nothing suggests that she is familiar with the common, conventional locations for hidden
threats. It also demonstrates how the creature itself differs from the norm and cannot simply
be classified as a ‘boogeyman’, as it does not hide in plain sight. As Samuel wonders about
his dead father, these scenes fade into a medium shot of a photograph, before a match-on
3. -action is used to show Amelia (the mother) frantically grabbing it and clasping it to her
chest. The deliberate use of an unsteady camera here signifies the strength of her grief, and it
is this, combined with the darker lighting, that implies that the absence of a father is
significant throughout the film. Evidently, this inclusion of a backstory allows for reasonable
judgements to be made regarding Amelia’s sanity, and this will come into question more as
the trailer progresses. In the next scene, a neighbour is shown offering consoling words, even
as Sam is shown creating a makeshift weapon in a series of quick, shallow focus, close up
shots. This fulfils a convention of most horror films in general, as many set within a ‘haunted
house’ environment often have an outside character sympathetic to the protagonists claims
and fears – although never truly believing in them. The inclusion of a weapon here is also an
indication of the dangers to come, as well as allowing the viewer to understand that Amelia is
not the only troubled character within the narrative. Indeed, this is subsequently enforced by
Sam’s teachers highlighting his ‘significant behavioural problems’, while staring directly at
the camera in a shot-reverse-shot with a hapless Amelia. It can be said that, by directly
addressing the audience in this way, Kent is almost attempting to speak through her
characters and give hints about the nature of the problem in this film; is it The Babadook
itself, or the characters themselves? Therefore, throughout these short scenes, Kent has
weaved a more complex narrative than the target audience may be used to, incorporating
numerous characters and subplots that urges the viewers to question what they are seeing.
As the trailer continues to progress, the audience are able to see various shots depicting
Amelia slumped on the bed, a pop-up paper creature followed by an eyeline match of Amelia
looking at it, and eventually, her burning the book in the garden. Throughout these, the non-diegetic
soundtrack escalates in order to include a single, solitary drum, in addition to the
return of the childlike melody and recurring single, high-pitched note. The fact that all of
these sounds return simultaneously suggests that the Babadook is closing in, strengthened by
the urgency of the drumbeat that is almost representative of heavy footsteps. In concordance
with this, Amelia’s vocal narration becomes more unsure and shaky as she reassures herself
that it’s ‘just a book’, and it is this doubt that culminates in an uproarious crescendo of non-diegetic
noise as she eventually burns it. The shots vary in length here – whenever they show
the book, they are over in the blink of an eye, yet as they tend to linger on the characters
themselves, one cannot help but deduce that more focus is being placed on their emotional
states. Again, this seems like a way of insinuating that they brought the horror upon
themselves. Another noticeable shift in these shots is the levels of lighting available, as natural
light is immediately shifted to darker, more shadowed lighting, before switching back again.
In addition to this, the clothing of the two characters shifts between normal outerwear and
old-fashioned, downtrodden pajamas – and it is these changes that further illustrate how the
Babadook is slowly affecting the normality of their everyday lives, and how both the mother
and the son are now aware of its presence. Proceeding on from this, the tone shifts
dramatically as the scene fades, as all diegetic and non-diegetic sounds are withheld in favour
of showing several static shots of the house in darkness. This indicates a drastic change in
narrative – something is different. As these slow shots cut to a zoom in on Amelia, three sharp,
diegetic knocks are heard, followed by a fearful look on her face as she looks up. From this,
the darker lighting, and static nature of the shots, it is now evident that the Babadook has
made contact.
Furthermore, as the next phase of the trailer begins, the non-diegetic drum returns as a
continuous beat, and this quicker pace also makes way for an ominous foghorn to be heard.
4. In conjunction with this, a time-lapse shot of the sky darkening is used as a strap, and
illustrates how quickly the darkness is approaching alongside the soundtrack. From this, the
following shots are short, visceral, and intersected with cuts and jump cuts, all placing Amelia
as the focal point within the frame. One particular sequence of shots displays a long shot of
her looking in the mirror, followed by a rapid cut to the same scene, but zoomed in
significantly, with the focus being placed on her terrified facial expression. This apparent
horror at her reflection cleverly alludes to her damaged mental state, and her proclamation
that she is ‘just a bit stressed’ strengthens this. Indeed, in the following scene, her physical
appearance seems to have deteriorated, as she is now wearing darker colours and is covered
in tears and messy hair. After this, the trailer begins to use horrific imagery in order to fully
emphasise the genre, as a cockroach-infested hole appears in the kitchen and a shot-reverse-shot
shows a shadowed figure staring at Amelia through her neighbour’s window. The non-diegetic
growl that accompanies the latter shot indicates the presence of the Babadook, and is
one of the only visual depictions of it in the trailer. However, the audience is once again
forced to question its existence, as Amelia attempts to report it to the police and finds only
scepticism and concern, due to the blackened state of her hands and frantic disposition. Kent
has gone to great lengths in order to ensure that Amelia looks as though something is wrong
with her, and the sporadic combination of fades and jump cuts throughout these scenes is
emblematic of this deterioration of everything ‘normal’ in her life. A final, quick shot of a
paper woman and overshadowing figure popping up signifies Amelia and the Babadook, and
the second crescendo of noise illustrates how close they are – it is taking over her.
The scene fades into a long shot of a door creaking open in silence, followed by Sam’s non-diegetic
exclamation of ‘You can’t get rid of the Babadook’. Proceeding this, the horror
makes itself known at last, as a series of fading shots show a shadowed, clawed figure
alongside Amelia floating up to the ceiling – allowing viewers to question whether or not she
is dreaming. Ghostly wails and clockwork sounds are heard, as well as the repeated phrase of
the Babadook – ‘You can bring me the boy.’ This differs from the usual modern-day
supernatural horrors in a variety of ways. Usually, supernatural entities are not given a voice,
and serve only to scream and attack the characters within the film. Evidently, this is not the
case within The Babadook, as the creature is shown to be capable of interaction, and
therefore possesses a level of intelligence greater than most otherworldly entities that the
audience are used to. Both the movement and sounds being experienced also contrast with the
humanlike movement of most threats in other horrors, as the Babadook appears to glide or
jerkily move in accordance with wind-up sounds and creaking noises. This is more symbolic
of old-fashioned horror films where puppets and stop motion were used to create
supernatural entities, and therefore shows how this film will be old-fashioned in its use of
scares and will satisfy fans of old, as well as educating the new generation who are more used
to special effects and prosthetics. In concordance with this, throughout the rest of the trailer,
strong blues and blacks are the main recurring colours, giving the film a strong expressionist
feel and firmly rooting it within the supernatural genre (blue being associated with the
afterlife/ghosts/paranormal activities). After these scenes of the Babadook, Sam’s repeated
cry of ‘Don’t let it in!’ bridges various fast-paced shots of Amelia slamming, locking, and
closing doors and windows, further adding to the darkness and creating the frantic sense of
urgency that the trailer had been building towards. The cry of ‘Don’t let it in!’ resonates
perfectly in conjunction with the shot of Amelia looking through a peephole, before cutting to
an eyeline match of an unseen figure spreading its arms in total darkness. At this point, the
audience becomes more aware than ever of Kent’s decision not to fully show the creature.
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This may be due to the common belief that ‘fear of the unknown’ is the greatest fear humanity
is capable of, and it is this determination to ensure that the exact nature of the Babadook is
unknown that sets this film trailer apart from its peers.
Throughout the final phase of the trailer, straps are used to provide an additional tease to
mirror the mystery of the Babadook and break up the action on screen. After the first strap,
for example, the ambient lighting available begins to flicker before forcing the camera itself to
do the same, in order to give the impression of jerky, uneven movement on Amelia’s behalf.
These use of shakes and flickers imply the deteriorating mental state of Amelia, exemplified by
the shot-reverse-shot of Samuel’s terrified face as she appears to glide towards him. Again,
even as the Babadook makes his presence known (‘You are trespassing in my house!’) Kent
keeps the focus firmly on the mother, suggesting this film is unusual in the sense that it is as
much a character study as it is a horror. It also gives the impression that she may be the cause
of the problem at hand, which cleverly shifts the tone from the earlier part of the trailer where
the boy appeared to be the ‘troubled’ one. As another strap stops her in her tracks, the non-diegetic
noises include low moans, church organ-like drones, and a sound akin to an oncoming
train – noises commonly associated with pain, funerals, and approaching death. Ultimately,
this suggests that these characters should be experiencing these at some point within the film –
yet viewers will already be able to deduce that they already have, in the death of the father.
Therefore, the fact that these sounds are being utilised again further strengthens the idea that
the Babadook is a product of their grief, and this is further elevated by Amelia’s admittance
that she’s ‘sick’ in a shot-reverse-shot of her and Sam in the bath. For the final few shots
before the title strap, her scream can be heard as a sound bridge while the camera flickers
more and more rapidly, culminating in a shot of her screaming and covered in scratches,
staring at something behind the camera. Here, her mental instability is fully highlighted
through her physical appearance, prompting audiences to question whether she has been
possessed, or if she has inflicted the pain upon herself. She appears to be bathed in light and
experiencing a severe gust of wind as she screams, and the fact that this light has suddenly
appeared amongst so many darkly lit shots suggests an otherworldly entity of great enormity,
finally revealing itself to her. Subsequently, this then cuts to the title strap of ‘The Babadook’.
Each strap has utilised a stained white serif font to present the words on the screen, on a
background of sinister childlike drawings tainted by shadows. This perfectly captures the
spirit of the film, as the stained white font symbolises the corruption of the innocent nature of
Sam, and although the stains themselves could represent the Babadook, it is more likely they
represent the psychological damage inflicted upon him by his father’s death.
The final scare is significantly different to other trailers within the subgenre as it is not a
‘jumpscare’, and instead focuses on building dread and fear of what this creature could be.
The frantic gasping of ‘it isn’t real’, combined with the slightly protruding arm of the
Babadook moving in the shadows, will play on common fears within the audience. If this
trailer has disturbed a viewer, then they can convince themselves it isn’t real – much like
Amelia is doing here. However, even her desperate belief that it isn’t real cannot change the
fact that it can be seen moving in the corner of her room, and the diegetic, croaking sound of
its voice growing louder and louder is further proof of the film’s tagline: ‘you can’t get rid of
the Babadook.’ Shadows are used to great effect here as they mask the source of the voice, and
tension is built through Amelia slowly pulling down her bedcovers to confront the horror at
hand – and as soon as she has, the trailer ends. This leaves the audience guessing as to what a
creature with that kind of voice could look like.
