Too Scary; Didn't Watch - THE BABADOOK with Stephanie Albala

Episode Date: January 8, 2020

A bad book, a struggling mother, and a cute/terrifying little boy that is sometimes a man on his knees wearing a wig - we're recapping Jennifer Kent's debut feature The Babadook.  This movie is a beautiful exploration of motherhood, grief, and trauma...join us as we try not to cry through the whole episode! Follow the show: @TSDWpodcast on Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram. Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes and additional content! Rate Too Scary; Didn’t Watch 5 Stars on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and leave a review for Emily, Henley, and Sammy. Advertise on Too Scary; Didn't Watch via Gumball.fmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is Emily, Henley, and Sammy, and you're listening to Too Scary, Didn't Watch. Hi, everybody. Welcome to Too Scary, Didn't Watch, the horror movie recap podcast for those too scared to watch for themselves. I'm Emily, scared as hell, Rose. What was that word I just said? That was ever and always mixed together. That was ever'm Emily. Scared as all rice. What was that word I just said? Ever and always mixed together. Scared as all rice. I was too confident going into that word.

So anyway. I'm Henley. I'm scared as all rice. Sorry. Oh God. Sammy, what are you going to say? I'm going to skip the air embrace. Okay. I'm Sammy and I'm brave. So brave.

No additional words to say about it. Honestly, that was smart. Did anything scary happen to us this week? Something scary is happening to me tomorrow. I'm going to the dmv bright and early to renew my driver's license and i've always had terrible experiences at the dmv as probably everyone has it's not a place with a lot of good experiences it'd be crazy to imagine

someone being like i love the dmv i love the dmv um so anywho i'm just really dreading it because i feel like i'm gonna fuck up the paperwork and have to go back. And you don't have an appointment, which stresses me out. I know. I didn't think I had enough to make an appointment. Well, so we're talking about the real ID, right? Which everybody has to do. You got to get your real ID before October 2020.

October of this year, I guess, is now what we're saying. And the appointments are like completely there. When I tried to get one a few months ago, there were no appointments for like three months. Got it. Got it. Got it. It's booked up. So it's booked up.

So you've run out of time because yours expires. It expires on Christmas Day. So listeners, think ahead. Make an appointment with a DMV today. Make it today. Make it today. Okay. What about you guys?

Anything really scary happen? I think no. I mean, I sounded like an idiot on our fucking podcast just now just a moment ago you heard it i almost just said on live radio which is not what this is no it's neither live nor radio it's a live call-in show it's a live call-in show in my dreams um yep so it's just like frazier this podcast is essentially fraser okay sammy what about you um mine is really stupid and i told you guys about it already but i was looking at a few best of the decade lists and best tv shows of the decade and three big publications variety

rolling stone and vulture and indie wire indie wire all had leftovers as the best show of the Three big publications, Variety, Rolling Stone, and... Vulture? Indie Wire. Indie Wire. All had Leftovers as the best show of the past decade. And, you know, I liked Leftovers. But was it the best show of the past decade? Is that the consensus across multiple... I don't know. The first season wasn't even very strong, I'd argue, personally.

It's just wild. Like, above Breaking Bad, above the Americans. Oh, man, those all came out this decade. Yes, there was one that... Breaking Bad is this decade? I guess it had to have been. Well, some of them might have disqualified it because it was half last decade, half this decade. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

But Americans was just this decade. Americans was just this decade. And I will say the first one I found that Leftovers wasn't number one, Americans was number one. And I was like, oh, thank God. There's some truth out there. We love the Americans. And wasn't Game of Thrones not even listed on it? It was on IndieWire's.

It was a top 50 and it wasn't even listed, which I get that it fucked up in the end there. But there were some seasons. It was like a big deal for a long time. Huge deal. It won so many awards. But did it maybe start in the decade? But that show was on. It took so long to make that show, right? When was the first season?

This isn't what this podcast is about. I'm sorry. I'm sorry to really dive into it, but this is what really shook me since we last spoke. I am upset. I don't blame you. I was upset. Anyways. Sorry, listeners, for really going on that tangent

well let's let's get to it this week's movie I'm so excited I'm really really excited it's been a long time coming this is yeah one of the one of the more requested ones because it's amazing

yeah I mean I've heard it's really good it's very good let's say what it is it's really good. It's very good. Let's say what it is. Let's say what it is. This week's movie is The Babadook. It came out in 2014, written and directed by Jennifer Kent, starring Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman,

and Hayley McElhenney. And here to talk about it with us is my favorite person to talk to about horror movies. I'm so excited to have her. It's Stephanie Alpala. Woo! Hi! Welcome. And we should honorable mention Stephanie has appeared

on our feed before. Oh yes, she's the queen of Halloween costumes as well. Oh my gosh, thank you. That was so impressive. Yes, she did a very good Florence Pugh from Midsommar. Very good. We should repost it. Yeah, let's repost good Florence Pugh from Midsommar. Very good. We should repost it. Yeah, let's repost it. How long did it take you to make that?

I started in June. Wow. Oh, my God. That is dedication. It honestly probably took like 20 hours. That's crazy. Where is it now? I couldn't get rid of it.

Of course not. So I just kind of took it down, pulled it apart and put it in my storage unit because I just. You never know when you're going to need that again. Yeah. For your archives. Exactly. Well, did anything scary happen to you this week, Stephanie? So we live in San Francisco now.

So we're here for the holidays visiting. And before we go visit my family, we're staying with friends in West Hollywood. And she just redecorated her whole apartment. And it's like beautiful. She has this brand new pristine white couch, which is immediately terrifying. Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah.

A white couch is like. Terrifying. Tempting fate. 100%. In a huge way. So we were like drinking red wine, hovering over the table. Nothing happened with red wine. I'm just like fully paranoid like something is happening while I'm here.

Red wine has been spilled on this couch but how would you know? You never know. Dark colored couch. Smart. So we brought our dog as well and she has two dogs and she's very obviously aware of this couch. She cleans all the dog's paws. No shoes in the house. There's a lot of rules.

And so every night that we've been staying there I have this recurring nightmare that I wake up in the morning and my dog has just like diarrhea. Oh, no. I literally wake up in cold sweats. I'm like, it's happening today. It's happening. And so on Friday, we had this like white elephant party.

We do it every year. And Saturday we had this dedicated hangover day. So I'm like very excited for this hangover day. Yeah. And she wakes us up yesterday and she's like, OK, it's time to get out of bed. There's a surprise in the living room. And I'm like, it happened. It has.

It has. Like my dog has surprised me. And I'm like literally looking at the couch on online. Like, OK, we have to replace it. And I walk out in the living room and our friends had come with breakfast burritos and micheladas. And so I went from literally being the most terrified I've been all week to like a highlight. A surge. Yeah. I know. I was like, oh, my like oh my god i almost cried honestly that is such a big turnaround yeah i'm not gonna lie like the way elephant party was really fun but like

the hangover day was better great like really great yeah yeah strongly prefer okay so how do you do you love horror movies i do love horror what kind of horror movie what brand of horror movie do you like? This is Henley's big question. I really want to know because there's a whole spectrum of horror movies. There really is. I honestly love most horror. Like you guys, I refuse.

I have never and never will watch any torture porn. It's like my one rule. But I will say I do like gore in movies, but I don't like that type of gore. Right. Like I love like a Rob Zombie movie. Like I feel like House of All the Corpses. You can like see people get like cut up, but not if they're being tortured. There's something.

Yes. It's very specific. Like it's not for me. It's a tone thing probably. Have you seen Saw? Has anyone in this room seen Saw? I have seen Saw. Because I was recently told that the first one is good.

I thought it was good. I think they get a little more gratuitous as they go on. It still sounds fucking awful to me. Yeah. Yeah. I haven't seen it in a long time, so I don't feel super confident talking about how good it is. But I feel like I remember being like, it was different than anything I had seen.

So it left an impression on me. How many are there? Are there three? There's like six. I think there's a lot more than that. There's a lot. A new one just came out, I think, last year. Really? Yeah. That's so crazy. Wow. Somebody loves them, and we will find out who. We have not gotten there yet, but it's

gotta be someone. I know. If someone could come on and give a compelling case for Saw, I'd love to hear it. Tell us if you love saw i am curious me too um so when how when did you get into horror movies if you've like just love them what do you have a moment where you're like oh i like this because it's just so foreign to me i honestly was a very very scared child like i was terrified of everything and i feel like when I was 12 or 13, I saw I Know What You Did Last Summer, and it, like, fucked me up.

Yeah. Which is, like, so embarrassing. I don't think, I think it would fuck me up now. But I feel like the more you watch, like, the braver you get. I feel like you guys are experiencing this. Totally. I'm watching you go through it.

Yes, I think that there's something to that for real. Totally. And then I think like honestly this movie changed things for me because it became more complex. Like horror is a genre and it's a way to tell a story. It's very complex and emotional story in a really interesting way. Yeah. There's no rules, really. I feel like it gets, at least in my head, as someone who doesn't watch scary movies,

it's like, oh, they're all the same. And it's like, you're just trying to get scared. The murderer comes. He does this, this. But yeah, I feel like there is this whole world of that I'm discovering. It's like, well, this is a drama that uses horror to tell the story. A hundred percent. Right.

That's what has made me more interested in horror movies, although I'm still too scared to watch them, is this whole new generation of like the Babadook, the Ari Aster films. They're so like layered and saying so much. They're more, I guess, cerebral.

Yeah. And it kind of made me realize that horror movies are trying to evoke a feeling in you. And that's their whole purpose. And it's not just like stupid slapstick gore all the time. Right. There can be different levels of it.

Right. And it's all fun. I mean, like that could be fun. And like seeing a really cool villain is interesting and like silly and whatever. But to explore like the new generation of horror is like very emotional it like explores humanity fear pain trauma in a really interesting way yeah and like this is a perfect example of that yeah this i had a similar like this was a game changer for me as well where i i like cried through most of this movie the first time i saw it. Not out of fear. Like it's like beautiful and like

I think this is what I'm going to want to see. I have to drum up the courage though. It's really good. I feel like you really could even in its scariest parts it's almost cartoonish and like it does invoke fear but more than anything it just like invokes like heartbreak. I definitely cried

as well the first time I saw it and I might cry right now. This morning I was like going back through it to take notes and I like started crying taking notes on it. Wow guys even this cocktail choice might make me cry. It's cocktail hour and our drink this week is called On the Night You Were Born and you'll soon find out why that's a very dark choice for this movie. To make this cocktail you will need two ounces of rye whiskey, a half an ounce of sherry, five dashes of absinthe, three dashes of angostura bitters, combine all ingredients over ice and stir and strain into a chilled rocks glass and garnish with an orange peel. We didn't drink this drink this week because Henley

and I are doing a dry January. So enjoy it and tell us if it's good. Cheers. So one thing I wrote down is that Jenniferent owns the rights to this movie and she has said that there will never be any sequel and no matter how much money anybody offers her she'll never make a sequel because it's not that kind of movie has she done other movies wow so she did the nightingale this was her her debut and nightgales made you cry oh my god oh it's so different journey it is so it is very very different wow it's not i would i there's it's horrifying the nightingale but it's not a horror it's more of a like drama oh my god it's so sad it's funny because after i watched this i like was looking up jennifer kent and then i was like oh my god i went i spiraled

back into that nightingale journey and then I kind of realized they actually are quite similar right well it's it's she's very interested in like exploring grief and trauma 100% yeah but Nightingale is like a historical thing not no not a monster movie so I feel like people who are like

oh it's like the Babadook I'll see that it's like don't expect them to be the same movie going experience can you give a brief synopsis of the nightingale like one sentence uh quick note it's like the british colonization of tasmania and it's an irish woman prisoner that teams up with an aboriginal man to like get revenge on British soldiers and it's just so sounds fucking awesome it's really violent and really sad

and it kind of dismantles your whole concept of revenge I like went on such an emotional journey through it because at first you're like fuck yeah like kill soldiers and then by the end you're like for what for what like nothing nothing it's not going to help anything and it just like fuck yeah, kill soldiers. And then by the end, you're like, for what? For what? Like, nothing. It's not going to help anything.

And it's just like, ugh. But that's her journey, too. I think that's the best part of Jennifer Kent's creations is that she takes you on the exact same emotional journey that her characters are on. That's so impressive to be able to do that. I feel like so many films just slightly missed the mark of that because it's a lot to ask to be able to get that.

She's so good and there was a while between i mean what is this 2014 and then so a five-year gap because she just she said she had so many things offered to her after the baba duke and none of it emotionally resonated with her and she's like i don't want to just make any movie i want to make movies that mean something to me and movies that i'm interested in making. So she wrote The Nightingale as well. She wrote this one, too. So she's really cool. Damn.

Yeah, she's awesome. Another one I wrote down is that William Friedkin, the director of The Exorcist, said he's never seen a more terrifying film than The Babadook, which is quite an endorsement. Also, Babadook is an anagram of a bad book there is a there is a bad book in it oh I love that I didn't know that and it's also so fun to say Babadook what's the thing about this becoming a gay icon there's a funny story as to why

it makes me laugh a lot basically it started by Netflix miscategorizing it as an LGBT movie but then the LGBTQ community like really ran with it and and like started attributing qualities to the baba duke like oh he wears like hats and hides in a closet and like has a flair for drama like baba duke is like the closest i've seen to myself represented on screen he's a monster yes yes cool yes he is so there is there is some conflict but i think mostly it's

just i mean that's kind of a fun a fun joke um i do like that and i saw some other tweets that were like saying that pennywise is also gay and that they're dating oh my god what a hot couple and exactly right for sammy smart yes it's like yes i like, here's your interest. Same. This isn't a trivia, but it is my probably favorite tweet of all time. You guys have maybe seen it. Oh, let's hear it. It's visual, so listeners, we will post it.

It's Katie Dippold, who is a she's a UCB comedian, but she's a writer. She wrote The Heat. She wrote and directed maybe the new ghostbusters she's cool um so it is her at a halloween party where she dressed up as the baba duke oh my god i have seen this and nobody else at the party dressed up oh my god it's the funniest thing in the whole movie. Oh my God.

That is amazing. Halloween, when I just took us to Babadook, my friend's house had more of a grown-ups drinking wine. And she's in full head-to-toe Babadook. It's so funny. You need to post this. This is amazing. It's the single greatest tweet.

This is what Twitter is for, in my opinion. That is great. Anyway. Is it time? Okay, so this week we are not going to watch the trailer now because Henley wants to be surprised. I do. But I'll still edit it in right now. So, if you want to listen to it,

here it is. Here it is. Where'd you get this? On the shelf. If it's in a word or it's in a look, you can't get rid of the Babadook. A rumbling sound, then three sharp knocks. Babadook, dook, dook.

That's when you'll know he's around. You'll see him if you look. It's just a book. We can't hurt you. It isn't real. It isn't real. It isn't real. Mama. guys i'm so excited to hear about this movie oh my god okay yeah i'm and it's short it's like an hour and a half short but then when i was taking notes i was like so much yeah no i happened it took me like four hours to watch this movie because i kept pausing being like this is important

like literally everything is felt important. There's a lot of like quotes that are important and I literally wrote down every line of the book. Oh, hell yeah. Amazing. Stephanie, you want to start? Sure. First of all, I'm really nervous because now knowing that so many people are interested in this movie. Oh, don't worry. And it's like one of my favorites. I'm like, oh.

Don't be nervous. I feel like us loving it will be enough for them to appreciate whatever we say. I hope so. They'll feel our genuine. The more we've been doing this podcast and the more people actually listen who I like don't know and they aren't immediate family or close friends. And first of all, I just would like to say thank you so much. The more I'm like, oh, my God.

I'm not an expert. I'm not an academic. I'm not. I don't. I'm just a lady talking. I'm not an expert. I'm not an academic. I'm not a, I don't, I'm just a lady talking. And so, please, I'm sorry if I

say something stupid or offensive. I'm trying. We're all trying our best. So, all that's to say, Stephanie, don't worry about it. You know, we're doing what we can. I love it. I, too, am just a lady, so. Look, we're all just ladies. None of us are film critics.

None of us are experts in this field these are just our thoughts and feelings ladies okay and we're ready okay do you want to add one more trivia because I feel like you guys would love it for actors rights oh my god thank you not as extreme

as putting cockroaches on top of a human because ugh but um Jennifer Kent was very specific and did not want putting cockroaches on top of a human. That was awful. But Jennifer Kent was very specific and did not want to traumatize the little boy in the movie. That's important. And so anytime

Amelia, the mom, is verbally abusing the child, there is a full grown man on his knees in a wig hearing this so that the child is not present. And so the kid really has probably no idea what this movie is about. So anytime they're on her coverage, it's a man on his knees.

How amazing is that? That's amazing. That's really smart. Because he was sick. He was six. Yeah. Also, I've got to see photos. I would love to see the actor on his knees in a way

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Okay. Okay. So the very first scene of the movie is actually very stunning. We see Amelia. It's like kind of slow motion. Her hair is kind of moving around and there's like small pieces of glass and it feels like you're in a car and it feels like you're in a car and it feels like you're rolling and she turns to her side and she sees her husband sitting next to her and then she wakes up to her son screaming her name and when she wakes up her eyes open and

she's floating through the air back into her bed and you realize that she's having a nightmare oh wow which is it's i have the chills right now. This is like not going to go well. Because I'm giving myself full body chills. So she wakes up, she realizes it's a dream. And Sam, who is her son, is in her room saying that there's a monster in the room. And so he makes her go into his room and they do their checklist. It seems like it's something that happens every night, you know, in the closet, under the bed, behind the door.

And so he tells her, I'll kill the monster. I'll smash its head in. So he's feeling very protective. He's like kind of the man of the house, we're feeling. And so she tucks him back into bed and she reads him a story. And he falls asleep with her i don't know if you did you watch this did you watch the whole movie again okay in that scene he is truly

the most terrifying sleeper he has his hand wrapped around her throat squeezing her throat and grinding his teeth oh yes yes yes he is like zooms into each of the things. The way he cuddles with his mom is he puts his hand around her throat. Yeah. The kid is such an interesting character because he's, first of all, so cute. He's like the cutest little kid you've ever seen. If you're making a scary movie with a kid, it better be the cutest fucking kid you've ever seen. He's so cute. Well, but I feel like a lot of times they go for like just like the scariest looking kid they can find.

But it's almost scarier when they're so cute because you're like oh my god this cute little kid. Yeah but he's also just such a terror. Yeah I will say that this movie was kind of like you are not ready for a mother like reminder. Same same same. So they wake up in the morning

and we see him like sawing wood which is wild for a six year old. Yes. Where do they live? Where is this? It's in Australia. They all have Australian accents which as you guys know is my favorite accent. Do you say Babadook? Do they ever say it? Probably not. They do say it but I don't know that it sounds

that different from Babadook. I don't know. Babadook? That was good. Sammy's good at Australian accents. Babadook. Anyway. Okay. So he's sawing wood. So he's sawing wood uh so he's sawing the wood and he's like we see him kind of creating this weapon of sorts um and when his mom wakes up he's kind of like look what i made and then he immediately breaks a window and she's like this is a nightmare yeah so she's very annoyed with him but she's getting him dressed and he's

very very sweet and he's obsessed with magic and so he's like dressed as a full magician. He has this like gold cape and he's like doing his magic trick. And we feel this like really intense tension between the two of them. Like it kind of goes back and forth between like one being really sweet, one being annoyed, one being like cruel. And, um, he does this really sweet thing where he like touches her face and she kind

of snaps at him. Like it's a very weird back and forth that's right she's like don't do that yeah that definitely lingers with us and so she takes him to school and she heads to work and we see that she works at a senior care center and she works like in the dementia ward she's very caring

for these older people so we see that she has this in her like she is a caregiver so it's like a contrast between how she is with her son exactly so while she's at work Samuel's school calls her and says that he brought that weapon to school and so she has to go

in and talk to the principal and they recommend having a monitor follow him around like all day every day to make sure that he's not misbehaving because it isn't the first time and so she kind of snaps and is like, absolutely not. Like she finally said we see her stand up for her son and says that she's going to take him out of school.

And so they react and they're like, we don't think that's the best thing for the boy. And she snaps and she says, stop calling him the boy. His name is Samuel. Which will come in later. That's important. It does feel a little extreme to say I'm going to take him out of school completely. She says that he's kind of an odd child

and like something like this will add to people kind of judging him. He already feels like so different. Got it. Okay. This has happened like many times before you get the feeling they've like we've had all the conversations. This is like. She's like okay last resort I'll just rather than have him become this like freak so he's kind of socially isolated right now totally he he truly is a very very strange child but he's so cute

and he's really sweet and tender but like there's something off for sure. So we see them after school go to the market and he's kind of standing with like a little girl and he's showing her a magic trick and her mom comes up and is talking to them. And she's kind of like, OK, like, let's go home and see daddy. And Siamo goes, my dad's in the cemetery. He got killed driving my mommy to the hospital to have me. he got killed driving my mommy to the hospital to have me. So then we understand that that nightmare is something probably that's reoccurring from a real experience of her taking

going to the hospital. Her husband dying in this car crash and then her having to give birth to the son. Oh no and the son being totally aware of that. Yes. Oh my god. That's a lot to carry. Another like important thing is that anytime he says something that like could make

anyone uncomfortable but is like something he needs to talk about she's always like shh like stop it like don't talk about that and that's like don't talk about your dead dad yes yeah anytime anyone mentions the dad like she's like no we're not talking about that right not helpful to process

not at all oh wow I really that in and of itself is like is that the most horrifying part of the movie i'm sure it's not but oh my god i mean yeah i can't imagine can you can you just like imagine going to the hospital and having to like go through labor and birth after that husband is yeah i know it's it's maybe the worst thing i can imagine no so then you also see that or you also get that some of the like tension between them is this kind of resentment. Yeah. His birth also like coincides with the dad's death.

So his birthday is this like. Oh, my God. Horrible day for her. Yeah. It's very sad. Yeah. So it's really horrible. So in the next scene, we see her with her sister and her sister has a daughter

named ruby i think her sister's name is claire and so her sister is like very much like the buttoned up perfect sister like her daughter is perfect but they're both like truly like little bitches like they're horrible and so claire is telling her that um ruby wants to have a princess birthday and doesn't want to celebrate a shared birthday with Samuel this year. So then we find out, yes, that they have never celebrated his birthday on the actual day because it's the anniversary of her husband's death. And so they've done this like, let's do a joint birthday. But now Ruby's a little too old and is like, again, a little bitch. I'm a little bitch.

I don't want that. No. We kind of like see them talking this whole time. And Amelia is understanding No. We kind of, like, see them talking this whole time. And Amelia's understanding, but is kind of, I think, upset about this whole thing. And in the background, Samuel's screaming, Mom, look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Mom, Mom, Mom.

And so finally she turns and he's standing on top of a swing set. On the very, very top. Like, balancing on the bar. Uh-oh. And it just has her, like, face go like face go like and then cuts to like him in the back seat of the car like screaming scream the pitches that his voice can go to or something and like his face looks like almost like distorted like yeah this kid is amazing yeah he's really but just yeah so like obnoxious and so high energy and so draining for her was the implication that

she just he fell off the yeah playground okay i think so and i was like in pain i don't know i guess he's not just having a tantrum yeah my my interpretation of the scene was kind of like her reaction caused an emotional reaction right right right right right it's not like they don't have to go to the hospital or anything. There's no like injury necessarily, but it just seems like there's a lot of tension like building and building. I'm sure she screamed at him for it. Totally. Got it. And they left and he's freaking out.

Yeah, and they've already had a rough day. Like he got kicked out of school basically. So yeah, we go through this whole like journey with Samuel. I wrote down that he is sweet, annoying, misunderstood, and terrifying. Ooh, what a set of adjectives. He really is. The whole thing, the first time I watched this movie, I'm like, is he possessed?

What's happening? He's terrifying. He is the perfect boy for this role. It's well done. Good casting. Very creepy. Perfect boy for this role. It's well done.

Good casting. Very creepy. So they get home and we meet her elderly neighbor, Grace, I believe is her name. I can't remember. It doesn't really matter. She's so sweet. She's so sweet. And we see Amelia again being really tender and offering to take out her trash and all this stuff. And so we see her giving care for everyone outside of Samuel, basically.

Poor Samuel. That sucks. I know. It's really heartbreaking. I'm excited to see the trailer now because I'm so curious about what this little kid looks like. I don't even know. Yep, yep, yep. We'll watch it at the end. You gotta see it. I gotta see it. So then we go

into the house and we meet Bugsy, who's a really cute little white fluffy dog And the dog is scratching on the basement door Which is truly never a good sign When the dog sees something you don't It's bad news Don't buy a house with a basement or an attic Just don't even buy one

Everything on the same floor, preferably no walls Just Look at the whole, a big box No corners No corners. No corners. Just a big circle. No storage. No corners.

So we cut in tonight and we see them going through their whole routine, you know, like checking the monster, the room for the monsters and reading the book. And so tonight it's Samuel's turn to pick a book. And so he picks out this like beautifully red wrapped pop-up book called Mr. Babadook. So she's like, where's this coming from? Whatever.

I've never purchased this book. Okay. This doesn't look familiar. So I wrote down the like quotes in the pages. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. You can't get rid of the Babadook. If you're really a clever one and you know what it is to see,

then you can make friends with the special one, a friend of you and me. His name is Mr. Babadook, and this is his book. A rumbling sound, then three sharp knocks. Ba-ba-ba-duck, duck, duck. That's when you'll know he's around. You'll see him if you look. So this is like when she's starting to like get a little weirded out because the imagery is like.

Yeah, it's like a pop-up book and it's like quite scary. It's like just truly black and white. And then the pages are like kind of like dirtied a little bit. Yeah. And she's like, this is a little weird. And is she reading it to him she's reading it to him yeah this is what he wears on top he's funny

don't you think he has like a giant top hat basically see him in your room at night and you won't sleep a wink oh god so this is when Samuel starts to spiral like he's like what the fuck and like the imagery is getting scarier Babadook is getting bigger and bigger in this book.

And do we think he has already seen Babadook? Or maybe not yet? Because he thinks there's a monster, right? Or is that just a childhood thing? That question gave me full body chills because I've never thought about that. Oh my god, okay. He's definitely obsessed with monsters. It's triggering something.

I kind of feel like he hasn't yet, but I think that he is just so ready for monsters to be there. He's identifying something. Yeah. Honestly, though, now that I'm thinking about it, I kind of do feel like it is. You know, yeah. Yeah, maybe because there's the Babadook.

We'll save that. I'm excited. Okay. So they're both pretty freaked and like Samuel is like what's happening here I'll soon take off my funny disguise and once you see what's underneath and then you turn the page and it says there's no imagery

it just says you're gonna wish you were dead oh my god did she read that out loud she's like you're gonna wish you were dead good night I think she skips that part but we see it oh god that is

so fucking scary I feel like doesn't she go like uh and then like the Babadook was gone and like everything's fine and after the other thing is like um on one of the pages I don't remember which one it was but we see a little Boy laying in bed and the

Babadook is like hovering over him And so Samuel so then we like cut To Samuel literally scream Crying saying like what happens to the little Boy like what happens to the little boy So he like is identifying Exactly So she finally

Like calms him down she's like reading like, reading him another story. He finally falls asleep. And so she takes the book into the room and is kind of looking through it and then decides to just hide it on top of, like, her wardrobe so that he can't reach it. But it's, like, still very present in this home. And so she's just, like, kind of overwhelmed

by the whole thing. So she heads downstairs to watch TV. And she's, like, going through this, like, late night television night television, a bunch of infomercials, those late night sex calling commercials, whatever. And she stops on this black and white movie and we see this couple kind of tenderly kissing. And she looks

very annoyed. And so she just turns off the TV and heads upstairs. And then we see her take out her vibrator. I know. I was like, oh, this is not what I thought was happening after this. You looked annoyed by love. Here we go. So she's like, let's just like relax and like

enjoy myself. She's had a long day? Yeah. She really has. So she's using her vibrator in bed and Samuel comes in screaming and disrupts her. Oh no no at the climactic moment yeah timing on that and yeah he's like the baba duck is in my room oh god and she's like there is no

baba duck you know like obviously understands that he's traumatized by what just happened. So she lets him sleep in her bed that night and she starts hearing footsteps in the hallway, but then they stop and she doesn't really think anything of it. It's kind of like an old house and so I'm sure there's probably house noises. So she goes to sleep and everything's fine. They wake up the next day. Samuel is no longer in school, so she has to go to work. And so she takes Samuel to her sister's house and makes him promise no monster talk. No talk of the Babadook.

None of that. This is Claire and Ruby's house. Exactly. So we see Amelia go to work and we meet her coworker who I feel like is supposed to be really sweet. But I felt immediately like untrustworthy of this man yeah i think it is supposed to be like presented as like a lifeline to her like move forward men can be yeah you can like have another relationship but it's yeah he's like maybe weird casting yeah i don't know i just like i'm very off put by this man in 2019 like, no! It's funny because like, don't trust him. There are very few men in this movie and like, they're all the worst.

Like, truly the worst. Yeah, so she's talking to him and he's being really sweet and they're kind of flirting a little bit and she's saying like, oh yeah, like my son's home sick from school, kind of lying because she feels embarrassed of what had happened. And he says,

you know, like, you should just go home. I'll cover for you. And so she's like, are you sure? So she leaves work and she goes to the mall and we see her sitting on a bench having ice cream at the mall. Just like a little day with herself. Same. Like, that is like the best me time.

It's like, okay, like she is like still taking care of herself kind of, you know? Right. And so she goes to go pick up Samuel after her me time. And as soon as she gets there, Claire is just like, where have you been? Like, because they called the work or whatever. We thought we thought the worst. And like, he won't stop talking about the Babadook. Of course.

One thing I have to do. Oh, of course. The one thing I have to do. And so we go back home and we see Samuel in the basement where he's like practicing all his magic. And he has like all these boxes out. And he's like he has this. What are those like those like Chinese like fireworks that you throw on the ground? They're like firecrackers. Yeah.

And they like kind of like. Yeah. It's like his like fire trucks and poppers. Childhood toy poppers so amelia goes down to the basement and like catches him and she's like you're not supposed to be down here like all of your father's stuff is down here like get out and so then we see like all of the dad's stuff is kind of like strewn about the room like pulled out of the boxes and it is kind of like messy and we see her find this photo and kind of like strewn about the room like pulled out of the boxes and it is kind of like messy and we see her find this photo and kind of like hold it to her chest and it's like of the two of them and then we see like what i assume is like an old suit or an outfit of his like hanging

up on the wall and it looks like a human like it's like the pants are hung up and the shirt on top and then a hat like where your head goes so you you're like, that's kind of weird. Then Robbie comes over. Oh my God. I didn't even write that part. I just like clipped him out of my movie. It's also like a weird little short scene where he like basically comes over to like try to be nice and like check in

and so Robbie's the co-worker and but then he just like leaves, right? He's like, okay, bye. Yeah, it was like the end of him weird little yeah it's I guess just supposed to be like another little lifeline that she's shutting yeah I guess yeah or she's like still closed off to

even like the opportunity right maybe finding someone else right so later that night she goes up into her room and she sees all of the belongings from the basement like just like all over the room like the suit is like kind of like just like destroyed on the ground and she finds that photo that she was holding

on the bed and her husband's face is like scratched out of it with a pen so she immediately snaps and she blames Samuel and is like screaming at him but Samuel thinks it's the Babadook and so he starts to like grab his weapon and like he's like it's him it's him

and she's like no like this isn't this isn't acceptable and so she gets him to bed and we see Samuel laying in his bed staring at his like wardrobe his wardrobe's open and he's just staring like into the shadows

and so no thanks So Amelia's downstairs doing the dishes and she like just hears this like thud and screaming. So she hears Samuel screaming so she brushes upstairs. She sees that the wardrobe is knocked down like face down on the ground. It's huge. It's like a giant

wood wardrobe. Right. And she couldn't have even pushed it over. No there's no way. So she finds Samuel under the bed and he's like catatonic. Like his eyes are like open and he's like frozen. He's terrified. He's terrified and he just is saying over and over again, don't let it in. Don't let it in. Don't let it in. Oh my

God. So scary. And then she finds the book back in his room. And he couldn't have reached it. There's no way she takes the book. She rips out all of the pages and then she goes outside and throws it in the trash. Never works. Nope. Maybe this time.

Doesn't hurt to try. And then that's the end. Oh! The ending! Oh, she throws the book out. So much to think about. End credits. Really complex film. So they both go to sleep and she starts hearing the loud footsteps again.

Then nothing happens and she just goes back to sleep. Back to sleep. All of her like sleep sequences are very like dreamy. You get the sense that she's not getting good sleep. It's like they do a thing where like the light just goes from like dark to light and she's like woken up still like in a weird state. She's not getting good sleep. It's like they do a thing where the light just goes from dark to light and she's woken up still in a weird state. She's not getting good sleep. Definitely not.

So then the next day is Ruby's birthday. Her princess birthday. And we see Amelia in the kitchen with Claire and Claire's friends who are truly equally as awful if not more awful. They're like yummy mummies from an Australian reality show that I love my favorite line is that it's like

so silly um it's like these pregnant Australian women who are all really bitchy to each other and one of them is like obsessed with Burberry and it's my go-to Australian I'm gonna say it say it um she says I going to have the biggest Burberry baby shower in all of Adelaide. Oh my god. The biggest Burberry baby shower. They're obsessed with designer brands and they're the

trashiest humans you've ever met. It's a reality show about bitchy Australian moms and this is kind of what these moms are like. 100%. That's a great reference. You should watch it. It's great. So one of them is And this is kind of what these moms are like. 100%. That's a great reference. I also really want to watch the show. You should watch it. It's great.

So one of them is talking and she says that she volunteers with disadvantaged women. Like this is like to comfort Amelia, by the way. She says that she works. She volunteers with disadvantaged women and some of them have lost their husbands and find it very difficult. Oh, what an empathetic isn't that soothing i know other people whose husbands have died and it's tough it's also super helpful to always just like weasel in the fact that you're volunteering somewhere you know in my experience as a volunteer helping other people well then she goes on to say that her husband has been working really

hard that she doesn't even have time to go to the gym anymore oh no that's really rough so Emilio obviously snaps like fully snaps at her she's like that must be so hard for you like I can't imagine not being able to go to the gym. And Claire's like horrified. Yeah. But honestly, she should be horrified of her bitch friend. Yeah. So then we go outside and we see Samuel is like hiding from all these princesses. And Ruby finds him in the treehouse and tells him to get out. And then she tells him that he's not even good enough to have a dad.

What? And so he's really sad. She's truly awful. He's like, I have a dad. She's truly awful. That's so mean. He's like, I have a dad. Oh my god, it's so sad. It's so sad. He's like, now you darn. Now you darn. Bitchy little Australian girl. Now you darn.

That's so mean. That's next level mean. It really is. That's shitty. And so he pushes her. He pushes her out of that treehouse. And I bet he, oh no, this is a raised treehouse situation. It is a raised treehouse. And she gets a big old bloody

nose. She falls right in her face. She literally falls directly on her face. Okay, at first I thought she was gonna die. No, she doesn't. It's not that. It's not that high. I was like, this is when the movie really turns. We're really all broken by hereditary. I mean, exactly.

I'm just waiting for that. And then she falls into the treehouse and her head snaps on. No, it just causes a bit of a scene. Claire gets very mad. He gets in big trouble. And Claire's, yeah. Amelia's like, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry.

And Claire's like, just stay here and watch the rest of the kids. Make sure he doesn't hurt anybody else. like oh no yes and then i think it cuts to him in the back seat of the car like banging the front seat with his feet you know how when kids like just like screaming like he's just so annoying and bad yeah like well he just doesn't know how to deal with his emotion oh my god yeah she's not helping him process anything um yeah and so yeah in that scene he's like screaming like i didn't mean to and then he's with his emotions. She's not helping him process anything. Yeah. And so yeah in that scene he's like screaming like I didn't mean to and then he's like

the Babadook like he's still talking about the Babadook and screaming and crying and so she pulls over and she says there is no Babadook and then Samuel like freezes and turns to his side and then he just. He's seeing something. Yeah. So it's like next to him in the car

and then he just starts like seizing like he goes into like a full seizure. He has like a claw hand his face is like frozen and he's like seizing. Oh no. So she like takes him out of the car and like a neighbor calls and like helps call the hospital or whatever.

And so we see her at the doctor's office and there's really no do you remember diagnosis yeah there's no diagnosis at all no basically she's just like can we have sleeping yeah and he's like sure i guess he's okay and they're like oh just as like i think she just refers it to it as like fainting later or something mild like that whereas like it wasn't that. Also he turned saw something and seized.

So she's just like can you please prescribe us both sleeping pills right? No she just asked for him. Just for him. And he like is kind of like a little bit cautious about it but he does it anyway. Can you give a six yearyear-old sleeping pills? I guess so.

Like, little kids sleeping pills. Baby Benadryl. And, yeah, she's just like, please, please, please. Like, we haven't slept in days. Like, we're so tired. And he, like, reluctantly, like, gives her a prescription. Like, a small amount until she can go to, like, a specialist, basically. Yeah, we see her giving him the sleeping

pills and he tells her even like this scene kills me. He tells her that he loves her and all she says is me too. Oh, that's like even in those like tender moments like there's like such a distance between them. You don't want to hear me

too after I love you. So sad. It's very sad. So yeah so she gives him the sleeping pills and feels that relief and like literally like floats into her bed again. And she sleeps till 11 a.m. the next day. She like finally gets a night of sleep.

And so she wakes up and she's refreshed and she goes downstairs to make breakfast and then she hears a knock at the door and answers the door there's no one there she hears a knock again there's no one there but then she looks down and mr baba duck is on her doorstep the book uh so then she starts going through it and sees that like all the pages are like taped back together like it is the same exact book that she ripped up it's not a new up it's put back together yeah that's scary that's definitely scarier than it just being just fully intact yeah i agree but then because you're like who did this someone someone did this back together someone found it in the trash took the time to put it back

together but not only that is that there's also new pages. Oh, because there was blank pages in the end previously. And now they're being more filled in and more personalized. Very personalized and very sinister. So this is after the last page we saw was your you'll wish you were dead. Yeah. There's more. Great. It gets worse.

You want there to be more after that. Yeah. Do you have the new lines written down? Again. I'll wager with you i'll make you a bet the more you deny the stronger i get let me in and then the scene is her laying in bed with the babadook hovering over her you start to change when i get in the babadook growing right under your skin and this image is her standing with her arms out like like jesus

pose and then behind her is the baba duck in the same pose oh come come see what's underneath and then there's a pop-up of her holding the dog by the throat like twisting its neck and then the next page is her holding sam by the throat twisting twisting his neck. And like this whole time you see Babadook like shadow kind of behind her. Like in real time or in the book? It's like in the pop-up book. And then the next page is of her slitting her own throat

and bleeding out. Oh my God. Not good. Things are not looking great. So she decides this time that she's going to burn the book. So she gets like a bunch of lighter fluid and lights that bitch on fire even though it just said the more you deny yeah stronger she's like this will work so right after she burns it we see her talking to her sister and she's telling her sister that she's a stalker and so her she sister's like, just go to the police.

Like, I don't know what you want me to do. I don't have evidence. And so she hangs up with her sister and she gets a call and it's just like kind of like a static-y sound and then we hear ba-ba-duck. No! It's so scary.

It's so scary. And this is in the daytime, So even daytime can be scary. It's so scary. I hate that. And also while she's on the phone, her hands are literally covered in ash. Like that's my favorite part of this whole scene is like she's starting to like look unhinged. She's looking unhinged because she burnt the book and now she's like covered in ash. Her hair is getting more and more like crazy.

Where is Samuel when all this is happening? Like asleep? Well, I think he's there. He was with her when she burnt the book. He like, they're like looking at each other while she does it. Oh God. So I think he's, he's around probably playing with some of his contraptions or magic. Is there magic or something?

So she does decide to go to the police station. So she walks in and she says, I have a stalker and the police are, guess what? Assholes. So there's like three cops They're like Nobody's stalking you lady And so They're like oh what you got a book Okay like scary spooky

And she's like yeah in the book it depicts like me And my son being like brutally killed So yeah I got a stalker So they're like okay like let like, let's see the book. Like, show us the book. And she's like, well, I burned it. And so they're like kind of snickering to each other and like they're just like being dicks to each other.

And she kind of looks past them and she sees on the wall, like pants and a coat and a hat hanging. But they're in the shape of like Bob. Like we see like Babadook hands, which are like kind of like really pointy, like witchy gloves. They're really scary hands. They're just pointy, black, long, spooky hands. Would you describe them as being root vegetable like? No.

Sounds hot to me. They're kind of almost two dimensional're kind of almost two-dimensional oh in a way they're like like in a pop-up book yeah yes and so she sees that and is like oh god like it's starting to kind of think like oh is this real like something's happening and so she just leaves and so like we truly like start to see both amelia and samuel kind of like spiraling a bit but like amelia has like really lost hold um and so she goes back home and samuel is with the neighbor and she freaks out what is she like comes to she comes to pick him up and he's like i can't remember the neighbor's name he's like mrs whatever has parkinson's that makes her like shake like this and he like impersonates like someone with

parkinson's and again she's like samuel like shut up stop it like anytime he says something inappropriate rather than like treating it that's not okay because she's just like yeah freaks out at him and the neighbor says like oh he sees things as they are or something like that yeah she's like i don't mind like that's it's okay and and she compares him to his dad she says oh he's just like oscar he sees things as they are and so not only does does amelia snap at samuel but then she snaps at claire for the first time and it's like why do you have to keep bringing him up like stop bringing him up and then like storms back home um and then at home i mean the next thing i have written down is the cockroach yes yes i don't like cockroach on her starting shoulder while she's doing dishes

and she like freaks out and like brushes it off and then like moves toward like sees one by the refrigerator, I think, and moves toward it and pulls the refrigerator. Oh, no. And there's like a crack in the wallpaper and you see like something move. Oh, God. Pulls it open and eventually reveals like this big hole in the wall and all these cockroaches just come out. A bunch of them.

Ew. Ew. She just starts like cleaning the entire kitchen, like empties out like all the cupboards, everything like everything's everywhere. She's cleaning like cleaning the entire kitchen like empties out like all the cupboards everything like everything's everywhere She's cleaning like crazy and then basically like child services. Yeah, exactly because she has taken them out of school They're like we just have to come and like check Okay, she's looking insane Stuff is everywhere. She's wearing a cleaning glove she looks her hair is so messy

it's just getting messier and messier and they're like we just need to like have a few words with Samuel and this is my favorite part is Samuel is on the couch and they're like hi Samuel like how are you and he's like I'm a bit tired from all the drugs my mom has been giving me

are you serious? Oh, that's good. And she's like, not drugs, like medicine from it's prescribed. I'm not drugging him. She's like, sorry, it's just like things have been so crazy. And now I have this huge cockroach problem from this big hole in my wall. And the hole is gone. She goes to show them and the hole is gone. So she just looks like insane.

She's losing her mind. And they're kind of just like, well, see, we've caught you at a bad time. So the Babadook is gaslighting her. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Oh, my God. They're like they're like child services.

People are just like, I guess we'll come back later. Yeah. Which seems like a weird move because it's like a job. Do you feel like they're like, OK, we're taking this kid later but just maybe no i think they're kind of like we'll come back when you're like well you like to let people really prepare uh their best it does seem outward appearance yeah i don't know it was weird i think because they were coming back the next week they were just like okay like if it's still like this right take action kind of thing yeah this could be a weird day yeah yeah um and so you know they leave and it cuts to night time and she's doing the

dishes and her kitchen window goes into like her neighbor's house and so she sees her just like sitting and watching tv and she looks down and she does the dishes again and when she looks up she sees in the shadows mr babadook standing behind cla she looks up she sees in the shadows Mr. Babadook standing behind Claire. But it's like in the shadows it's done really well like it doesn't look cheesy it's like only a slight silhouette and like a little bit of

light on his face. It's very scary. It's really truly terrifying. I feel like these are scarier than jump scares where there's no sound designed to like be, scary moment. It's just like, your eyes have to find it and you're just like, fuck! I do have a question about sound design. Is there like a

score or music in the background? The score is really good. It's very subtle. Very subtle. I think. It just lets a lot of the tension that's happening between the characters kind of be the main driving factor. Like, there's no rely, it's not relying on score

to make anything scarier or more tense. But it is like just kind of a like kind of haunting subtle backdrop to it. Okay. Great score. That's beautiful. And the sound design, which I will get to later,

is truly spectacular. It's really good. So she gets distracted in her own house and when she looks back he's gone. So she's like something's up. I am unwell. And that night she heads to bed and she

starts hearing scratching on the door. So it's gone from the footsteps to scratching. And so she's like very scared. And then she hears Bugsy bark. And so she's like oh it's just the dog. She's like phew. and so she's like thank god and that was my reaction as well so she lets the dog in

and they go back to bed but then she hears the scratching again and then the door creaks open and we see Mr. Babadook like enter the room in the shadows. Sneak into the shadows.

It slides back to the farthest corner of her room. Just a quick question. In the trailer, do we see him? Because I really want to know. I don't remember. I can't remember, but you can find it online, definitely. I want to see what physical form he takes. But you don't see him a lot.

And I remember reading something for Kent, or maybe it was just a review about it, where she doesn't really care about the creature design of him because it's less about that and more about his impact. What he represents. And so it's not like the craziest creature design. They're not trying to scare you with that. It's just that he's there. Yeah.

And honestly, I feel like that's the most interesting part because I feel like there's so many horror movies that will show you like way too much. But like just the presence is so much scarier. Like the way that this is done is so well done. It feels like it's all about her reaction to him. Totally. Right. Yeah.

And so but we like do see him like we see his like kind of shadowy figure and we see like his like spiky little hands. And so she immediately okay wait no this is the sound this is where the sound comes in because he has kind of a weird little like creepy jingle to him it's kind of like an insect sound yes yes yes it's like that clicking kind of yes yes and so like we first hear it like kind of like, yeah, like that. Exactly. Yeah. And so we hear that and then she

throws the blanket over her head, which is always like a very weird instinct, like to hide from something. It's a very childlike instinct. It's very childlike. Very. If I can't see him, he's not here. And so then we start hearing him say his name in his like very scary low voice.

Sammy? Ba ba dook dook dook dook. And so she starts like peeking out from the blankets. You see him like kind of creep into frame, but he moves in a very like, I mean, jump cutty type way. Yeah. It's like stop motion yeah like stop motion almost and it's just like getting closer and closer yeah so it's it's it's on the ceiling above her

it's like and it looks like it was in the book yeah he's like kind of curled up like above her but on the ceiling like kind of just like a little like like in a fetal position kind of well actually i just thought of something. Just had a realization. Some symbolism. So she's just like looking at him and he dives into her. Oh, he said he was going to get under her skin.

He did. And so she wakes up Sam and is like, we're going downstairs. And he's like, why? And she's like, because I said so. And yeah. And the Babadook is inside of her at this point. Like not fully yet, I don't think. He's with her now. For sure. She's not like possessed.

So she's her own self, but the Babadook is with her. Yeah, exactly. It's closer now. He has not taken over her. Right. No. And so they go downstairs like she wants to be in like an open place she wants to have the tv the tv is very comforting well can be um and so

samuel is sleeping on the couch and um she starts watching tv and again it's a black and white movie it's like it almost looks like silent like a silent film like a very old like 20s cabinet of dr caligari that is i literally wrote that down it looks a lot like comforting um it's very spooky it's really spooky yeah um and a baba duke figure is in the movie i can't remember she eventually falls asleep right but you can see that she's like so like out of it i don't think that she sleeps at all. She's like zombie like watching this. And it's like kind of cutting through like different. It does the thing where it like the lighting changes. And you see that she just watched TV all night until morning. And then she goes up to her bed to try to get some sleep. And Samuel comes in and is like, I'm hungry. Breakfast. Breakfast time. Kids, you have to feed them.

You have to. Got to sit up. And she sits up and says, if you're so hungry, why don't you go and eat shit? Oh, my God. And he runs out of the room. Wow. This is where we have an adult man on his knees. Yeah, exactly.

This is where he enters the scene. But before that, she says, and this is is important why do you keep talk talk talking so she's starting to talk like him and that's when we realize like he's here he has entered oh god so he's like cowering in his room Samuel he's very scared

she just really scared him she told him to eat shit I wouldn't like it if my mom I wouldn't like it now i wouldn't like it if my mom and she comes in she's like i'm so sorry i'm so sorry um what can i do like we can have ice cream for breakfast we can go to a restaurant like she's like trying to undo what she just did and he's like won't let her touch him but i guess eventually agrees to go to the restaurant i mean he's hungry yeah it's hungry so they go out like just to get out of the house and have food and on the drive back amelia sees a bug on her and then she sees like more in the car the same cockroaches as like

small cockroaches and so she's like what the fuck trying to like shake them off and then she looks in the rearview mirror and she sees what looks like the babadook's body crawling up the back window on top of the car and so she's like kind of screaming and like swerving and she ends up crashing into one other man this is the last man in the whole movie and guess what he's rude of course he is doesn't ask her how she's doing, if the kid's okay. Just like, what the fuck? Are you an idiot? Driving crazy with a kid in the car? Of course, of course. Like, he's just a dick.

Yeah. And she just drives away. Good for her. She's like, I'm not gonna deal with this. And she just drives off. Look, I got bigger problems than you, my friend. That's the last thing on her list. And this is, I feel like, she's totally lost it at this point. So then the next is, yeah, that's the last thing on her list. And this is, I feel like she's totally, like, lost it at this point.

So then the next is, like, you see her in a bath with all her clothes on, silently, like, staring at the wall. And Samuel comes in and is like, Mom? And she just lifts him up in all his clothes and puts him in the bath with her. Like, there's water in the bath. Full bath. And she's like, it's nice and warm in here oh god And he's like Just confused I think

And then um She goes like I guess just like after this We see her go down into the basement And grab Oscar her Husband's violin And she takes the violin and then she crawls Into bed like cradling the Violin

And so like Samuel's like watching all this and I think crawls into bed like cradling the violin. Oh, God. And so like Samuel's like watching all this and I think he's like seeing like something's wrong. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And so then he crawls into bed with her and like kind of tries to like cuddle her like big spoon her and he wraps his arm around her and accidentally touches the violin and she freaks.

Like she like snaps at him and her voice is starting to sound different. Yeah. It's like deeper and scarier. Yeah yeah it's like kind of gravelly yeah not like fully possessed but like kind of just like her own voice sounding like yeah deeper throatier um so they fall asleep and she wakes up to like multiple voices whispering like at first you can't hear it it's just like and then you hear there's someone in the house oh my god that's right oh my god oh my god oh my god i'm sorry guys i'm sorry so scary um it's really scary i yeah i can't believe i didn't write that she was the part that scared me the most her eyes are closed and she hears yeah and it's multiple voices it's like women's voices and men's voices. And then it's really clear.

Yeah. And so she wakes up and she's like, she goes downstairs and she catches Samuel downstairs on the phone telling Claire, the neighbor, that something's wrong with his mom and asks if they can spend the night. And it's him saying, I think it's him saying him saying like i think there's someone in the house okay i just gave myself the chills again you guys oh my god okay so emilio grabs the phone from him and explains to her like everything's fine and hangs up and then she screams at samuel she takes the phone she takes the batteries out she

takes out a knife. Oh my God. And is like holding it like stabbing motion and then goes and cuts the phone wire. She's like, is this going to stop you? Is this what I have to do to keep you from embarrassing me in front of our neighbors? She's referring to her sister as the neighbors?

Oh no, it's not the sister. It's the old woman. Oh, okay. i can't remember her name but then they're like back in the living room again and she kind of falls asleep and sees she first she goes around and locks all of the doors and windows in the house so like he can't get out they're stuck inside she gives him more sleeping medication and he hides it like he pretends like he's taking it, but he doesn't take it. And so this is when she spaces out in front of the TV again.

There's something terrifying to me about someone spacing out in front of the TV. It looks really creepy. Yeah. With everything else dark around you. And not sleeping. She's not sleeping. She's like fully hallucinating at this point. It me kind of of rec room for a dream though yeah just watching tv yeah totally so upsetting and i feel like it's like cycling through the channel

she's going through different channels and ends up on a news report yeah yeah of um a mother that killed her son on his seventh birthday which is coming up and she like squints to look at the tv and it it's she sees herself in the window with like a very scary smile on her face like looking back at her and then she looks over and sees Samuel, like, bloodied and dead. And then Samuel, and is, like, freaked out. And then does Samuel wake her up? Yeah, she starts screaming, like, Samuel, Samuel. And then she wakes up, almost, to Samuel screaming at her. And she's holding a knife above him, hovering above him.

My God. Oh, my God. I'm, like, seriously freaking my own soul out. her and she's holding a knife above him hovering above him my god oh my god I'm like seriously freaking my own soul it just got like cloudy outside and I'm like oh no spooky and the dog is like scared of her now too it's the thing that I wrote down at this point she's like she's feeling like so

stressed and tired and I think at some point she's like oh what's the dog's name Bugsy she's like Bugsy come here and like tries to get it on her some point she's like oh what's the dog's name bugsy bugsy she's like bugsy come here and like tries to get it on his her lap and it's like no no no yeah he's not done um then there's like another dream sequence and she looks over and samuel's not in the on the couch anymore so she's like samuel samuel and he's standing behind her and his eyes are closed and it looks like he's kind of sleepwalking and so then he walks towards the basement and um goes downstairs

so we see her follow him and when she gets downstairs he's gone but oscar is there her husband and so they have this like long hug and a kiss and she is like I thought you were dead and like they're holding each other and he says we can be together you just need to bring me the boy and then just repeats bring me the boy and his voice gets like scarier and scarier

as he says it bring me the boy he's not the boy his name is C oh no I don't know how they're connected yet, but I don't like it. It's so creepy. And it goes from Oscar's voice into the Babadook's voice.

We start to hear that kind of low, gravelly... I forgot to tell you in the beginning, in that dream, when she turns to her, when she turns to Oscar, he says, I think it's gonna rain. Oh yes, because that's what he said the night of the accident

and so when he's saying like you can bring me the boy then he says I think it's gonna rain and so like that's when she like snaps out of it um yeah then she goes back upstairs and oh and then she starts hearing that sound again the insect sound and then she looks in like the doorway

in the kitchen and she sees the babadook oh yes floating out of the doorway it's floating after her and then she runs upstairs and it's kind of chasing her and it's in the room before she gets there right and you don't really see it again in the room it's just kind of her room is very shadowy not good and it's just kind of she's like kind she's trying to hide and different pieces of his clothing are falling. So she hides by her bed next to the fireplace.

It's kind of silly, but his hat falls out of the fireplace. And then we see his hand coming around the corner. And then she crawls away and we see his cape fall. She's just trying to get away from him, but being constantly reminded that this person is or this like creature is around her and we like keep hearing his like growls and his sounds and then he like fully goes into her you

see it from from she's like crawl like army crawling kind of and you see it from her face she like kind of sits up a bit as if it's going into her back and her pupils just dilate oh god that's all you see it's very terrifying and so then we see her now

back in front of the TV and now it's terrifying and she is now making these like weird insect-y sounds. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. And through the whole movie, she keeps like kind of like touching her jaw. Like maybe she has like a

cavity or like a toothache or something. And so we see Samuel hiding with the dog. And so the dog With the dog And so the dog like wiggles out of his hands And like goes to Amelia And is like growling and barking at her

And she snaps and she just grabs him And brings him into the kitchen And just breaks its neck Which is truly the worst part of the whole movie It's really upsetting And she like throws it on the ground They told us it was coming And then And she like throws it on the ground. They told us it was coming.

No. And then right after she throws it on the ground, she like winces and like reaches into her mouth. Oh, God. Oh, God. I hate this. Oh, no, no, no. And pulls out. No, no, no, no. Like a dead tooth.

No, no, no, no, no, no. So now she's looking even scarier and crazier. Has like blood all over her face. Throws her tooth on the ground. I really don't like teeth stuff. I don't like it either. I'm going to probably have a tooth dream tonight. No.

Oh no. I have those a lot. Oh god. So then she like snaps around and Samuel's like watching from the stairwell. And he like saw all this and he's like uh oh like something's up. And like she starts running towards him and he runs upstairs but like at this point she's like very animal like like almost like a werewolf

like kind of like not moving like a human. No not at all and so she chases him upstairs and he locks himself in the room. She finally breaks through this is the scene where she's definitely screaming at a man on his knees in a way and she says some very they have a really heartbreaking so they're screaming at each

other and or she she screams or he screams i just want you to be happy is one of the first things he said like i just want you to be happy and she's like oh you just want me to be happy like being an asshole like she's like well sometimes I just want to smash your head against the wall until your brains come out and I think he said he says you're not my you're not my mother like he like is like this is you're not you okay well she also

tells him in that moment she says um you don't know how many times I wish you died instead of him oh god it's so sad. I don't know how this little kid goes on after this. I'm going to guess he doesn't.

I'm going to take a guess and say his end is near. Yeah, it's very hard to watch. It really is heartbreaking. Easier to think it's a man in a wig, though. That does sound easier. That's fine. It's just a man in a wig. As opposed to, oh, it's fine. It's just a movie.

That's good. Didn't even cross my mind. No, no. Adult man in a wig? Cool. And then he throws his little firecrackers at her. He's like, this is danger. Danger, danger. I need to get out of this situation. And he uses his weapon, too. He uses some of his little tricks

and gets away from her and hides in a closet in the hallway. And then at this moment, there's a knock at the door and it's the neighbor who's so sweet. And oh, my God. She's like, I just want to check to make sure everything's OK. It's not. And Amelia's like, yeah, we're fine. We're fine. okay it's not and and um amelia's like yeah we're fine we're fine and then like uses this moment to like try to trick like sends her away i guess and then uses that to try to trick samuel she like

gets on her knees and is like samuel i'm sick and i need help and like just like come over here and i'm like i'm so sorry i'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. So then he uses more of his little, she like lunges at him, I guess. Yeah. And he uses that like, it's like a weird backpack weapon that has like a, what is that called? Like a slingshot, but. But there's like a ball on the end and it like flings at her and like hits her and distracts her. And so he's able to like get away. Yeah, I don't know what it's called, but I think

I know what you're talking about. It's kind of like a slingshot. Kind of, yeah. Oh, oh, oh. Catapult. Yeah, yep, yep, yep, yep. But like a mini one, a mini backpack. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's a little mini one and he hits her with it.

And then, um. Well Well and this whole time she says Like I'm so sorry I haven't been the same since your dad died Your whole life? Well then she says I want you to meet your dad Oh fuck no And so they're talking In the kitchen and she's like this is where it is

She's being really tender with him And then he grabs the knife from behind him and stabs her in the leg. So he's not believing anything that she's saying. Yes. And so he runs down to the basement and he had like basically created this whole like booby trap

situation. Like there's a wire just burning ahead. Yeah. And like basically he's able to like knock her out and tie her down holy shit and so she's like tied down to the ground what's that is it gulliver's travel yeah yeah yeah it's like that much like that um and so she like wakes up and she's like tied down and she's like fully possessed she's like a demon at this point like looks so scary and is just screaming non-stop like every blood vessel in her face and just this actress is so good she's so

good and this whole this is the part this is the part that i actually think i cried same and so he's telling her how much he loves her he's just saying i love you i want you to be happy i want you to be safe he says i know you don't love me but i love you and i'll never stop loving you oh my god oh my god it's so sad and she's she is there any other lines that she say that's sad or she's like she reaches to try to strangle yeah she's able to like get her arms out she gets one yeah like hand free and she's trying to strangle him. And as she's strangling him, he strokes, he uses his hand to stroke her face. Oh, my God. I know.

I am not okay right now. Oh, God. I'm not going to be able to do anything after this. I'm like, really? We need a hangover day for this fucking movie. And he's basically just like, I love you, I love you. And, like, and there's some moment where I love you I love you and like and there's some moment

where she tries to overpower I think she just like I think that like kind of snapped her out of it a little bit and so she tries to fight the Babadook out of her and she does and she like kind of like does like shaking and like we see him like leaving her body like she like vomits this like she vomits

crazy black blood yeah it's very gross and then she's covered in blood she looks very scary but we're like okay like we did it and i don't know they walk back up up the basement stairs into the house and samuel looks at her and looks really scared and she's like what what what? What? Like, what's happening? And he says, you can't get rid of the Babadook. And then he's like flies up the stairs by like an invisible force, like throwing him. Oh, my God. Again, have full body.

But yeah, so he's had some realization that like you can't beat the Babadook. No. Oh, my God. had some little realization that like you can't beat the baba duck no oh my god um and so he's being like flung around the house banging into walls being like beaten up and she eventually like jumps and grabs him and like pins him to the bed to protect him and the bed starts like bouncing and shaking and going crazy the baba duck is is in the creepy corner of her bedroom again. Well, it's Oscar. Oscar comes out of the shadows again.

Yes. And he is calmly telling her, keep breathing. Put the seat back. Ten minutes. We're almost there. I think it's going to rain. Oh, my God. It's going to rain.

And then we hear the car crash and we see his head gets sliced in half and his body falls to the ground. And she just drops to her knees, sobbing. And then Oscar gets pulled back into the darkness. And then it's this confrontation with Babadook where she's like, what do want and it's got these creepy I guess they are kind of like insecty looking wings or something coming out of the like middle of the room and she's yelling at it and she's

she I feel like has like a moment of like I'm like you're nothing it's like ownership she's like realizing like I'm not going to be afraid anymore and so she says you're nothing. It's like ownership. Yeah. She's like realizing, like, I'm not going to be afraid anymore. And so she says, you're nothing. You're trespassing. Well, she's screaming, screaming it.

I'm like, you're nothing. You're trespassing in my house. And she says, if you ever touch my son again, I'll fucking kill you. And what happens? And like the house is like cracking. Like the walls are cracking. The ceiling is cracking. Like it's like breaking down.

And like there's like wind coming in and like she's holding Sam in front of her. And like the wind starts pulling Sam. So she's like holding him by his arms. And then she like she grabs him. Right. She grabs him. And then I think she just kind of like beats whatever the force is it like settles down babadook is like on the ground kind of crying yeah he's like moaning he's weak

he's sad really small she goes to touch him and then we hear this like screeching sound and then we see the camera get pulled down into the basement. So the Babadook gets like dragged to the basement, basically. And so then we cut to it's Samuel's birthday. Yes. And it's like the community or the child services people come back. The house is decorated for his birthday and they're back. They're like sitting on the couch talking to them. And he's like like this is my

first time celebrating my birthday and they're kind of like what and the mom like rather than being like like don't say that like of course we saw she's like well you know his father died um when he when he was born so it's like basically addressing the situation and giving voice to it rather than you know know, freaking out. Yeah. For the very first time. For the first time. Yeah.

And they like just talk about, you know, like, yeah, he's going back to school next week. Like she's taking responsibility and ownership again of like her life and his life. And so they're like, OK, things look great. So so they leave and then it shows Amelia and Sam in the backyard, like kind of gardening. And she's like collecting dirt and like worms. And he has like this giant bowl of dirt and worms. Like what's going on here? And then she then eventually takes this bowl of worms down to the basement and is like looking nervously into the shadows, sets it down in the middle of the room and you like don't know what's going to happen.

And then this force like lunges at her and pushes her backwards and is like screaming in her face. And she's scared at first and then it's like, it's OK, it's OK, it's OK. And like soothing the Babadook, it's going to be OK, it's going it's okay and like soothing the babadook it's gonna be okay it's gonna be okay and then it like slinks back and like grabs the food and it's food yeah and then she just goes back upstairs and is yeah then like playing with her son he's like sitting on her lap and they're just sitting in the afternoon sun and smiling. And that's the end of the movie. Oh my God.

I wasn't expecting a happy ending. It is. Oh, that's good. That's really good. Except for the dog. Yeah. The dog definitely died. So she's tending to the grief.

But like, it's like, you're fine. You're here. Here's some words. Yeah. So the first time I saw it, I saw it very much as like, I mean, I think it is all of these things, but I saw it very much as like a personification of depression

and even of the like stages of depression, like denial, like the more you deny, the stronger I get. Oh, yeah. And just kind of and it's like I saw it more as being like the Babadook is this like representation of her like dead husband and like the like not dealing with the trauma of that, you know, not addressing the grief properly and rather just like pushing it down and how that makes it

stronger and what's not like making it go away. This time was like oh it's like more of her like her resentment like personified and like maybe some like some um almost postpartum type things i was seeing like it's like the the dark side of motherhood yeah you don't always love your kid and like i feel like so much in horror movies is like um it's like you see a lot of protagonists that are like trying to protect their kids and it's like well what happens when you like hate your kid because sometimes you do and so i don't know i was just like oh there's so many interesting things going on that it just got worse and worse right and she could have given into it yeah and killed him yes and like yeah and how it doesn't just affect you, it affects everyone around you. Totally. And especially your son, your children.

Yeah. Oh, my God. It was great. What a good story. It really is. It's just like a really, really good story. It really, honestly, like this movie could be a drama, like a simple drama without the Babadook.

But I feel like that adds so much to really like fleshing out all of the parts of the story. Yeah. It isn't just grief it's it's everything it's like womanhood motherhood wow trauma now i am realizing this is exactly what i feel like horror canon should do because it allows you to add a surreal element to drama like it's like this is i feel like those are the best magical realism um and like i was like if you did make this a drama without the horror element of just like oh mom who's grieving

it doesn't have the same work you like need that other thing to tie it to and like put it in this magical world and it's so cool that horror gives you the ability to do that i think also because when when it's played in a real way, I feel like, yeah, it doesn't capture the intensity of those emotions necessarily. Because they're not grounded in reality. Yes. Those feelings.

And those feelings are so intense and so overwhelming and feel so crazy to you that, yeah, it feels like this is the way to show that is by making it like a bigger than life because it feels that way and how it does like change you that if you dwell on it and let it take you over you're like you're not yourself right

and lots of feelings are horrifying just absolutely horrifying is awful so why not just show it through horror yes yeah really good really really really good I'm so excited to watch the trailer It's true. So why not just show it through horror? Yes. Yeah.

Really good. Really, really, really good. I'm so excited to watch the trailer. Oh, yeah. I thought you were going to say to watch the movie. And I. Oh, God, no. Really?

I was thinking I sort of want to. No, I feel like I say this a lot at the end of the podcast. Yeah. Pretty much every week. I really need to follow through. You got a lot of movies to watch, Emily. Maybe this time. This time, I'm. Yeah. I feel need to follow through. You got a lot of movies to watch, Emily. Maybe this time. This time, yeah. I feel like you could watch this one.

There are definitely scary moments, but even in the monster, he is kind of friendly looking. I think it would just be harder to watch a small child be in pain like that. Yeah, it sounds just very hard to watch. It's heartbreaking. Yeah, that's the harder thing. That's the thing. It still has a happy ending. It does have a happy ending the the first time i watched it is that kid gonna be okay i mean yeah i mean i think he will be better because he was born in trauma like obviously he's gonna carry this for the rest of his life but i think that's like the point yes that's the

point is exactly that's the other part that i love so much about the ending is that it's like trauma that never goes away and you do have to learn to live with it. And you do have to feed the monster in your basement and become friends with it. And know how to soothe it. Yeah. And not be scared of it. Because it's not something you can just eliminate from your life forever. You have to be friends with the monster in your basement.

Good life lesson. Beautiful. Beautiful message. Beautiful life lesson. Pretty beautiful message. I wonder if like 25 years from now people watch this movie and be like oh it's so on the nose do you know what i mean so emotionally evolved this movie or maybe 25 years is too short maybe in 25 years we'll be fucking fine no people won't be

fine but they'll be so used to like this way of storytelling well this is the first kind i feel like the first one that i saw that kind of went into this territory and now i mean i think hereditary did it midsummer did it that's kind of becoming more it's like kind of like a new wave of horror yeah i think we'll all be extinct as a species before we reach a point where we're all so well evolved that we're like yeah i know tend your. Tend your monster. We get it. That's why we'll be extinct. Yes. We will be fucking dead. Every single one of us. I feel like this movie did get a lot of

backlash from like regular horror fans who were like, it wasn't scary and the ending was stupid. And it was like, that's not the point. Yeah, it was very polarizing for sure. That's not the point. Oh my god. You did an amazing Wow. You did an amazing job. You did an amazing job.

Seriously. Thank you so much. I hope so. This is very important to me. It's a podcast, so nobody gets to know this, but I mean, all the notes, there was a novel happening. I didn't want to leave anything out. It was good.

It was good. Because I like frantically took notes and I missed a lot of stuff. So thank God. God, it was good. Thank God we had it like frantically took notes and I missed a lot of stuff. So thank God. God, it was good. Thank God we had it. Thank God. Thank you for having me. This is really fun.

Yeah. Oh my God. It was so much fun. Such an honor. Have you ever been to Babadook for Halloween? I haven't. I've been thinking about it for a long time, but yeah, I haven't done it yet. Okay.

I did something kind of similar. Did you ever see Sinister? No, you didn't. And I know you didn't. Of course not. I did something kind of similar. Did you ever see Sinister? No, you didn't. And I know you didn't. I did not. So it's like Bagul is supposed to be like the boogeyman. That's another fun name. She kind of looks similar, so I feel like it would be too... Too close.

You're trying to mix it up. Yeah. You've got until I guess the summer to figure out. In a couple months. We can make a vision board. Thank you. We're collaging in 2020. That's our 2020 goal.

Wow. Well, should we say goodbye in the Babadook voice? Definitely. Yes. All right. How do we do it? We'll just give it our best shot. I would say Babadook. That's your sample. Babadook. Bye-bye. Babadook.

Bye-bye. Are you practicing? That was pretty good, I think. Yeah, yeah, it was great. From all of us here at Too Scary to Watch, goodbye. Bye. Bye. Hi, everybody.

Sammy here. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of Too Scary Didn't Watch. We had such a great time with Stephanie hearing all about the Babadook. And if you loved this episode as much as I personally did, you can go to Apple Podcasts and rate us or review us. And don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. We are also on social media at TSDW Podcast on Instagram and Twitter. So head over there for some exclusive Babadook content, such as screenshots of the tweet we talked about. Okay, see you next week.