Sundance Horror from Australia: THE BABADOOK Trailer

Surfacing over at Twitch is the debut trailer of an Australian horror film in the vein of ‘Insidious’ with a more artistic aesthetic. THE BABADOOK is funded by their Kickstarter, which first launched in late 2012, and exceeded its goal by a mere $71. This definitely doesn’t look like it was made on a paltry 30K, though. Yes, there only appears to be two main characters, but the production design, set and the cinematography are even with the work that Wan did on his breakout hit. Also, we’re just looking at a trailer here, but this footage is cut in a much more enticing manner, avoiding any blatant reveals and deftly hinting at possibilities. Sure, THE BABADOOK is trying to follow in the footsteps of the ‘boogeyman’ stories that’ve come before it, but what the footage here implies is a promise of graceful visual composition and clever storytelling  beyond what the genre has delivered so far. And apparently the Sundance Film Festival committee thinks so too, having chosen it as a part of their official selection, which might not be as prestigious a designation as it once was but certainly speaks volumes about how much more artistic this effort seems to be. The official Facebook page for THE BABADOOK (linked above) listed a series of “inspirations” for the films productions, with the two cited being Polanksi’s ‘The Tenant’ and Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan’, both of which are noted for being psychological explorations of horror than the supernatural kind. Does that excite you or disappoint you? I know it certainly intrigues me as much as the trailer itself does.

SYNOPSIS

From breakthrough writer-director Jennifer Kent comes the creepy psychological horror movie The Babadook, making its world premiere in Sundance’s Midnight section. The film tells of a single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband, who battles with her son’s nighttime fear of a shadowy monster. But soon, she must confront the sinister presence lurking in the house. With echoes of past and contemporary classics like Rosemary’s Baby, The Tenant, The Exorcist, The Omen and Let the Right One In, the film is an immaculately crafted tale starring Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman. The supporting cast includes Daniel Henshall, Hayley McElhinney, Barbara West, and Ben Winspear.