Jennifer Kent Reflects on 10 Years of THE BABADOOK and Its Lasting Impact

Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman in Jennifer Kent's THE BABADOOK | Courtesy of Matt Nettheim. An IFC Films Release

By Shannon McGrew

In THE BABADOOK, six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her 'out of control' 6-year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel's dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called 'The Babadook' turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he's been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son's behavior, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.

In honor of the 10th anniversary of the iconic indie horror film THE BABADOOK, Creepy Kingdom's Shannon McGrew chatted with writer/director Jennifer Kent. During their chat, they discussed everything from the film's origins to its unexpected pop culture status and the enduring appeal of Mister Babadook.

Thank you so much for speaking with me today, Jennifer. It's truly an honor. To start things off, over the past decade, THE BABADOOK has been analyzed from every different angle: motherhood, mental illness, grief, etc. When you first created this, was there a specific message you wanted to get through? Have your feelings about the film's themes evolved over the last decade?

Jennifer Kent: There's one entry point that I had, which was my dad dying. I was in a space where I was grieving, and no one loves to feel pain. It's hard, but I did it and became quite philosophical. I'm always amazed by people who don't feel, who push down on things like profound losses, for example, death. I thought, what would happen to a person psychologically and emotionally if they did that? That's really how THE BABADOOK began. I thought, what if they push down so much that it gains so much negative energy that it splits off and becomes this other thing that terrorizes you? I intended to help work through that grief and allow the audience to feel.

Essie Davis and Noah Wiseman in Jennifer Kent's THE BABADOOK | Courtesy of Matt Nettheim. An IFC Films Release

What has it been like for you to see THE BABADOOK become this pop culture icon? Whether it be Mister Babadook becoming a gay symbol for the LGBTQIA+ community or the meme of Samuel screaming in the back car.

Jennifer Kent: We all feel like that; we all feel like the kid in the back screaming for no apparent reason while a part of us is saying, keep it down because people are noticing how f*cked up you are [Laughs]. I was watching [the newest] SCREAM movie recently and saw it referenced there, and those moments are thrilling. It's thrilling because I love cinema. I've loved movies since I was a kid, so to have your film referenced, for example, in "The Simpsons," they did an episode where THE BABADOOK was heavily referenced, and it's beautiful. It's really sublime. To have artists respond in kind to your work is the biggest thrill.

Like most horror fans, I love monster creation and all the work behind the scenes to bring them to life. With the design of Mister Babadook, how involved were you in the initial creative process?

Jennifer Kent: I have Lon Chaney to thank as my influence was the film London After Midnight. He's a master. Even though this was in the 1930s and 40s, it had that hokeyness, which I loved. It's deliberate. Some people would say that The Babadook looked like shit, but he's supposed to look like shit because he's pretending to be human! [Laughs]. Whatever that thing is, it's an energy that puts on a hokey disguise to fool a kid. It was also heavily influenced by the jerky, beautiful films of Georges Méliès and silent cinema that featured the basic, crude visual effects that were our first special effects. That's why there's stop motion often when we see him; he's scuttling. There was an element of the beetle or a cockroach about him as well.

In the ten years since THE BABADOOK was released, has a particular interaction or story from meeting fans stood out?

Jennifer Kent: There's been some really moving experiences from people who lost family. One guy lost his dad when he was around Samuel's age. He had two brothers, and his mom raised him on her own. He said he was watching the film in the background while he was editing and sort of looked over and started really engaging with the film. He thanked me and said the film gave him more than 20 years of therapy [Laughs]. Having a movie reach out and move someone that way is very special. That's the highest compliment.

The 10th Anniversary Re-Release of THE BABADOOK will be in theaters nationwide starting September 19th.