Review: The Babadook 4K UHD
Blu-ray & 4K UHD: The Babadook (2014)
In Jennifer Kent’s feature directorial debut, based on her 2005 short film ‘Monster’, Essie Davis plays Amelia Vanek, mother to six-year-old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman).
Amelia’s husband dies in the crash that occurs as they race to hospital because she is in labour with Samuel, and now living alone with her son, he starts to display erratic and violent behaviour. Her friends and family think he needs help.
Amelia is worn out, but after a hard day at the nursing home she reads Noah a nightly story. One night Noah produces a new pop-up book, ‘Mister Babadook’.
Looking much like Lon Chaney in ‘London after Midnight’ with a top hat, cape and endless finger talons, the story in the book becomes more threatening, causing Noah to believe the Babadook is under his bed, in his room and will get him.
Second Sights Films new special edition of The Babadook is beautiful. Their special editions all have fantastic covers and packaging, with gorgeous new artwork reflecting the ‘soul’ of each film, and this one is particularly gorgeous.
The extra’s (listed below) all add to this package making the experience of this film more than just watching a movie. Seeing this in 4K is astonishing, as the sound is completely enveloping and the picture with its many darks and hidden corners, shows a lot more “Babadookian’ terror than a ‘normal’ scan. It also includes the film ‘Monster’ which this film is based around.
The Babadook is now part of the modern classics of horror, and rightly so, but it’s not a straightforward horror film. I think it’s one of the saddest films I’ve seen, examining a mother’s grief and descent into madness, and how her small child is at once terrified, yet filled with love for a mother that could kill him at any point.
You can make your own mind up if the Babadook is real or not. The one thing I love about the Babdook is its disguised ‘happy ending’, the festering beast now controlled in the basement, but what if he escapes?
A wonderful film on so many levels, and another carefully curated and amazing special edition from Second Sight Films.
Special Features
- 4K / Blu-ray dual format release
- New 4K master produced by the original post production facility and presented in HDR10
- A new audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
- This is my House: a new interview with Actor Essie Davis
- The Sister: a new interview with Actor Hayley McElhinney
- Don’t Let It In: a new interview with Producer Kristina Ceyton
- Conjuring Nightmares: a new interview Producer Kristian Moliere
- Shaping Darkness: a new interview with Editor Simon Njoo
- If It’s in a Name or in a Look: a new interview with Production Designer Alex Holmes
- The Bookmaker: a new interview with the book designer Alexander Juhasz
- Ba-Ba-Ba…Dook!: a new interview with Composer Jed Kurzel
- Monster: Jennifer Kent’s original short film
- They Call Him Mister Babadook: The Making Of
- There’s No Place Like Home: Creating The House
- Special Effects: Stabbing Scene
- The Stunts
- Illustrating Evil: Creating the Book
- English SDH subtitles for the hearing impaired
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Peter Diamond
- 150 page hardback book with new essays by Anna Bogutskaya, Daniel Bird, Kat Ellinger, Rich Johnson, Jon Towlson and Laura Venning, archive Jennifer Kent interview, stills, behind-the-scenes photos and original illustration concepts for the book
- 6 collectors’ art cards
The Babadook is released on 26th July 2021 and is available to pre-order.
Review by Tina from a disc kindly supplied by Second Sight Films via Aim Publicity.
