The Babadook fingerprintRelentless energy, immersive world, emotionally cool.
Nerve-racking and terrifying
Builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
Deeply moving and melancholic
Much of it is about family.
Serious throughout
The mind, everyday modern life, and family
Lived-in and easy to get lost in.
Standout direction, performances, and characters
Standout sound design, cinematography, and editing
A distinctive visual signature.
Nerve-racking and terrifying
Builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
The Babadook is nerve-racking and terrifying. The story builds slowly, so the intensity comes in waves.
Deeply moving and melancholic
Much of it is about family.
Emotionally, it's deeply moving and melancholic. Much of it is about family.
Serious throughout
Expect almost no humor.
The mind, everyday modern life, and family
Lived-in and easy to get lost in.
Its world is built around the mind, everyday modern life, and family. The setting feels lived-in and easy to get lost in. It leaves some questions open.
Standout direction, performances, and characters
The direction, performances, and characters stand out.
Standout sound design, cinematography, and editing
A distinctive visual signature.
Look and sound: the sound design, cinematography, and editing stand out.
Based on the GoodWatch fingerprint: our scores for 70+ attributes of every movie. Select a row to see all of them.
If it's in a word, or it's in a look, you can't get rid of...
Overall: Similar vibe.
Quick answers from GoodWatch data.
The Babadook is included with a subscription to Philo, AMC+, YouTube TV, and Shudder in the United States. You can watch it free with ads on Kanopy, Pluto TV, and Plex. You can also rent or buy it from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, and YouTube. All links in Where to Watch go to these licensed services.
Yes. It's widely acclaimed, with a GoodWatch score of 81/100 (IMDb 6.8, Rotten Tomatoes 98%, and Metacritic 86). The GoodWatch score combines critic and audience ratings.
It's rated NR in the United States. Content advisories: violence and disturbing imagery.
1 h 34 min
The Babadook runs 1 h 34 min.
Not quite. Critics rate The Babadook higher (92) than audiences (72). It may be more rewarding than it is crowd-pleasing.
Yes, a big one. It cost about $2 million to make and earned $10 million worldwide, 5.2 times its budget.
It was made in English. Produced in Australia, Canada.
+43GoodWatch finds legal streaming, rental, or purchase options for The Babadook in 57 countries. Pick any of them in Where to Watch to see the local services.
TV Tropes lists 114 storytelling tropes for The Babadook, including Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth, Mental Monster, Madness Mantra.
6.8
