“If it’s in a word, or it’s in a look, you can’t get rid of the Babadook”

Every now and again a horror movie comes along that truly makes you believe the era of 'torture porn' has come to an end. Thankfully, The Babadook is one of those films that restores faith in the horror genre.

This is Australian, writer-director Jennifer Kent's first feature length film, which is hard to believe as she appears to have a fantastic skill of understanding the film language by creating and building tension and fabricating complex characters, far beyond the standard you expect from a first-timer.  

Amelia (Essie Davis) is a struggling widow trying to raise her 6-year-old son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman) alone. She is traumatised and haunted by memories of her husband's death in a car crash en route to the maternity ward prior to Sam's birth. His mother isn't the only one battling demons of her own, as too is Sam. His imagination is getting the better of him as he becomes obsessed by the spectral monsters lurking in the shadows and so builds a series of homemade weapons to destroy them.

 

Samuel discovers an odd book entitled The Babadook that has apparently appeared out of nowhere on  his shelf. Amelia begins reading it aloud but realises all too late that this isn't a child friendly book and before she knows it they are being haunted by the eerily strange creature, Mister Babadook.

The themes present in the film are elaborate and intricate. And believe you me there is much more than meets the eye as this is not your typical ghostly, paranormal tale.

As I do not want to give too much away I will keep this review short and sweet and let you experience the film without any spoilers.

The dark fairytale feel helps to create plenty of tension and a few scares here and there. Thankfully, there aren't any jump-scares for those of you with a nervous disposition. If you fancy watching a horror film with a thought provoking outcome, then this is for you. If you want gore, masked murderers and teenagers with below average intelligence running into trouble then you may want to rethink.

A matter of wife and death

After taking an unnecessary stab at recreating the Swedish hit The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and it falling a bit short thematically, David Fincher returns with a grippingly destructive adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel - Gone Girl.

It all 'begins' on the day of bar owner Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and his wife, Amy's (Rosamund Pike) fifth wedding anniversary; where as per usual Amy had left a series of clues for Nick to find but this time it is shudderingly different. Nick finds his Missouri home violated; the front door wide open; a glass table smashed and his wife missing. Upon arriving at the scene, detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) spots specs of blood and other suspicious findings and senses that all is not as it seems. 

After discovering evidence of financial struggles and domestic altercations the finger is quickly pointed towards Nick, whose actions and emotions are deemed suspicious by the ever-judging, ever-growing press. The audience sees Nick explaining his side of the story, trying to persuade the police of his innocence but they aren't buying it. Amy's account is told through extracts of her incriminating diary, flashbacks and voiceovers, which reveals an alternative view of their apparently idyllic marriage. 

Just like in The Game, the main characters adopt and project different personas, while their true selves are hidden underneath layers of deceit. Everything is a performance. They are editing and rewriting themselves for the public – and for one another.

Affleck and Pike are cleverly cast, with their contrasting styles complimenting their characters' mismatched marriage. Affleck gives a very natural performance, he is confident but not cocky and charming, yet conveys a sly sense of concealment. Pike portrays a woman with such depth and complexity as if it is almost second nature to her. Margo, Nick's twin sister (Carrie Coon) brings elements of light relief with her blunt humour and comedic timing.

At 149 minutes long, the film never drags nor does the mood drop. Mystifying, unpredictable and tantalisingly dark, should you watch it? Only if you don't mind being bamboozled by the end of it. The film asks how well did Nick know his wife? But in reality it is really asking the audience how much do they know about their partners? It's a scary thought.

Sorry I've been absent for so long... and an announcement

Hi all,

I know I've been away from my blog for an extremely long time and for this I am sorry. However, a number of things were happening in my life some good and some not so good but this is my pledge to get back into writing my reviews. 

I know I said the next review would be on 22 Jump Street but there has been a change to the plan. Unfortunately, I have not seen 22 Jump Street recently enough for me to write an accurate, informative review for you lovely folks. I did watch David Fincher's Gone Girl yesterday afternoon when I had a few hours to spare, so thought I would give you my take on that. 

Finally, as cosmetics and beauty products make up as much of my life as Film/TV shows, I thought I would start up a new blog in which I introduce you to products, either new or old and review them. For those of you that follow my Instagram page (http://instagram.com/naz2411/) you have already seen me post some pictures of some exciting products I have used, including my precious Naked 3 palette, but I want to bring those products to life by reviewing them in detail.

So there you have it, a new blog and new posts for this blog to look forward to! As always don't be afraid to post your opinions and comments as all are welcome.