Second Sight Films, out now

 

Widowed mother Amelia is struggling with life following the violent death of her husband, and now her son fears that a monster is coming for them.

Writer/director Jennifer Kent’s 2014 feature debut is a tense study in psychological horror as a young mother at the end of tether tries to protect her son from the sinister Mr Babadook – a monstrous creature that steps from the pages of a storybook. It benefits from a crystal clear 4K transfer in this limited edition release from Second Sight, adding significant depth to the blacks in the dark corners of the basement.

Amelia (an excellent Essie Davies) is juggling her job while also trying to look after six-year-old Samuel (Noah Wiseman), who has taken a weapon to school to protect himself from the top-hatted Babadook, a terrifying beast with talon fingers. Amelia discovers glass in her food and all eyes are on young Sam, but when he has a seizure, the supernatural entity steps up its reign of terror. Amelia begins losing her grip on reality and turns on her son – can the spirit be contained, and who is the real villain?

It’s a terrific movie, with an unlikely ending, deep in symbolism and absolutely terrifying at times. It’s about coming to terms with death, dealing with mental illness, showing how grief can manifest itself physically and how sometimes you’ve got to live with the monster inside yourself. It’s also about finding ways to terrify audiences with imaginative jumps and scares.

In addition to the UHD disc there’s a Blu-ray for those who haven’t yet traded up to 4K. It’s a new master produced by the original post-production facility and presented in HDR10. The disc has an audio commentary by writer Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson, separate interviews with actors Essie Davis and Hayley McElhinney, producers Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere, editor Simon Njoo production designer Alex Holmes and composer Jed Kurzel.

There’s also Kent’s 10 minute 2005 short, Monster, on which the main feature is based, an archival ‘making of…’ documentary and features on the effects, stunts and storybook. This limited edition also includes half a dozen art cards and a 150-page hardback book with new essays, archive interview with Jennifer Kent, production stills and original artwork concepts.

Verdict: A flawless new transfer of a terrifying horror film. A modern classic – evil has never looked so pitch (perfect) black. 10/10

Nick Joy

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