The scariest film of the 2010s is almost entirely terrifying due to the ambiguity of its central terrorizer. The Babadook, Jennifer Kent’s psychological horror film from 2014, tells the story of a single mother plagued by the shocking and brutal death of her husband all while navigating her son’s fear of a monster lurking in the house. Soon, she and her family discover that a sinister presence is all around them, working its way into their lives like a stain embedding itself in a carpet. Just, you know, scarier than that.
But what is this thing, this “Babadook”?