"The Babadook" is about a single mother who is trying to raise her troubled son. Years have passed since the death of her husband and the behavior of her boy is pure Hell. And to make matters worse, he is now convinced of a monster living in their home. The monster is called the Babadook.

The most amazing thing about "The Babadook" is the number of ways that its story can be interpreted. You can view it as a story about the difficulties of single parenting, a tale about dealing with grief, a telling of living with a challenging child, or even just about battling insomnia. That's what makes this movie so good. Viewing this only as a monster haunting a house will bring disappointment. You might consider watching this through the same filter as you would "The Shining", with Mister Babadook in the role of Jack Torrance.

Contrary to some reports, this is not one of the "scariest movies ever". It brings the terror, but it is far from horrific. I really enjoyed Essie Davis's portrayal of the tortured mother and Noah Wiseman as the son may have been the most frightening thing about this. Mister Babadook is an interesting creation, a cross between Nosferatu and Mister Hyde. You don't see a lot of him and the creepiest moments are when he seems to appear in some old silent film footage playing on a TV on a particularly sleepless night. The color palette is a depressing grey/black and the sound engineers really earned their paychecks.

"The Babadook" is a thought-provoking tale and one that should be experienced without any preconceptions. Watch it and roll with what it offers. You will more than likely come away impressed.