Delight Springs

Monday, December 15, 2014

Babadook

I'm not a big fan of the horror genre but grades are in, film major Older Daughter is home for the holidays, and Babadook is at the Belcourt. So we went, late yesterday afternoon.

Three and a half thumbs up, at least, from us. A Vandy film prof led an intelligent audience discussion after the screening. And the director, Australian Jennifer Kent, gave an intelligent interview the other day.
The problem with much of contemporary horror, according to Kent, is its literalness. “I feel like a lot of the people who make horror actually don’t understand its depth and its power,” she says. “Unbeknownst to themselves, they’re looking down on the genre. I also think a lot of horror is made cynically, and by that I mean that it’s made to make money.”
Anthony Lane says more female directors  in this genre might "restore horror to its rightful place as a chamber of secrets, ripe for emotional inquisition." Back to the Twilight Zone? No, beyond.

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