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How Grief and Trauma Can Manifest as ‘The Babadook’

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How Grief and Trauma Can Manifest as ‘The Babadook’

The ending of The Babadook (directed by Jennifer Kent) is fairly straightforward in terms of what literally happens, but these events are unusually rich with metaphorical meaning. The ending offers several compelling ideas about motherhood, childhood, and how to approach grief and trauma effectively.

Here is a brief summary of the events leading up to the film’s ending: Amelia (Essie Davis) is the single mother of Sam (Noah Wiseman). Sam’s father Oskar (Benjamin Winspear) died in a car crash while he was driving Amelia to the hospital to give birth. Now, Amelia works a service job at a retirement home, and Sam exhibits behavioral and emotional problems at school and with other children. Mother and son struggle on a daily basis because of the unreasonable demands of parenting placed on a single, working-class mother. Sam finds a creepy children’s book on the shelf called The Babadook and asks Amelia to read it to him. When she does, the book scares Sam, and Amelia suffers another sleepless night trying to quiet Sam’s tears. She disposes of the book, but it reappears on their doorstep. She burns the book, and the same thing happens.

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Then, the Babadook (the monster from the children’s book, voiced by Tim Purcell) comes alive and haunts Amelia and Sam. As the book says, “You can’t get rid of the Babadook,” and the monster takes turns possessing both Sam and Amelia. When Sam is possessed, he yells, screams, and pushes his cousin out of a multi-story treehouse. When Amelia is possessed, she kills the dog, disconnects the phone lines, puts broken glass in the soup, and attempts to kill Sam. The book prophesied that she would also take her own life after taking Sam’s if she succeeded in this.

RELATED: Here Are 15 of the Best Horror Films Directed by Women

At the end of the film, Sam (no longer possessed) has to restrain Amelia (possessed) in the basement and expel the monster from her to save them both. But, the Babadook does not die, because you can’t get rid of the Babadook. Once the monster is expelled, Amelia and Sam run up the stairs and close the basement door, confining the Babadook to the basement. The film then flashes forward several months, to Sam’s birthday party. Amelia is shown calmly going down to the basement to check on the Babadook and to feed him. When he comes out of the shadows to get the food, Amelia recoils a bit in fear, but she stays in control of her fear. Later, her sister asks her how “it” was today. Amelia replies that it was quiet today (suggesting that the task of feeding/tending to the “monster” is harder on some days than others).


Monsters and ghosts often symbolize real traumas from the past that are “coming back to haunt” the characters. The Babadook certainly seems to symbolize Amelia and Sam’s shared grief/trauma over losing Oskar: the monster wears a suit just like the one Sam’s dad used to wear, and the monster even takes on the exact appearance of Sam’s dad near the end of the film, attempting to trick Amelia into giving him the boy. Also, the monster is ultimately confined to the basement, which is where Amelia keeps all of her dead husband’s clothing and other possessions. Early on in the film, Amelia did not like Sam playing in the basement (engaging with memories of his father). Throughout most of the film, Amelia wishes for Sam and herself to move on; she does not want to engage with the grief.

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Unfortunately, the more Amelia tries to ignore their grief and trauma, the worse things get. Sam repeatedly tells Amelia that the monster is real and that he needs to build weapons to protect them, but she either ignores him or begs him to stop telling stories. She tries multiple times to dispose of the book, resulting in the monster stepping out of the pages and into reality. When Sam is possessed by the monster, she has the doctor prescribe him sleeping pills so that they can both get some sleep (which solves nothing). The monster appears to feed off of being ignored, growing stronger and more dangerous the longer its existence is denied.

The book spells out what will happen if Amelia and Sam fail to gain control over the Babadook: they will both die (along with the dog). The book does not give away the secret for how they must approach the Babadook in order to avoid this fate; rather, it just repeats the phrase, “You can’t get rid of the Babadook.” Although Amelia and Sam try repeatedly to kill the monster (to no avail), they eventually learn that if they can’t kill him, he is at least less dangerous when he is not possessing one of them and when he is confined to his own monster body. So, after expelling him the final time from Amelia, they trap him in the basement in order to gain control over their own trauma and their own healing.


Sam and Amelia must work together to take control over the Babadook. Some people might think that, because Amelia is the mother, it is her responsibility to provide a safe, happy life for Sam. However, Amelia is not able to best the Babadook alone. Sam is part of the family, and mother and son must work together in this film to find a healthy approach to their shared trauma.

The most important part of the ending is that the monster must stay in their basement and that he must be fed and tended to daily, rather than being ignored. This task is not super-pleasant, but it is not nearly as terrifying as facing the monster when he had free reign of the house, or when he was possessing either Sam or Amelia. Just like in real life, Sam and Amelia cannot simply ignore their trauma and hope that it will disappear. When they try to ignore their trauma, it grows into something bigger, scarier, and more sinister, below the surface.

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The only way they can heal from their trauma is by actually facing it (in reasonable doses and over an extended period of time). Healing from serious traumas in real life does not happen overnight, but takes a lot of mental and emotional processing. The Babadook warns of the dangers of trying to ignore or “stuff” our traumas below the surface: this is the most dangerous place to put them because that’s where we lose control of them and they gain control over us.

Overall, the ending offers a hopeful outlook for Sam and Amelia. Sam is getting along better with other kids. Amelia is getting along with her sister and seems to have a budding romance with her co-worker. They have not completely processed and moved on from their trauma because the Babadook is still in their basement. It is unclear whether the Babadook will ever leave their basement, and whether they will ever be done feeding/tending to him. It is likely they will never be done, because, “You can’t get rid of the Babadook,” and also because there are certain traumas that people may heal from, but they don’t completely forget about those traumas. Amelia and Sam will forever have to live with the fact that Sam’s father is dead. Even if Amelia remarries, this will not reverse the loss. Although the Babadook may never fully disappear, it is reasonable to assume that over time, the Babadook may need less daily attention and that the task of feeding/tending to it may become less scary. Just like in real life, we may not be able to eradicate past traumas from our minds, but we can gain control over them so that they grow smaller and do not fully consume us.



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Review: SAMARITAN, A Sly Stallone Superhero Stumble

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Review: SAMARITAN, A Sly Stallone Superhero Stumble

Hitting the three-quarter-century mark usually means a retirement home, a nursing facility, or if you’re lucky to be blessed with relatively good health and savings to match, living in a gated community in Arizona or Florida.

For Sylvester Stallone, however, it means something else entirely: starring in the first superhero-centered film of his decades-long career in the much-delayed Samaritan. Unfortunately for Stallone and the audience on the other side of the screen, the derivative, turgid, forgettable results won’t get mentioned in a career retrospective, let alone among the ever-expanding list of must-see entries in a genre already well past its peak.

For Stallone, however, it’s better late than never when it involves the superhero genre. Maybe in getting a taste of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) with his walk-on role in the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel several years ago, Stallone thought anything Marvel can do, I can do even better (or just as good in the nebulous definition of the word).

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The property Stallone and his team found for him, Samaritan, a little-known graphic novel released by a small, almost negligible, publisher, certainly takes advantage of Stallone’s brute-force physicality and his often underrated talent for near-monosyllabic brooding (e.g., the Rambo series), but too often gives him to little do or say as the lone super-powered survivor, the so-called “Samaritan” of the title, of a lifelong rivalry with his brother, “Nemesis.” Two brothers entered a fire-ravaged building and while both were presumed dead, one brother did survive (Stallone’s Joe Smith, a garbageman by day, an appliance repairman by night).

In the Granite City of screenwriter Bragi F. Schut (Escape Room, Season of the Witch), the United States, and presumably the rest of the world, teeters on economic and political collapse, with a recession spiraling into a depression, steady gigs difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, and the city’s neighborhoods rocked by crime and violence. No one’s safe, not even 13-year-old Sam (Javon Walker), Joe’s neighbor.

When he’s not dodging bullies connected to a gang, he’s falling under the undue influence of Cyrus (Pilou Asbæk), a low-rent gang leader with an outsized ego and the conviction that he and only he can take on Nemesis’s mantle and along with that mantle, a hammer “forged in hate,” to orchestrate a Bane-like plan to plunge the city into chaos and become a wealthy power-broker in the process.

Schut’s woefully underwritten script takes a clumsy, haphazard approach to world-building, relying on a two-minute animated sequence to open Samaritan while a naive, worshipful Sam narrates Samaritan and Nemesis’s supposedly tragic, Cain and Abel-inspired backstory. Schut and director Julius Avery (Overlord) clumsily attempt to contrast Sam’s childish belief in messiah-like, superheroic saviors stepping in to save humanity from itself and its own worst excesses, but following that path leads to authoritarianism and fascism (ideas better, more thoroughly explored in Watchmen and The Boys).

While Sam continues to think otherwise, Stallone’s superhero, 25 years past his last, fatal encounter with his presumably deceased brother, obviously believes superheroes are the problem and not the solution (a somewhat reasonable position), but as Samaritan tracks Joe and Sam’s friendship, Sam giving Joe the son he never had, Joe giving Sam the father he lost to street violence well before the film’s opening scene, it gets closer and closer to embracing, if not outright endorsing Sam’s power fantasies, right through a literally and figuratively explosive ending. Might, as always, wins regardless of how righteous or justified the underlying action.

It’s what superhero audiences want, apparently, and what Samaritan uncritically delivers via a woefully under-rendered finale involving not just unconvincing CGI fire effects, but a videogame cut-scene quality Stallone in a late-film flashback sequence that’s meant to be subversively revelatory, but will instead lead to unintentional laughter for anyone who’s managed to sit the entirety of Samaritan’s one-hour and 40-minute running time.

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Samaritan is now streaming worldwide on Prime Video.

Samaritan

Cast
  • Sylvester Stallone
  • Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton
  • Pilou Asbæk

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Matt Shakman Is In Talks To Direct ‘Fantastic Four’

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According to a new report, Wandavision’s Matt Shakman is in talks to direct the upcoming MCU project, Fantastic Four. Marvel Studios has been very hush-hush regarding Fantastic Four to the point where no official announcements have been made other than the film’s release date. No casting news or literally anything other than rumors has been released regarding the project. We know that Fantastic Four is slated for release on November 8th, 2024, and will be a part of Marvel’s Phase 6. There are also rumors that the cast of the new Fantastic Four will be announced at the D23 Expo on September 9th.

Fantastic Four is still over two years from release, and we assume we will hear more news about the project in the coming months. However, the idea of the Fantastic Four has already been introduced into the MCU. John Krasinski played Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The cameo was a huge deal for fans who have been waiting a long time for the Fantastic Four to enter the MCU. When Disney acquired Twenty Century Fox in 2019 we assumed that the Fox Marvel characters would eventually make their way into the MCU. It’s been 3 years and we already have had an X-Men and Fantastic Four cameo – even if they were from another universe.

Deadline is reporting that Wandavision’s Matt Shakman is in talks to direct Fantastic Four. Shakman served as the director for Wandavision and has had an extensive career. He directed two episodes of Game of Thrones and an episode of The Boys, and he had a long stint on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There is nothing official yet, but Deadline’s sources say that Shakman is currently in talks for the job and things are headed in the right direction.

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To be honest, I was a bit more excited when Jon Watts was set to direct. I’m sure Shakman is a good director, but Watts proved he could handle a tentpole superhero film with Spider-Man: Homecoming. Wandavision was good, but Watts’ style would have been perfect for Fantastic Four. The film is probably one of the most anticipated films in Marvel’s upcoming slate films and they need to find the best person they can to direct. Is that Matt Shakman? It could be, but whoever takes the job must realize that Marvel has a lot riding on this movie. The other Fantastic Four films were awful and fans deserve better. Hopefully, Marvel knocks it out of the park as they usually do. You can see for yourself when Fantastic Four hits theaters on November 8th, 2024.

Film Synopsis: One of Marvel’s most iconic families makes it to the big screen: the Fantastic Four.

Source: Deadline

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Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase Star in ‘Zombie Town’ Mystery Teen Romancer (Exclusive)

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Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase have entered Zombie Town, a mystery teen romancer based on author R.L. Stine’s book of the same name.

The indie, now shooting in Ontario, also stars Henry Czerny and co-teen leads Marlon Kazadi and Madi Monroe. The ensemble cast includes Scott Thompson and Bruce McCulloch of the Canadian comedy show Kids in the Hall.

Canadian animator Peter Lepeniotis will direct Zombie Town. Stine’s kid’s book sees a quiet town upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend, Karen, see a horror movie called Zombie Town and unexpectedly see the title characters leap off the screen and chase them through the theater.

Zombie Town will premiere in U.S. theaters before streaming on Hulu and then ABC Australia in 2023.

“We are delighted to bring the pages of R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town to the screen and equally thrilled to be working with such an exceptional cast and crew on this production. A three-time Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award winner with book sales of over $500 million, R.L. Stine has a phenomenal track record of crafting stories that engage and entertain audiences,” John Gillespie, Trimuse Entertainment founder and executive producer, said in a statement.

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Executive producers are Trimuse Entertainment, Toonz Media Group, Lookout Entertainment, Viva Pictures and Sons of Anarchy actor Kim Coates.  

Paco Alvarez and Mark Holdom of Trimuse negotiated the deal to acquire the rights to Stine’s Zombie Town book.

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