Joseph Russo

USE OF FEAR IN THE BABADOOK (2013)

NYCTOPHOBIA – FEAR OF THE DARK

• In “The Babadook”, most of the narrative is set in the darkness of the house that the characters live in. This creates a depressing and mysterious atmosphere throughout the film and the darkness reflects the way the characters feel. The female in the film would be feeling slightly depressed from the loss of her husband so the darkness of the film shows this.

• The mise-en-scene in this screenshot shows the fear of darkness as the boys clothes are grey, as well as his bed sheets and wallpaper. It is showing the negative atmosphere that is in the house.

DEMENTOPHOBIA – FEAR OF INSANITY

• In “The Babadook”, the narrative can be interpreted in different ways depending on the way the audience views it. One way they may view it is that the female character is losing her sanity, therefore seeing images in her head that are not there. To some viewers, the Babadook may not actually exist and is just a result of the character being slightly depressed and grieving over the death of her husband.

• Another example of her losing her sanity is when she continues seeing her husband who had died many years ago. She thinks he is there when he’s not and shows the audience she is missing him a lot and going slightly insane about it.

ENTOMOPHOBIA – FEAR OF INSECTS

• In one scenes of “The Babadook”, insects are shown crawling out of a wall and although this is not a very significant scene, it still shows a common fear amongst society. This can add to the fear that is already being created during the film by other common fears and phobias.

• It can also show that the producers of the film are thinking of many fears and phobias to add into the film to make the audience scared, which is the main point of a horror film.

CLAUSTROPHOBIA – FEAR OF ENCLOSED SPACES

• In “The Babadook”, there are many examples of enclosed spaces. One of these could be the wardrobe that the Babadook is apparently hiding in. The audience could fear that it is hiding in there and it is a very enclosed space, so the characters are always vulnerable.

• Another example of an enclosed space could possibly be the house itself. It is a very dark and mysterious setting and the female feels like she is getting stalked. As they are enclosed in the house, it could feel like a dark and empty space because she feels vulnerable about the situation.