Umbilical Fears: Jennifer Kent's The Babadook

Love and loathing, ghosts and goading, Freudian tones, fairytale tropes and claustrophobic hopes – all of these and more populate The Babadook, which tells the story of a mother and son who are burdened by bogeymen both figurative and literal. Briony Kidd delves into this psychologically complex and richly referential horror film.

Additional keywords: horror, Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, postmodern, psychological thriller, Sundance, psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung.