The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014)

An Australian take on the interminable demonic domestic possession genre, The Babadook is elevated above the norm by two factors. Firstly, it largely spurns the usual descent into spinning heads, torrents of blood and religious mania, choosing to cultivate disquiet instead. Secondly, it has real emotional content; the relationship between the widowed mother and her young son is not just a peg to hang the horror on but the heart of the story. Any parent whose frayed nerves are sorely tested by their offspring will empathise.
Of course, it does wobble in the final reel as these things are wont to do, uncertain as to when to stop the screaming and shocks, but just about manages to stay on the rails to a genuinely unusual end scene.

6/10