The Babadook: Gothic Horror?

Some of the conventions used in The Babadook in relation to narratives themes and style can be described as Gothic Horror conventions. Use the following links to help you learn more about this style of horror and see if you can draw out the similarities.

• Conventions of Gothic Horror 1
• Conventions of Gothic Horror 2
• German Expressionism

Additional research links

• The Babadook: when allegory meets expressionism in a therapeutic horror classic.
• GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM, FANTASY, & HORROR: WATCH JENNIFER KENT’S MUST-SEE SHORT FILM, MONSTER!

• Film Review: The Babadook - It gives the film a surreal tone that at once invites the audience into insomniac Amelia’s state of mind and recalls the exaggerated chiaroscuro of German Expressionist films like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Another connection to those classic horror films can be found in the simple yet terrifying creature design for the Babadook, which is little more than silhouette with a bone white face, a top hat, a voluminous coat, pointed gloves and a scuttling, insect-like gait.

• THE USE OF CHIAROSCURO LIGHTING IN FILM (Noir). 

• Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror (Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens, 1922).