The Babadook, directed by Jennifer Kent, is a 2014 horror film, about a mother, Amelia and her child, both suffering from the death of a loved one, but her child, Samuel grieves a father he didn’t get to know because his father died the day he was born. The Husband/father had passed away in a car crash driving Amelia to the hospital because she was in labor, so she blames her son for the death of her husband, and Samuel believes it is his fault too. A couple of indicators shown that they are in a state of grieving are social withdrawal, sleep changes, Amelia is not accepting any help from others and isolates herself, not allowing anyone including her son, to comfort her. The Babadook is the representation of grief/trauma that is in both Amelia (the mother) and Samuel. The dark figure haunts them and has clothing that resembles what the father/husband has worn.
The movie starts with Amelia's nightmare about her husband’s death, she wakes up to Samuel telling her about having the dream again, seeing a monster under the bed. They read the three little pigs after, and Samuel says, “Did they really kill the wolf, Mom?..I’ll kill the monster when it comes” (Babadook). This scene is significant because it gives an idea to the audience that the father/man is not in the picture and when Samuel makes a claim that he
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Amelia’s depression affects her relationship with Samuel, although she cares for him. Amelia cannot cope with the absence of her husband, so she avoids mentioning him but does not talk to Samuel about him either, also avoiding celebrating Samuel’s birthday on the actual day because it would be the anniversary of his death. Samuel is a constant reminder of the loss of her husband’s and so she does not connect with him, this is also shown when they sit on opposite ends of the dinner table. When a parent is having a hard time with their mental health, it affects the children