Today, we’re celebrating a special milestone—the 10th anniversary of The Babadook— with director, Jennifer Kent. The Babadook was Jennifer’s feature debut and has since become an iconic classic and one of the GOATs of horror.
Jennifer has been recognized for her ability to craft horror with heart, making audiences not only tremble but also reflect deeply on the emotional struggles at the core of her stories. Her follow-up film, The Nightingale, is a brutal yet emotionally resonant tale of revenge set in 1820s Tasmania. And Jennifer also wrote and directed The Murmuring for Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities anthology series on Netflix. The episode starred The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln and reunited her with Babadook star Essie Davis.
The Babadook is back in theaters starting today, through Sunday, September 22nd so be sure to check your local listings and catch it on the big screen!
This episode feels like years of film school in 45 minutes as Jen offers a wealth of insights and lessons and I can honestly say, this is my favorite interview I’ve ever done of the Nick Taylor Horror Show and definitely the most insightful.
We dive into Jennifer’s journey, from her early career as an actress to transitioning into filmmaking under the mentorship of Lars von Trier as well as her creative process, how she approaches working with actors, and how she brings terrifying visions to life through practical effects, meticulous sets and sound design. We’ll also discuss what makes The Babadook so enduring, the power of horror as a storytelling tool and much much more.
There are three big topics we did not cover in this interview because Jennifer has spoken at length about them in previous interviews so I will cover these really quickly up front.
Number One: The Babadook as a Queer Icon. A Netflix glitch mistakenly categorized The Babadook under the LGBTQ+ genre causing an outpouring of memes parodying the error. But, what began as an online joke morphed into something meaningful for the queer community as powerful metaphors emerged. In The Babadook, the monster symbolizes repressed emotions and trauma and many in the queer community saw parallels between this and the experience of repressing one’s identity. The film's message of embracing and living with one's inner "monster" instead of destroying it is also seen as a metaphor for self-acceptance. Furthermore, The Babadook can be seen as a "destroyer of families," which parallels and parodies certain rhetoric about queerness being a threat to traditional family structures and in one scene the Babadook literally emerges from a closet.
Number Two, the possibility of a Babadook Sequel: Jennifer has been very clear that there will never ever be a sequel to The Babadook. She made sure to retain the rights to any sequels and said she will never allow one to be made. To her, The Babadook is a film that stands alone, and a sequel would destroy its integrity.
Number Three: Did Amelia Write the Babadook book?: This topic has been speculated by fans and even raised on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. It's revealed that Amelia used to write children's books, so it would make sense that she created the Babadook book as a form of coping with her trauma. Jennifer has said that this was intended but never said outright which allows for multiple interpretations. I personally think she did write the book.
Alright, before we get to the interview, I owe a huge thank you to the team at IFC, specifically Danielle Freiberg and Rob Scheer for their support in making this happen. I've wanted to chat with Jen since I started this podcast and this interview was a treat and an honor and I thank you both truly. Without further ado, here is Jennifer Kent, Director of The...
