Indie
[Review] ‘The Babadook’ A Creepy Boogeyman Kid’s Movie!
Amelia (Essie Davis) is a widow who lost her husband in a heart-breaking stroke of shit luck: he was killed in a car accident while driving to the delivery of their first son. Now six years old, young Sam (Noah Wiseman) has begun to develop behavioral problems and incestuous tendencies, and their neighbors have become increasingly distant as a result. When Amelia discovers a ominously-covered, never-before-seen pop-up book called The Babadook on Sam‘s shelf, she decides to immediately debut it as a bedtime story, for reasons never explained to the audience.
Unsurprisingly, the lasting legacy of the Babadook does little to improve Sam’s’s behavior. He’s still up to his old shenanigans, packing around a homemade mobile catapult and causing a ruckus in the neighborhood. So when Amelia finds shards of glass in her porridge and Sam says, “The Babadook did it“, her skepticism is understandable. But once the knocking starts…and then the voices…Amelia begins to realize that she’s dealing with more than a mere discipline issue.
Strong acting carries The Babadook through its small, enclosed set-pieces, most notably from Davis, who channels Mia Farrow from Rosemary’s Baby in a lit-fuse performance that gets more intense as the film progresses. Employing puppetry and camera tricks, Kent manages to stage some truly adept scares, particularly in the superior third act. But Kent’s creative voice becomes muffled under all of the obvious horror influences, and once the action fades to black, The Babadook lingers as little more than a solid retread of Mario Bava’s Schock (Beyond the Door II for you VHS latchkey kids of the 80’s). But hey, that’s meant as more of a recommendation than an insult.
Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.
The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.
The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:
“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.
“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.
“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.
“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”
Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.
WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.
To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.
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