While they’ve always been around, over the last two or so decades, the horror genre has fully opened its arms wide and welcomed a new kind of terror to the big screen —one based on trauma.In 2014, filmmakerJennifer Kenttruly blew the roof off what was possible in the specific horror sub-genre when she brought audiencesThe Babadook. As haunting as it was intriguing,the movie served as an allegoryfor trauma — specifically of the grief and family variety. The premise follows a woman (Essie Davis) and her son (Noah Wiseman) who have just lost their husband and father in a grisly accident. Unable to cope with the sudden loss, both of the characters experience their suffering in different ways, with the titular monster embodying their unprocessed pain.
Earning a near-perfect score of 96% onRotten Tomatoes,The Babadookbecame a critical and audience favorite and continues to hold onto its legacy a full decade later.Celebrating its 10th anniversaryalongside some of the greatest up-and-coming titles in horror,The Babadookrecently screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, where Collider’sPerri Nemiroffsat down for a chat with Kent. When a movie has the fan-backed power of one likeThe Babadook, typically speaking, a studio or fandom will push for a follow-up. So, Nemiroff wondered if now, several years down the line, Kent had any drive to turn her beloved movie into a franchise or give it a sequel. Depending on where you land on follow-up film installments, you’ll either love or hate her response. She told Collider:
“It’s justa firm no. I don’t have any problem with sequels at all, I just think that with this, it would somehow just not be necessary. And I think if a film is not necessary, why spend the money making it?”
If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
Listen, we love a good slasher franchise likeScreamandFriday the 13th,but when it comes to the genre’s trauma branch, so many of the movies are a one-and-done situation. While we’d love to see what happened to Peter (Alex Wolff) after the harrowing and unforgettable final scene ofAri Aster’sHereditaryor where the entire world landed following the events ofJordan Peele’sUs(nowhere good!), we don’t necessarily need those extended chapters. Sometimes, we can leave stories as exactly what they are and simply hold an appreciation for what they gave us.
Celebrate the milestone anniversary ofThe Babadookby streaming it now on Netflix.
