Amph [Babadook] Ender Sai biopic to hit US shores this November

im given to understand this already came out in its home country of australia. anyone seen it? does it live up to the (considerable) hype and (holy ****) trailer?

apparently, its like if "Mama" were made by a competent director

 

Hi Mike.

 

playing at the Chicago Int'l Film Festival in October. already on my list along with an Austrian film about Schiller's screwed up love life.

 

Isn't it 'Hai Maik'?

 

this movie was really dope, btw. finally saw it the other week

essie davis as the mother was fantastic and convincing, and the child actor wasn't far behind. the creative practical effects and consistent, simple, effective aesthetic were a breath of fresh air. the movie feels intimate and labor-of-love-y in a way i just havent seen in any other horror film since the early 90s. which isnt to say it lacks polish -- it has that in spades

anyone else caught it now that its been officially released stateside?

 

I still have no idea what this is.

 

possibly your nation's greatest cultural export since the crocodile hunter

(i know, i know, but that's the highest bar i could think of to set)

 

Someone I know saw it and she couldn't sleep that night. So, no, I haven't seen it.

 

lol i watched it with a friend who isnt wild about horror films (because she scares easy) and she loved it and didnt seem to lose too much sleep over it. i have to admit the trailer was scarier than the film for me, but that might be simply because the trailer inoculated me somewhat

 

We had a James Bond, in what's often regarded as the best (or now 2nd best, after Casino Royale) Bond film. Go with Lazenby.

 

I liked it a lot. It wasn't quite as original as I'd expected, but was really well made despite so many of the standard horror tropes scattered liberally throughout. What are you going to do though? We're all scared of the same few basic things, so maybe scaring people in novel ways isn't really the point.

The book is super creepy. i want a copy.

 

i just really appreciated the execution. the book, absolutely. and the subtle way the house FELT like the inside of the book, from the start

also the movie approached abuse/neglect in a way that i dont think ive ever seen before, so it was themeatically novel, if not totally novel from a "horror" standpoint

 

they're crowdfunding a book, btw, Jabbadabbado

EDIT: they reached their minimum order a while ago it looks like, so yeah its happening

 

I totally agree with you. I thought the cast was phenomenal. Essie Davis was just astounding. The book itself was amazing. I loved the lo-fi feel of the film. And I think you're right in the way it addresses abuse and neglect. I saw it, as I often see things, as also being a lot about grief. I watch my mother go through what they call "protracted grief," ie. grief that doesn't resolve in the way most normal grief does and I felt that this film really captured a lot about that kind of thing. I mean, the movie takes place seven years after the central death, but I think it really nails the intensity of grief in a powerful way.

Oof. I'm just remembering bits and pieces of it now. This was way intense. I gave it four stars.

 

seriously trying to convince myself to spend 80 dollars a children's book that doubles as horror memorabilia right now

 

The book was amazing, but it's almost so creepy that I wouldn't be able to keep it in my house. I mean, I'm not superstitious at all or a believer in ghosts or monsters, but I'm assuming it's the second version of the book they're selling and those last few pages are just terrifying.

 

well it doesnt look "battle damaged" so i imagine its a third, combined version. also in the artists profile at the bottom of the page it mentions that there will be new art as well.

i kind of wish you had the option to buy a ripped, torn, burned and reassembled version tho

 

dana chivvis is played by either ellen page or melissa mccarthy, btw

 

rang thred

 

fark

 

Also the catapult backpack. I really want one of those. If the film makers had had more resources, you'd think they'd have been out ahead of these endless merchandising opportunities.

One of the things I admired most about the child character was his ability to remain in possession of that backpack.

 

That backpack was awesome. The theater just erupted in laughter when he finally got the chance to use it during the climax. And not derisive laughter, just genuine joyous laughter.

 

The trailer's nicely done. So much more effective to hint at a monster's form with a sketch, a sound, a shadow, or a silhouette. Taps into our primal fear way more effectively than some goit in a rubber mask or a critter cooked up with spesh effects. Love how it was done in 'Les yeux sans visage'.

 

I liked seeing the effect of sleep deprivation on the mother's mental health. You haven't really lived until you've experienced the kinds of hallucinations that come with being awake for 72 hours straight. We had a baby who decided when he was about 3 months old that sleep was for p*****s. The first thing that goes out the window after consecutive nights of zero sleep is anything resembling healthy parenting skills. There comes a point when you literally want to send the baby out the window along with the parenting ability. This was barely manageable with two parents tag-teaming, but I can almost not imagine what it would be like to face that solo.

 

i need to sleep, sam