Time Out wasn't giving me anything scary for tonight - not that I wanted to go to and could get a ticket for, anyway. So I took matters into my own hands for once and said, it's Hallowe'en, I need something scary. With such attractions as I would have gone to booked out, I said I'd go to a film. Top of my list (well, joint 84th, but top of the horror films) was The Babadook. Now, I'd seen the trailer for this and really liked it, and saw a tv review of it last week where the critic raved about it. So I was delighted to see it polling unusually high for a horror film.
It's showing in my local cinema, but tonight only at midnight, for goodness' sake! Cool gimmick, I guess, but I didn't fancy walking down there for midnight, and back about 2am! The next nearest place it's showing is the Vue Shepherd's Bush. I can get the Overground there from home quite easily - it's a five-minute journey, two stops. They had an early evening showing, and my plan was to head home and take the 6.10 to Shepherd's Bush. And then it occurred to me that I've taken that self-same train before, and there's barely breathing room on it. Ugh. I decided to go to the 8.10 showing instead. The advantage of mainstream cinema - multiple showings!
So off I went. I didn't get a seat on the train, but there was plenty of standing room. Shepherd's Bush Overground Station is across the junction from the Vue Shepherd's Bush, so I trotted over and got a ticket without difficulty. They took the voucher I'd got in the Vue Fulham, but didn't give me a replacement, so that'll be a job for me, next time I'm in the Vue. I had to stick to my seat choice for once - this screening was about half full or more. They were a quiet enough crowd, but vexingly, many didn't arrive until the film had already started.
There was a trailer for The Woman in Black: Angel of Death - early to be advertising it, considering it's scheduled for release next year! I haven't seen the original Woman in Black film, since I saw the play - but I hear it's good.
And so to tonight's film. O my, I'm glad I went to this! I liked it immediately. Sometimes you can tell good film-making instantly, by the style of the thing. I liked the camera-work, I liked the direction, I liked the acting. No famous names here - not to me, anyway (it's Australian). The story is of a woman whose husband was killed in a crash while driving her to hospital to give birth to their son. Ever since, she's subliminally blamed her son for the accident, and his birthday is an annual reminder of her loss - so she gets him to celebrate his birthday together with his cousin's, slightly earlier.
Now, possibly as a result of her attitude towards him, the boy - now seven - has behavioural problems, and an obsession with monsters. He has night terrors, and is always clambering into her bed and waking her. Frankly, the kid is as annoying as can be, and you can sympathise with her as she reaches the end of her tether, after a succession of sleepless nights. And then he finds this creepy children's book..
This is terrific psychological horror. Someone remarked that the silly name is putting her off seeing it - but it's the name of a children's book! Similarly, the boogie-man that appears as a result of it (none of this is giving anything away that isn't in the trailer, by the way) is ridiculously cartoonish. Just like in the book. And that's what makes it frightening! The film is very clever, presenting us with the dual possibilities that the book is haunted, and has come to life - or that what we are seeing are the sleep-deprived hallucinations of a woman at the edge. A must-see for anyone interested in horror, and a good watch for those who aren't. Very highly recommended.
I see that Blackheath Fireworks are on tomorrow - London's largest free show. It's that time of the year - I might mosey along..
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