Mister Babadook

"If it's in a word or it's in a look, you can't get rid of the Babadook"

- Excerpt from "Mister Babadook"

"Ba-Ba-Ba Dook-Dook-DOOK!"

- The Babadook's chant

Mister Babadook is titular villain of 2014 Australian horror/thriller ''The Babadook. ''It is a supernatural creature who haunted Amelia and her son Samuel.

About
The Babadook is a bogeyman that haunts whomever reads its poem. The Babadook hides inside a pop-up book that mysteriously appears in random homes. As its prey becomes more frightened, the Babadook becomes more monstrous. When single mother Amelia reads the book to Samuel, both she and her son become increasingly paranoid.

When Samuel frightens his cousin by telling her about the Babadook, Amelia tries to destroy the book. To her horror, the book comes back crudely repaired with an additional poem, telling Amelia that the more she resist it, the more it will haunt her. The pictures show a mother who vaguely resembles Amelia killing her dog and son.

The Babadook's presence pushes Amelia to the brink of insanity. She develops a sleeping disorder and keeps both Samuel and herself inside the house for days on end. Eventually, the Babadook takes over Amelia's mind and forces her to kill their dog, fulfilling its prophecy. Amelia is about to kill Samuel, but he manages to trap her and tie her down. The Babadook is rejected from Amelia and tries attacking Samuel, but is backed into a corner by his mother. As Amelia faces the fiend, she has a vision of her late husband, whose death she has been in denial about ever since Samuel was born. Finding the courage to face her inner demons, Amelia stands up to the Babadook. The Babadook then collapses in front of her, revealed to be nothing but a hat and trenchcoat. As Amelia reaches for it, the clothes slip away into the basement where all of her husband's possessions are.

The film ends with Amelia and Samuel getting on with their lives. While they cannot kill or drive out the Babadook, they've learned to live with it, feeding it worms and keeping it imprisoned in the basement.

Symbolism
The Babadook is considered to be the embodiment of grief. As the film progresses, the five stages play out:

Denial
Ever since her husband died, Amelia has been avoiding the issue to the point where she barely acknowledges his existence, this has caused her to distance herself from anyone who tries to talk to her about it, which leaves her isolated except for her son. Whenever Amelia tries to ignore or get rid of it, the Babadook comes back even scarier than before.

Anger
The Babadook threatens to make Amelia kill her son and dog. After a lack of sleep, Amelia snaps at Samuel and their relationship gets progressively worse, until she seriously considers ending his life.

Fear
The Babadook makes itself visible to Amelia, spooking her by hiding in the background at first, then by turning into a big black silhouette and cornering her in her room.

Bargaining
Amelia tries to hide from the Babadook in her basement. There she has a vision of her dead husband, but it's really the Babadook in disguise. He tells her to give him Samuel and everything will be fine.

Acceptance
It's only when Amelia stops being scared and comes to terms with her husband's death that the Babadook loses its power over her.