New Jersey Stage November 2014 | Page 91

In the final act, the movie loses its grip on us, trading psychological drama for derivative schlock; we’ve seen characters vomiting blood and pulling out their teeth quite enough, thank you. Australian cinema has always straddled a line between European arthouse and American com- mercialism. The Babadook is at its most effective when aiming for the former, and captures the essence of Polanski and Bava. In its final act, however, it cheapens itself by dealing in the cheap thrills of recent Hollywood genre efforts. 7 out of 10 Directed by: Jennifer Kent Starring: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Tiffany Lyndall-Knight “Misbehaving” The new single by James Deely & The Valiants “I’ve Seen the Bad Moon Rising, Kiss the Setting Sun” Featuring the Great One, Kevin Kavanaugh! Now available at itunes and Amazon Music! Next Single Drops December 20th, 2014