Alfonso Cuarón Conversation With ‘The Babadook’ Director Jennifer Kent to Accompany IFC Films’ 10th Anniversary Re-Release of Cult Horror Film (EXCLUSIVE)
A 30-minute filmed conversation between Mexican auteur Alfonso Cuarón and Australian writer-director Jennifer Kent will follow each screening of the 10th anniversary re-release of the latter’s cult, modern horror classic “The Babadook.”
In a recent masterclass at the Locarno Film Festival Cuarón had expressed his interest in exploring the horror genre and name-checked “The Babadook,” praising how the film is grounded in reality and character. Following this, IFC Films – which released Cuarón’s “Y Tu Mamá También” in 2002 – reached out to Cuarón to moderate an in-theaters-only Q&A with Kent, and their filmed 30-minute conversation will play in theaters following every screening across the U.S.
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During the conversation, which is a cinephile’s delight, Cuarón says that when he watched the film for the first time, he was “absolutely impressed by the thematic approach,” and was also “impressed by how cinematically it was assured. It was like it was a very confident film.” Kent in turn reveals that she worked her way through the “canon of beautiful artistic horror” and “steeped” herself in the likes of Robert Wiene’s “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920), F.W. Murnau’s “Nosferatu” (1922) and Carl Dreyer’s “Vampyr” (1932) to present day examples before embarking on “The Babadook.”
Expanded from her award-winning 2005 short “Monster,” “The Babadook,” Kent’s feature debut, revolves around Amelia (Essie Davis) who is at a loss, six years after the violent death of her husband. She struggles to discipline her six-year-old child, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both. When a disturbing storybook called “The Babadook” turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, frightened by her son’s behavior, is forced to medicate him. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.
“The Babadook” premiered at Sundance in 2014, and received over 100 nominations and awards internationally. “This meticulously designed and directed debut feature from writer-director Jennifer Kent manages to deliver real, seat-grabbing jolts while also touching on more serious themes of loss, grief and other demons that can not be so easily vanquished,” said the Variety review.
IFC Films, in partnership with Iconic Events Releasing, is re-releasing “The Babadook” across more than 500 screens in the U.S. from Sept. 19.
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