The Babadook

The Babadook, written and directed by Jennifer Kent, is a psychological horror film about Amelia, a single mother, plagued by the violent death of her husband and her son Samuel's fear of a monster lurking in the house.

In this clip, Amelia (Essie Davis) is horrified to see that the children's book she tried to destroy has returned with all the torn pages pasted back together. The words, images and pop-up cutouts contain threats from the Babadook. Sam (Noah Wiseman) watches as she sets the book alight.

It's a good example of the use of jump cuts to build dramatic tension. What could have appeared unbelievable, is presented with genuine menace thanks in part to the intensity of Essie Davis' performance and the sinister music by Jed Kurzel.

The Babadook is one of the most acclaimed of Australian films released internationally in recent years, garnering prizes and nominees from a wide variety of American and English critics' groups and horror festivals. It is also the first Australian horror film to win the top prizes at the AFI / AACTA awards – notably Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay in 2014.