BABADOOK Director, Jennifer Kent Celebrates 10 Years
Today, we’re celebrating a special milestone—the 10th anniversary of The Babadook— with director, Jennifer Kent. The Babadook was Jennifer’s feature debut and has since become an iconic classic and one of the GOATs of horror.
Jennifer has been recognized for her ability to craft horror with heart, making audiences not only tremble but also reflect deeply on the emotional struggles at the core of her stories. Her follow-up film, The Nightingale, is a brutal yet emotionally resonant tale of revenge set in 1820s Tasmania. And Jennifer also wrote and directed The Murmuring for Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities anthology series on Netflix. The episode starred The Walking Dead's Andrew Lincoln and reunited her with Babadook star Essie Davis.
The Babadook is back in theaters starting today, through Sunday, September 22nd so be sure to check your local listings and catch it on the big screen!
This episode feels like years of film school in 45 minutes as Jen offers a wealth of insights and lessons and I can honestly say, this is my favorite interview I’ve ever done of the Nick Taylor Horror Show and definitely the most insightful.
We dive into Jennifer’s journey, from her early career as an actress to transitioning into filmmaking under the mentorship of Lars von Trier as well as her creative process, how she approaches working with actors, and how she brings terrifying visions to life through practical effects, meticulous sets and sound design. We’ll also discuss what makes The Babadook so enduring, the power of horror as a storytelling tool and much much more.
There are three big topics we did not cover in this interview because Jennifer has spoken at length about them in previous interviews so I will cover these really quickly up front.
Number One: The Babadook as a Queer Icon. A Netflix glitch mistakenly categorized The Babadook under the LGBTQ+ genre causing an outpouring of memes parodying the error. But, what began as an online joke morphed into something meaningful for the queer community as powerful metaphors emerged. In The Babadook, the monster symbolizes repressed emotions and trauma and many in the queer community saw parallels between this and the experience of repressing one’s identity. The film's message of embracing and living with one's inner "monster" instead of destroying it is also seen as a metaphor for self-acceptance. Furthermore, The Babadook can be seen as a "destroyer of families," which parallels and parodies certain rhetoric about queerness being a threat to traditional family structures and in one scene the Babadook literally emerges from a closet.
Number Two, the possibility of a Babadook Sequel: Jennifer has been very clear that there will never ever be a sequel to The Babadook. She made sure to retain the rights to any sequels and said she will never allow one to be made. To her, The Babadook is a film that stands alone, and a sequel would destroy its integrity.
Number Three: Did Amelia Write the Babadook book?: This topic has been speculated by fans and even raised on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs. It's revealed that Amelia used to write children's books, so it would make sense that she created the Babadook book as a form of coping with her trauma. Jennifer has said that this was intended but never said outright which allows for multiple interpretations. I personally think she did write the book.
Alright, before we get to the interview, I owe a huge thank you to the team at IFC, specifically Danielle Freiberg and Rob Scheer for their support in making this happen. I've wanted to chat with Jen since I started this podcast and this interview was a treat and an honor and I thank you both truly. Without further ado, here is Jennifer Kent, Director of The Babadook.
Here are some key takeaways from this conversation with Jennifer:
Balancing Fear and Beauty: Horror doesn’t have to be purely bleak or nihilistic. Jennifer believes in blending horror with elements of beauty by finding light even in the darkest moments. In her conversation with Clive Barker, he emphasized that horror and beauty must coexist and that without beauty, horror feels incomplete. Jennifer echoes this sentiment, believing that horror with heart creates something far more powerful. While there’s a place for nihilistic horror, the combination of fear and emotional depth can elevate the genre into something extraordinary, where similar to chocolate and peanut butter the combination is greater than the sum of its parts.
Be stubborn. Perhaps the most important lesson Jennifer learned from working with Lars Von Trier is the need to stubbornly maintain control over the elements that matter most. This allows your films to have a singularity and can be the defining factor between having a distinct directorial signature or not.
That doesn't mean you should be intentionally difficult, but you must resist outside forces that try to sway or distract your vision. Jennifer has seen firsthand how systems can systematically wear down a director, diluting a film until it becomes unrecognizable from the original vision—homogenized and lifeless. As a filmmaker, you must fight tooth and nail for your vision, because in any creative pursuit, there will always be forces trying to destroy it.
Don’t underestimate sound. Jennifer highlighted the immense role that sound design plays in creating fear and tension in a film, especially in horror. For The Babadook, she spent as much time perfecting the sound as she did with the picture, emphasizing that sound makes up at least 50% of a horror film’s effectiveness. She worked closely with her sound designer to craft unique, unsettling sounds that amplified the psychological terror in the film with subtle effectiveness. Instead of relying heavily on music or jump-scare cues, Jennifer opted for sparse, carefully designed soundscapes that intensified the unease, often blending naturally into the environment. Jennifer recommends filmmakers experiment with sound to build tension and avoid signaling scares too early. Sound should evoke emotion and fear just as much as the visuals, making it an integral part of the storytelling process.
The Babadook is back in theaters starting today, Thursday, September 19th, through Sunday, September 22nd. Be sure to check your local listings and catch it on the big screen!
Show Notes:
Movies
- The Babadook
- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
- Cannibal Holocaust
- Beetlejuice
- The Tenant (Polanski)
- Rec
- Ordet (Carl Dreyer)
- Fall of the House of Usher (French silent film)
- Roman Polanski’s Horror Trilogy
Directors & Inspirations
- Clive Barker
- Mario Bava
- Dario Argento
- German Expressionism
Books & Resources
- American Cinematographer Magazine (Babadook article)
Follow Jennifer Kent at:
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