A slow and stilted first act builds to an electric middle third before exploding into chills, spills and the truly fantastic in the final half hour. This is an extremely impressive debut that is not to everyone's tastes, but stick with it and the payoff is immensely gratifying. Experiencing the terror from a single mother's perspective is a novel angle, with themes of psychological horror, emotional breakdown, peer pressure and suicidal tendencies effectively explored. As for Mr Babadook himself, he's a beautifully creepy creation, with a special shout out going to the pages from whence he came - a pop-up book that's almost as chilling as the monster itself.