So it’s Sundance season, and this dark little gem has just premiered. While the description seems a bit ambiguous, the trailer does paint a dark, psychological and weird portrait, seemingly driven by a creepy children’s book and a new monster called the Babadook.

Made on a budget, with a contribution from a successful Kickstarter campaign, it’s currently scaring folk throughout the festival. You can find further details on their Facebook page, or via the press release below:

“Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her ‘out of control’ 6 year-old, Samuel, 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, genuinely frightened by her son’s behaviour, 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.”

You can view the trailer below.

As the Bastards are big fans of Australian films (Mad Max, Crocodile Dundee), and recent additions to the horror canon (such as Insidious, The Conjuring, Mama), I’m really looking forward to this. Hopefully we’ll get an International release date soon.