Holding a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score, the modern horror classic is being taken off the service early next month.
Netflix has confirmed that The Babadook, one of the best horror movies of the 21st century, will be leaving the service early in July.
The feature debut of writer-director Jennifer Kent (whose follow-up, The Nightingale, we’ve recommended many times), the Australian film stars Essie Davis (Apple Cider Vinegar) as Amelia, a woman whose husband was killed in a car accident while driving her to the hospital during labour.
Six years later, the widow is struggling to control her son, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), who has begun displaying erratic behaviour, causing problems at school and in their social life.
In particular, the child’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both.
When a disturbing storybook called ‘The Babadook’ mysteriously turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the title character is the creature he’s been dreaming about.
Increasingly terrified by her son’s behaviour, it slowly dawns on Amelia that what Samuel has been warning her about may be real.
Holding a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score, The Babadook felt revelatory upon release for the way it blends thrills and scares with a deeply human and powerful story about grief and parental fears.
In fact, it could be credited with kickstarting the wave of more arty hit horrors in recent years, alongside Hereditary, Get Out, It Follows and The Witch.
When you search for The Babadook on Netflix in Ireland and the UK, a message now reads: “Last day to watch on Netflix: 4 July.”
That said, the horror is also currently streaming for free on the service Plex.
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