The 2014 horror film “The Babadook” is often regarded as one of the best movies the genre has to offer from the last 5 years. And when it was released, people fell in love with the new horror figure that filmmaker Jennifer Kent introduced. However, over the last few years, the love of “The Babadook” has taken on a new meaning, as the LGBTQ community has adopted the film, and the monster, as a gay icon. And for the filmmaker behind it all, she’s still trying to figure it out.
Speaking to EW, while promoting her newest film “The Nightingale,” Kent was asked about the trend of “The Babdook” becoming an iconic symbol for the LGBTQ community. And frankly, she’s perplexed, but happy, by the news.
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“I’m still trying to work that one out… It’s quite perplexing,” Kent said. “I feel it’s really quite beautiful, but I still have no idea why.”
She added, “I guess he’s an outsider of sorts. It’s funny. It’s charming, I think, that the gay community has latched onto it. It’s really sweet. He’s trying to prolong his life, he’s trying to stay relevant.”
The rise of “The Babadook” as a film that has been embraced by the LGBTQ community is a bit hard to trace. It started as a Tumblr post that went viral, with someone professing the knowledge that the message of the film, and specifically the monster, is inherently queer. It seems like it was more tongue-in-cheek, but was quickly supported and picked up by others in the community. Shortly thereafter, Pride events would begin to feature cosplays of the character. Pins, buttons, posters, and whatnot were all made embracing The Babadook as a gay icon.
This year, a special Pride edition of the Blu-ray was released, lending even more credence to the film being a touchstone for the queer community. But it would appear that if there are any LGBTQ messages hidden in the film, it’s news to the woman who wrote and directed it.
my new favorite Tumblr meme is insisting that The Babadook is gay pic.twitter.com/Id1PJpkkgX
— Ryan Broderick (@broderick) February 15, 2017
