The Babadook - I'm not really into horror. I'll get that outta the way up front. It's not that I haven't seen good horror or horror that is crazy enough for a good laugh. It's just that I'm usually simply not so interested in or excited to watch it, and honestly I would never have watched this except that Barnaby and Charlie decided to watch it after an AnC meeting. They aren't really into horror either, so I was surprised, but Barnaby had seen it, and Charlie had heard it was good (it had gotten a lot of press after it was in Sundance 2014), so I was in.
Why am I writing about The Babadook in this blog? Well, lucky me - the movie was not only a lovely work, but it also had some sweet, sweet lady-bation which makes it SSL Reviewable, which means I get to write about it. SSL Reviews are the only movie review I do, and a movie can only be SSL reviewed if it includes depiction or discussion of female masturbation or female sexual release. These reviews are only about those discussions and depictions - not about the actual movie. Usually I do give my two cents on other parts of the movie just because I can, but I don't have to. SSL Reviews and what I would write for an overall review don't have to have anything to do with each other. One could be great and the other horrible.
In this case, I am happy to say both would be fantastic. The depiction of female masturbation was realistic and added nothing harmful or misleading into the cultural conversation about female sexuality and lady-gasms, and the movie itself was lovely, well-made, fresh, thought-provoking, and generally a great watch. I highly recommend it. It's on Netflix now, so get to it.
Okay - so the one scene (and there was only 1 reviewable scene) was towards the earlier part of the movie (about 14:40). The mother was up late. Her son's always waking her up in the middle of the night with nightmares. She's kinda frazzled. She seems tired, but also like she can't sleep. She's watching bullshit late night TV, sitting with her little dog in her lap, and then she sees an old black and white movie (it's probably famous, I just don't have a bunch of old movie knowledge in my head) where a dude kisses this woman. Maybe that turns her on, or probably more accurately reminds her that sex exists and she could go get herself a little satisfaction, because she turns the movie off and heads upstairs to pull her vibrator out of a wicker box. She gets under the covers, pulls her panties off from under her night gown, lays back with her legs seeming to be mostly straight out and we hear the vibrator start. Everything is under the covers of course, but it does not look like she's trying to shove anything up her vagina. It just look like she's gently moving it around on her outer vulva area. It cuts to her son scared and awake in bed, then back to her. She's breathing more audibly and her body has a touch more movement, like she's writhing slightly against the vibrator. It cuts back to the awake, scared boy, then back to her. This time her breathing and movement is a little more quick and intense. It seems like she is just on the brink of coming, but her son screams and jumps into her bed stopping her in her tracks. That, my friends is the real horror - damn kids keeping you from having any fun. (Seriously though, I think this movie really does have a fresh voice in regard to parenthood. It is many other things too, but I think that aspect was particularly good.)
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| Checking for monsters before bed in The Babadook |
Anyway, the insinuations about what was happening during masturbation - that the outer vulvar/clitoral areas were being vibed - was realistic and although she didn't actually get to orgasm, she got close and what she was doing to her body to get there was absolutely a thing women can do to get themselves to orgasm. Her movement and vocalizations were in no way over-the-top or unrealistically pornified. It was just a lady trying to get herself off the way a lady might try to get herself off - a top of the line lady-bation depiction in a top of the line movie. Bravo - Writer/Director Jennifer Kent and masturbating actor Essie Davis!
This movie gets a full 5 vulva rating!
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(Can I just say that when I went to Netflix on my phone to check the scene again, I just clicked on a place in the timeline where I thought it might be, and I landed at exactly the part that she's walking upstairs for the vibrator. That is an SSL miracle!)
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