Scene by Scene, This Is What Makes the Babadook Such an LGBT Icon

BABA-SHOOK

You can see ‘The Babadook’ as a horror movie, as a grief metaphor, and now, some say it’s an LGBT classic. No one has explained fully why—until now.

Senior Editor and Writer

Published Jun. 8 2017 8:40PM EDT

170608-teeman-babadook-tease_dascty — Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast

When I first saw The Babadook, I wrote that the monster therein was, to my eyes at least, a metaphor for grief. What I apparently missed was that all that tapping and flapping of black wings in this masterful movie was a flying, swooping LGBT icon.

Tim Teeman

Senior Editor and Writer

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Scene by Scene, This Is What Makes the Babadook Such an LGBT Icon

You can see ‘The Babadook’ as a horror movie, as a grief metaphor, and now, some say it’s an LGBT classic. No one has explained fully why—until now.

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Tim Teeman