In a time when the horror genre has been wrung dry and turned stale with everything from trendy zombie apocalypse retreads to "torture porn" endurance tests, first-time Australian director Jennifer Kent's debut feature The Babadook is a refreshing creeper that masterfully encompasses that old – and sadly seldom-used – cinematic truism, "What's most terrifying is that which is not seen." Eerie-thick atmosphere, otherworldly aural soundscapes. Mr. Hitchcock, somewhere in the ether, is wearing a wide smile of approval.