Six years after the violent death of her husband, Amelia (Essie Davis) is at a loss. She struggles to discipline her ';out of control'; 6 year-old, Samuel (Noah Wiseman), a son she finds impossible to love. Samuel';s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill them both.When a disturbing storybook called ';The Babadook'; turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babadook is the creature he';s been dreaming about. His hallucinations spiral out of control, he becomes more unpredictable and violent. Amelia, genuinely frightened by her son';s behaviour, is forced to medicate him.But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may be real.