Reminded me of del Toro's films (not Pacific Rim), where there are scares but then a compelling drama emerges from the regular horror tropes.

As a parent, to me the film was less about the monster part, more about a struggling mother slowly losing her shit. I bet a lot of single parents (especially single mothers) could relate to it. The Babadook just seemed like a metaphor for all the stress, grief and frustration that was breaking her down. In the end, she just learns to live with it.