Barbarian-2022

Director Zach Cregger

Starring Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long

Scott’s Review #1,335

Reviewed January 19, 2023

Grade: B+

Although there are some exceptions, it can be challenging to distinguish many modern horror films from one another.

Maybe it’s age catching up to me, but many of them run together or lack a fresh hook that makes them memorable beyond a couple of days.

Supernatural beings seem to be a standard flavor, so it’s pretty refreshing to watch a movie like Barbarian (2022), which offers an original storyline with a straight-ahead premise.

You might say the events could happen in ‘real life’ with some suspension of disbelief to endure.

The twists and turns make Barbarian an edge-of-your-seat experience with some genuinely scary moments. It’s a nice feeling when I can’t predict the ending or am surprised by a horror film’s outcome.

The film has major plot points and plenty of questions to ponder, but that is forgivable because it takes the viewer on a fun, unexpected journey.

Horror genre fans alike should enjoy this spooky entry, and I know I’ll never go to Detroit, Michigan, without thinking of this film.

Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell) travels to Detroit for a job interview and books an Airbnb in a residential area.

But when she arrives late at night in a driving rainstorm, she discovers the house is inhabited by a strange man named Keith (Bill Skarsgård), who insists he is also renting it.

Suspicious, but unable to reach her contacts or find another place to stay, she decides to spend the evening sharing a bottle of wine with the stranger.

They retire to bed (separately), but when she wakes to find her bedroom door ajar, she discovers that there’s more to fear than Keith.

A lot more.

I wondered what I would do in the same situation. Would I sit in my car all night, sleep-deprived, and attend an important job interview?

Or enjoy an inviting glass of wine, the company of a handsome stranger, and the comfort of a warm bed?

The first section of the film explores this before veering in another direction, which is what makes the film so pleasurable.

As an unearthed portion of the house is uncovered, Tess is continually faced with more questions, typically involving whether to flee from the home or stay and save others.

The introduction of AJ (Justin Long), a Los Angeles actor who owns the house, almost makes the audience forget about Keith or the initial storyline, especially when other dubious characters like a rapist and a deformed woman named ‘Mother’ make their appearance midway through.

The dark, foreboding passageways to nowhere, familiar territory in horror, are given fresh life by the use of flashlights and tape measures, making the viewer unsure of who or what could be around the corner.

I love how the current rundown neighborhood, now avoided by the police and forgotten by everyone else, is seen back in the 1980s with well-manicured lawns and freshly painted houses.

This backstory connects to current events, which made me feel invested.

There’s even a shred of sympathy given to the main villain.

Where things falter is when I try to make sense of the situation. Nobody eats in this film, as the plausibility of finding food before starvation is nil.

Also, when history is revealed, the many living things residing below the house are nowhere to be found. Where are they, or what happened to them?

Finally, Tess, though intelligent, makes more than one bungled decision that lands her in constant trouble.

Surprisingly, director Zach Cregger is new to filmmaking and had an idea that spiraled into Barbarian (2022). If he gets his story points straightened out, he could have a bright future in the world of cinema.