Barbarian – Review
102 Minutes, Rated R
Written and Directed by Zach Cregger
Synopsis:
A young woman traveling to Detroit for a job interview books a rental home. But when she arrives late at night, she discovers that the house is double booked, and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to spend the evening, but soon discovers that there’s a lot more to fear than just an unexpected house guest.
A set-up that could just as easily have led into a romantic comedy instead meanders toward horror, slow-walking and poor-choicing its way through a probably more-common-than-not Airbnb situation directly into an X-Files episode that only airs once before being put on a shelf.
That’s not to say that Barbarian is bad, as the first third of the film provides a solid, if a little lazily paced, tension-builder wherein we don’t know if Bill Skarsgard’s Keith
[This Bill
not this Bill]
is going to wind up being a psychotic killer or not, despite seeming so normal after Tess winds up on his doorstep in the middle of the night after a double-booked fiasco.
A glass of wine, a surprisingly relaxing conversation, some light sexual tension, and then the shit hits the fan.
And what starts it all? No toilet paper in the bathroom.
I shit you not (pun not intended… very much).
Tess goes into the basement for a replacement roll and the basement door gets stuck, and in searching for a way out, Tess finds a secret door.
Bad choice: go down the dark creepy hidden hallway under the house in the bombed-out neighborhood in suburban Detroit.
She does and things escalate from there as Keith goes to investigate and… well, then the film shifts to the POV of Justin Long’s character, a douchebag of an actor whose life has just imploded after a scandal, and he returns to Detroit to liquidate some properties he owns.
Guess which one he owns?
Look, the film does take a long time getting to the good stuff, and there’s a bit of a bumpy bit after Justin Long shows up, but then gets back on track as some straight-up dark and messed-up horror.
And honestly, Justin Long may just be the worst person in cinema ever in this movie.
Ever.
Overall, Barbarian is uneven, but is ultimately enjoyable as a bat-shit crazy take on some classic horror tropes.
Think Malignant-level bat-shit crazy.
Oh, and as for why it’s called Barbarian? It’s obvious enough if you’re paying attention.
Barbarian hits theaters on September 9 and stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis, Richard Brake, Kurt Braunohler and Jaymes Butler
Please don’t forget to LIKE this post, SHARE it with your friends, and FOLLOW us on TWITTER, FACEBOOK, and SUBSCRIBE to our YOUTUBE channel, as well.
And please, if you like what we do, consider helping us keep on entertaining you. You can use this handy link:
Or, you could check out the merch in Our Store:
Not only will you be helping us out if you pick up some merch, you get cool stuff to wear around (including the coveted WTFWT? logo!)