Review: Barbarian

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Tess (Georgina Campbell) is in Detroit for a job interview. She arrives late to her Air BnB only to find that it's been double booked, and another man, Keith (Bill Skarsgard) is also staying there. The house looks nice, but is in a very run down neighborhood, so Tess chooses to stay. She then discovers a series of tunnels beneath the house.

I'll admit, the only reason I went to see this in theaters is because of director Zach Cregger. I used to love his sketch comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U'Know. I had seen the trailer for this and thought it looked fine, but he was the deciding factor in making it a theater watch vs a home watch. 

Barbarian is easily one of the best horror films I've seen in a while. It's effectively creepy. It's going to give you some visuals that are very disturbing, but it's also clever and at times pretty damn funny. I wouldn't call it a horror comedy, but there's a few bits that come in about half way through when Justin Long's character enters the picture that are very much Cregger's humor.

Campbell, Skarsgard and Long are all great in their parts. Skarsgard probably gets the least to do but his casting is brilliant for what his character ends up being. You'll understand what I mean when you watch. 

So is this for you? A content warning, there are mentions of sexual assault, but thankfully it's never shown. Another thing I appreciate the director doing. No one wants to see that. It's a must see if you're a horror fan.

Grade: B

Comments

  1. thevoid99September 17, 2022 at 8:26 PM

    I don't think I'm going to watch this as I didn't like The Whitest Kids U Know and I remember the last time Cregger made a film was Miss March which I fucking hated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 20, 2022 at 7:54 AM

      Miss March was awful, but the rapper being named Horsedick.mpeg is still one of the funniest jokes I've ever heard. He's definitely come a long way.

      Delete
  2. keith71_98September 19, 2022 at 2:52 PM

    I appreciate your review. I've been reading lots of them in an effort to figure out what the heck I'm missing. I just wasn't that impressed with it, mainly because I couldn't shake how dumb these characters were! From the very first scene it's one bad decision after another. I think Campbell and Skarsgard are especially good despite the script. But I just can't make it click with me.

    It's lonely on this island! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamSeptember 20, 2022 at 7:53 AM

      LOL I've been on that island with movies before. I get it. That's the thing with horror movies, everyone makes stupid decisions. Sometimes the script can make me go with the flow, other times I just get frustrated like you did and ask "whyyyyyy?!"

      Delete

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