BARBARIAN (2022) - Movie Review

Director: Zach Cregger
Starring: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard, Justin Long, Richard Brake
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Writer: Zach Cregger
Runtime: 102 min
Rated: R for some strong violence and gore, disturbing material, language throughout and nudity.
Buy This Movie: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Traveling to Detroit for a job interview, a young woman books a rental home. She arrives late at night to find that the house is double-booked, and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgment, she decides to spend the evening, but soon discovers that there’s a lot more to fear than an unexpected house guest.

Review:

Zach Cregger's feature filmmaking debut "Barbarian" might just be one of the most unpredictable movies I have ever watched. It continously subverts your expectations and as soon as you think you know where it's headed, it yanks you in another direction altogether. You should definitely go in knowing as little as possible about this movie for maximum enjoyment.

The story starts with a simple enough premise. Tess, a young woman who just arrived in Detroit for an important job interview (Georgina Campbell), discovers that her Airbnb has been double-booked, and must now share the house with a man name Keith (Bill Skarsgard). He seems nice enough, but Tess is cautious around him at first. However, she soon discovers that what she should fear most is what lies buried deep within the bowels of the house.

I can't say more about the plot because that would ruin the whole fun. Campbell and Skarsgard are great, but I believe Justin Long steals the show, even though his character, a sleazy TV actor recently fired over a sexual assault allegation, only comes into the movie about 40 minutes in. He's so much fun in the role, and the character reinforces what the movie is trying to say about the banality of evil.

Without giving away anymore details, I can say that Cregger conjures up some gut-wrenching horror sequences, and the film is filled with a sharp sense of tension and wildly twisted revelations. The filmmaker competently mixes unpredictability, cleverly subversive themes and visceral horror to create a movie that is wholy original and unique, and packs quite a punch.

"Barbarian" was a box-office hit, grossing $40.8 million domestically against a $4.5 million budget, and is easily one of the best horror films in recent years. It's an easy recommendation for any genre fan. It's mind boggling, then, that this movie still doesn't have a Blu-ray release. At the time of this writing, the movie is only available via streaming, and that's a criminal shame.

SCORE: 10/10