Welcome to 31 Days of Halloween Horror, Day One!
Today we’re covering…
Barbarian!
Movie Details:
- Release Date: 2022
- “Run”time: 1 hour 42 minutes
- Where to watch it: In Theaters
- Directed by: Zach Cregger
- Written by: Zach Cregger
- Starring:
- Georgina Campbell
- Bill Skarsgård
- Justin Long
Synopsis: A simple case of a double-booked AirBnB turns into hell for a young woman.
Open Stab Wounds (out of 10): 7
Review: I’ll start this Day One off with an admission: I did not see the trailer for Barbarian. I think there may have been a glimpse of Justin Long on Twitter that I happened across, but I had no idea what the movie was about except the simplification, “it’s an AirBnB horror movie.” Honestly, that simplification is the best place to talk about the rest of the film. I’ll do my best to avoid spoiling anything here for folks that want to check it out… but let’s just say that though the film starts off as one thing, it turns into something else entirely.
The film opens with Tess (Georgina Campbell) arriving at an AirBnB. The key is missing, and the door is locked. We find Keith (played by Bill Skarsgard) in the house, claiming to have also booked the house for the weekend. This portion of the film is great, with Tess recognizing, but accepting, the risk of being alone in a strange house with an unknown man.
Eventually, Tess makes some discoveries about the house they’re sharing… and the film does a bit of a shift. It’s a shift like the Friday the 13th remake or Psycho, in that it spends a large portion of the film with one character to then introduce someone completely new. In this case, it’s AJ (Justin Long), a Hollywood-bound actor, driving down who finds himself embroiled in some #MeToo level issues. His legal woes drive him into the open arms of a certain AirBnB property…
That’s probably more than enough description about the film to get you going. From a shock and surprise factor, I didn’t necessarily feel that it was a completely unforeseen twist. There are some very fun cringe-inducing scenes where my toes curled, and I sank further into the theater seats. There’s not a terrible amount of gore, but what’s there is great.
I really enjoyed one of the themes throughout the film: what makes a bad person? By the end of the film, if you don’t know the answer, you’ll at least have an idea.
All in all, it’s a solid flick. If you can check it out in theaters, I definitely recommend it!
Kevin’s simple thoughts on Barbarian:
While some of the twists and turns of the film were predictable, it was a fun journey to get to the end. There were multiple moments to elicit a feeling of unease and disgust (both emotionally and on a gore level). The number of characters was not very high, so don’t expect a large kill count, but the kills that you do see are satisfying. One could argue that there is some deeper social commentary (#metoo, crumbling economy, social norms and dynamics), but none of those are the main focus, or really examined thoroughly. All I can say is that I’ll think twice before booking an AirBnB in a sketchy neighborhood.
Open Stab Wounds (out of 10): 7
Thanks for reading and watching along with us! Be sure to keep up with all 31 days of our Halloween Horror Film coverage!
Oh, and make sure to follow Brandon on Twitter @BarnyardCruz and Kevin @Solucid!