Zach Cregger’s bonkers-horror film, Barbarian is experienced best with little foreknowledge. This film is a tale of a homestay in the uncanny neighborhood of Detroit that turned out to be sinister.
Barbarian Movie Plot
Tess is up for a job interview in Detroit and books an Airbnb. She had arrived very late at her rental and found that a man named Keith was already renting the house. Torrential rainfall forces Tess against her judgment to share the house with Keith. Skeptical Tess does a quick investigation on Keith and her bookings. She finds that her Airbnb has been double-booked.
Her reluctance to share a rental with a stranger is the surface of her troubles. Her real crisis starts later as she discovers a labyrinth underneath the house.
They are not alone in this house. There is someone else; not a spirit, but a being. Things get more horrifying and gruesome as the situation keeps descending into madness.
About Barbarian
Barbarian has been directed and written by Zach Cregger and produced by Arnon Milchan, Roy Lee, Raphael Margules, and J.D. Lifshitz.
Barbarian has a small but efficient cast led by Georgina Campbell as Tess Marshall. Followed by Bill Skarsgård as Keith Toshko, Justin Long as AJ Gilbride, Matthew Patrick Davis as the mysterious being, and Richard Brake as Frank,
The runtime of the film is 1h 42m.
Barbarian Movie Review
Writer-director-actor Zach Cregger debuted in the horror genre, with this mind-jamming movie: Barbarian. The film is terrifying, bizarre, thoughtful, gruesome, sarcastic, and has a hint of humor.
Barbarian is a three-act horror film. Act one focuses mainly on Tess and Keith; Act two focuses on AJ and later Tess, and the final Act with a flashback focuses on Frank and sums up with a satisfying end.
The casting was brilliant. Bill Skarsgård, who previously acted as the joker in the film IT, and here as Keith raises a concern in the audience along with Tess. Bill’s acting creates an eerie atmosphere enough for Tess to be on the lookout. Georgina too did an outstanding job. The raw acting and pure horror that she expressed through her acting were amazing.
Barbarian is a successful horror film. The plot has been carefully crafted, with jump shots, switching from absolute terror to a light-fun mood in the film. A gripping eeriness was maintained throughout the film. The series of incidents pile up with increasing uneasiness and occasional jump scares and concludes with a disturbing twist at the finale.
The film is not a traditional horror film. It has a message that mirrors our society. There is a line where Tess says to Keith that he would have settled in right away if the situation had been reversed. This feminine gaze permeates the majority of the film.
Themes of male ego and casual oppression of women have been cleverly tucked away in the Barbarian. Zach has smartly constructed a movie that handles its subjects and themes with respect. Being a bonkers-horror film, the message that Zach wants to say is clear. The grotesque history of gendered violence still haunts the current society.
Where to watch Barbarian
