Directed by:
Zach CreggerScreenplay:
Zach CreggerCinematography:
Zach KupersteinComposer:
Anna DrubichCast:
Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Jaymes Butler, Richard Brake, Kurt Braunohler, Kate Bosworth, Matthew Patrick Davis, Sara Paxton (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Traveling to Detroit for a job interview, a young woman 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 (20th Century Studios)
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Reviews (13)
The concise first third of Barbarians with the wonderful Bill is great; the second has an unexpected comedic edge (I roared with laughter at the twist from jump-scare to reality farce), and the third is a mishmash, but... the original mix of inverse home invasion, lactation instruction, collecting of VHS snuff flicks, drama about cruel motherhood and black comedy about the MeToo movement simply kept me watching, even though some of the dramaturgical choices are very dubious and the film barely holds together in places. As another entry in the canon of Detroit high-concept horror movies (the magnificent and in some ways related Don’t Breathe and the more allegorical It Follows are worth mentioning), it is indeed a more than respectable work. A place where society has collapsed invites the rise of barbarism.
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Sometimes, you can tell within the first five minutes of a horror movie that, despite its seemingly classic slasher premise, there's something different about it. Barbarian is that kind of different — in the best way. It's visually refined, atmospheric, and incredibly suspenseful. Even when it inevitably veers into entertaining absurdity, it keeps you thoroughly engaged the whole time. This is exactly how I imagine a well-made modern horror film.
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Barbarian is without exaggeration one of the most difficult films to review that I have ever had the opportunity to see. It combines several "sub-films" that are qualitatively very different, and this makes the whole result impossible to rate. For me, the first part is without a doubt the event of the year. A woman arrives at an Airbnb accommodation, but there is already one visitor staying there, and so begins a strange night that takes her to a situation no one would envy. It’s an excellent and original idea, with great acting, perfect dialogue and atmosphere, and a masterful build-up, it all makes the first act an unbeatable part that escalates ad absurdum, and I couldn’t even breathe during its finale. But from that point on (which is about halfway through), the story turns 180 degrees elsewhere and the whole hitherto masterful film collapses like a Ferrari hitting a speed bump at 180 km/h. A whole new story and a new character that replace a very intense film with intelligent characters with a disastrous line with an worse protagonist that seems to have come from the hands of a completely different director. And the film follows the same note until the end. The whole thing feels terribly contradictory, towards the end the film lacks logic and idea, throwing one piece of nonsense after another and doesn't know how to go on. I loved the great horror in the first half, when I was chattering in bliss over the film of the year, I hated the ending and I’m disappointed by the unfulfilled potential at the same time, and actually I don't know how to perceive the end result at all, because combining such diametrically opposed two parts in one film is perhaps not even realistically possible...
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I can't deny the film's style, ideas and the great feeling of the unknown I had while watching it. Unfortunately, I have to criticize it for being terribly, terribly long, and the longer it gets, the more bloated and annoying it seems to me. And considering the way it's written, I think it would work much better as a series. At least for me.
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Detroit's urban decay alone is haunting enough without the need for boogiemen, monsters, or mutants to spice things up. Yet, that's exactly where this film takes us. Surprisingly, it's not about the inhabitants of the city, human or otherwise, but rather centers around a single house. In that regard, the movie had promise, weaving together three distinct storylines. However, the monster itself was pretty underwhelming. It's the kind of thing that might leave the average American reaching for the ammonia, but for me, it just felt like a letdown. I couldn't help but think, "Really?" I was disappointed that the three narratives didn't intertwine in a more inventive manner. There was potential here, but it felt like the creators took the easy route. And as we all know, the path of least resistance seldom leads to greatness. It's a shame because this film had all the makings of thriller with potential. But when Justin Long popped up on screen, I had a sinking feeling. You know the drill - Jeepers Creepers, Tusk... / Lesson learned: Unpleasant places might seem cozier in the dark. 3*+
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