Barbarian

Barbarian

In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway, but soon discovers that there is much more to be afraid of in the house than the other guest.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thrillers
  • Stars: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Richard Brake, Jaymes Butler, Sophie Sörensen, Matthew Patrick Davis, Kalina Stancheva, J.R. Esposito, Trevor Van Uden, Kurt Braunohler, Rachel Fowler, Kate Nichols, Kate Bosworth, Brooke Dillman, Sara Paxton, Will Greenberg, Derek Morse, Zach Cregger, Devina Vassileva, Julian Stanishkov
  • Director: Zach Cregger
 Comments
  • tjw-76445 - 29 June 2024
    Scary, Intense, Annoying Dumb Leads
    Started off with great suspense, then fell off a cliff-edge.

    The female lead was just a complete zoomer. No way would a female with a car stay at a AirBnB in the middle of a run-down slum area with a strange guy already there because of a double booking. You just wouldn't. Hullo, is there anybody in there? Then she goes back again... Duh. Male leads are just as bad.

    A mix between 'The Hills Have Eyes', 'Friday the 13th/Halloween' & 'The Cabin' (& a zillion other lonely cabin/house/rentals with murderous psychos on the loose movies) & a kazillion other cliched horror movies.

    Part 2 of the movie - the zany, sexist AJ character. What was the point? Other than he gets his from the Saggy Boobie monster... Oh.my life, this was... I don't know.... & neither do they! I only persevered because of the mixed reviews & really wish I hadn't bothered.

    It is like 2 movies with no meat in the middle - just saggy boobed flesh monsters. I like Scarsgard & Long, but this one's a Turkey.
  • showmaesas - 28 May 2024
    Barbariously butchered, but still good.
    The movie is divided into two acts. The first is very good. The plot is alright (a surprise considering the genre), and the elements of mistery and suspance are skillfully handled. The movie cultivates a gripping tension that gradually builds up, culminating in a shocking climax. Whatever magic it was that kept the spectator on the edge of the seat for the first half, fades away in the second part. The introduction of a new character, brought in as a sort of comic relief, ruins the movie's initial momentum, and is coincidental with the beginning of a disaster. The movie's mysterious premises are abandoned, and the carefully-crafted character dynamics get discarded in favor of painfully cliché horror decision making. It's as if, having realized something actually great could come out of this movie, the director panicked and fumbled the bag.
  • artur-10541 - 6 May 2024
    Wtf?
    Ok. It was promising... I expected that at the end it will turn out that it's like a bad dream/alternate reality/silent hill thing... It would then explain a lot of logic gaps, some ridiculous behaviours, villain super strengths and other stuff... Or perhaps show conclusion that all these were not only monsters but some evil ghosts or influence... It would explain why they were all lured in a place in the sane time... It would explain why these old couple managed to exist there without any food supplies for last 40 years or so... It would explain why cops ignored her calls for help... It would explain why this villain woman is super strong to extent that she managed to rip out a guy's arm ... It would explain why she and main character survive fall from a water tower.. it would explain why the main character finds this part of a town absolutely desolated... Btw why she decided to come back to such an area, especially after her interviewer expressed shock that she stayed there, is beyond me to comprehend.... Many other ridiculous things would be explained... But no... Writer had to dumb it down and all of this happened in a reality ... It happened for real and only explanation was that simply a rapist and murderer lived in the house for so long... And oh... There is this guy who apparently bought the house and owned it, but no one realised that there are tunnels there in the basement, I guess worse estate agents manage the place than even those who manage mine lol ... No one, absolutely no one realised for 40 years that women go missing and no one bothered to make investigation in the area... I mean... This film would make sense with a better ending, showing that this part of city was abandoned for some reason and strange/ bizzare things happened there and no one even dares to go there in the night, no one lives there and only bad spirits of the past, ghosts of a murderer and his victims lurk there together with a real living one's... But no ... It's just an old couple... A rapist and his victim.. wow! And whole film ends with no real conclusion, just a protagonist shoot the old lady and walk away.... I feel outrageously disappointed because with a better ending this film could be good. It has a suspense, few jump scares, interesting characters arcs, keep us interested....to ultimately punch our jaws at the ending with a moronic conclusion. A massive potential wasted. I would give it even 8/10 originally but because of what I already explained, I give 3/10. It actually made me angry at the ending, so -5 points deserved for this rubbish.
  • anthonyjlangford - 11 January 2023
    Fresh and inventive
    The old horror tropes.

    Let's face it. If characters did exactly what everyone else would do, they wouldn't get themselves into situations that people end up in, in horror films and there'd be no suspense.

    That said, there is genuine effort here, for the most part, of characters trying to make the right decisions, but for reasons that are less realistic, they're not having any luck. Getting hold of people. Getting help from police etc.

    There is genuine atmosphere though and a very definitive act structure. I love the way it goes from Act 1 to Act 2. And I like the flashback though at first, it wasn't clear that's what it was. All very well done. Classy in fact. It all comes together in a neat fashion that isn't evident as we're progressing through. That's rare these days. (Or any days when it comes to horror).

    It's a little over the top but what horror film isn't? Few and far between.

    Anything today that isn't a sequel, spin-off, homage, ie ripoff, deserves our attention and respect. And the fact that it was all done on such a small budget is quite remarkable. I loved the sets. The houses and the location work (Bulgaria).

    The only setback for me is what's become, sadly, the cliché of characterization. It's evident in almost every film and series now. Even commercials. (Previous attempts at a deeper analysis resulted in rejection. You know the drill).

    What was interesting, speaking of modern clichés, is to see how quickly and easily an accusation can destroy someone completely. In this case, he was obviously guilty, but what if the person was innocent and it was merely to get someone out of the way and garner sympathy and gain as we saw with Johnny Depp? That to me was the real life horror story right there.

    All in all a great atmosphere and really well directed. It was refreshing and very enjoyable.
  • luismagmoreno - 9 January 2023
    If there is something to be afraid of right now, it is the price of housing
    Horror movies can be enjoyed in several ways, from the scream, the gore, and the psychological pressure. For years, unexpected twists and gimmicky soundtracks have been a trend in horror, but Barbarian is not guilty of that. From an original premise, realistic and with a powerful denunciation of the impoverishment of the city, Detroit could be a wonderful short horror film, and then opens a subplot that rides a delicate line between building and erasing. My feeling after watching the film is good, shot very A24 style but leaves me with the feeling that with that wonderful opening, something more could have been done. There are ingredients in the script that, in my opinion, would have made the terror of how we let our cities die to shine much brighter because if there is something to be afraid of right now, it is the price of housing.
  • rubyferraday - 7 January 2023
    More sad than scary
    I had high hopes for this movie but it did disappoint. I've given it 6 out of 10 because its still better than most horror movies, but it's not a gem or anything.

    The movie is in 3-4 segments. The first is the best. Good tension, a prevailing sense of unease, some really horrifying propositions. It's one of those - no don't do that!! Kind of movies.

    The second section was about a grubby tv star and was less enjoyable. I wasn't even interested enough in him to see him get his come tuppence. So what. He made the whole section irritating.

    The third section was some pre-history. Wasn't scary.

    In the fourth section, one character has told another that the old dear in the house is not the worst thing in it. So, I start waiting for this worse thing to appear. Turns out to be a weak old man dying in a bed. Oooh. Yes, he was a serial killer/rapist but he's not scary anymore. Disappointment. Movie plays out to the end which is just really sad. Really really sad. I mean, genuinely evoking sadness.

    I don't know who needs to hear this but, old people aren't scary. They just aren't. Neither are saggy boobs, or falling out teeth or a few wrinkles. If an old person starts coming at me, I'm going to be pretty happy they're old. Not that I'm sure the woman was old - maybe she was only forty or so. But you know, that whole concept, the old sad mother thing, was zero scary. It just made me feel sad. For her. I have seen way too many movies lately where I'm meant to be terrified by the spectacle of some skinny old person filling doorways or hallways. Sometimes this is done effectively but quite often I'm just waiting for the scary bit to begin. Do people really find skinny old people that terrifying? They're just old people.
  • legobuilderpro - 4 January 2023
    Come for a night. Stay forever.
    I did not know much about this movie because the trailer was surprisingly vague, and I only read the IMDB synopsis that does not reveal too much. I am glad I did not know much about this movie because it kept surprising me from beginning to end.

    Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård both had good performances, and I liked it when their two characters interacted with each other. Justin Long is also in the movie, which I will not spoil, but I liked his character and what he brought to the movie.

    The movie starts like how you thought but when it gets to the second and third act it has surprises that are disturbing and creepy but got me even more invested in what was happening. There are brutal violent moments, but they only happen when they need to make the scenes even more disturbing.

    You start to understand more about what is in these dark tunnels in the Airbnb along with seeing what this thing looks like, which will disturb people. If you cannot handle disturbing creepy scenes, then you should not watch this movie.

    Barbarian (2022) was a surprising horror movie that I thought was fun to watch, and other people will like this movie too. I recommend going into this movie without knowing much because it gives you a better horror movie experience.
  • tania_tmms - 2 January 2023
    Bad!
    I am so disappointed. I saw a review on youtube recomending this movie and I wanted to like it so much, I was ready for a good horror film, but NO, it was so bad I am actually mad! If you wanna see it go ahead, but I just think its bad. Judge for yourself. All I can say is that, the first part great! Interesting plot and twist. Bill was great. The main character georgina great too. But...Second part wtf! I just don't like horror movies were characters make dumb mistakes. The second part character was annoying as hell. It makes me wonder, Why just not make an intelligent horror movie.. whyyyyy????? It was so bad that made me score it this low.
  • SAMTHEBESTEST - 31 December 2022
    A barbarous horror flick with some amazing obscene scares and unnecessary old cliches.
    Barbarian (2022) : Brief Review -

    A barbarous horror flick with some amazing obscene scares and unnecessary old cliches. The whole reason why I wanted to see this film was that many people called it one of the best horror films of the year. They were right, somewhat.. not fully. My vote will still go to "Nope" for the horror crown of this year for its technical brilliance and atmospheric binding of unseen horrors. Here, Barbarian is very much grounded and has many cliches from old school. To start with a story, it's about a girl who rents a house that is shared by a stranger. They both spend a night there, and the next day she finds out some horrible facts about the place. There is a basement where a creature-woman has been living for more than 40 years and hunts down the people. There is a mother angle to it, on which I won't elaborate to avoid spoilers. The screenplay is damn too banal for a proper horror flick. It wastes time giving an introduction of the characters when it has nothing to do with the story or the ghost or creature. There is no clarity about the creature and its past, such as what happened, how, or why. The second half has a new man coming to the House who has some sexual abuse cases against him. I don't see how those 15 minutes of runtime from his life fit in the screenplay. The ghost doesn't know it, and neither does the girl. Then why the heck would you waste those 15 minutes in a "Horror thriller"? The climax has all outdated theories, from 'you are safe here,' 'coming back to save the man,' to 'crushing the creature with the car' (as if one can really kill a ghost by crushing it, Lol). It is a slow film for sure and should have been cut by 15-20 minutes. Rest, the performance, scares, screams, and a few directional segments make for a one-time watch for the true horror fans. Zach Cregger used $4.5 million of his budget to create something that's worth 10 times more. It just missed a high mark by its weak story and screenplay; otherwise, a very good Black Friday outing.

    RATING - 6/10*

    By - #samthebestest.
  • sue-77 - 30 December 2022
    A twist or two...
    Talk about a film that suddenly takes a sharp left turn! You definitely want to go into this film with as few spoilers as possible because the best thing about the film are the surprises. Fun film with good acting. A nice, tidy little genre flick that gives a little of the unexpected, which is just what I like in my horror films. Nice to see Justin Long play against type as a smarmy Hollywood exec.

    A man and woman book an airbnb at the same time through two different companies and decide to share the space for a night. Events ensue. Terror reigns and no one should ever rent an airbnb in Detroit!

    I recommend the film for anyone looking for a film they can't take completely serious, but still has some plot points that are plausible enough to freak you out.