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Many people are mourning the declining quality of modern-day cinema, but the horror genre is not only alive and well but bustling. Just in 2022 alone, we’ve had The Black Phone, Nope, X & Pearl, The Menu, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Bones and All, and Crimes of the Future. However, Barbarian is a unique triumph even amongst many horror movies over the last 5-10 years. The writer-director debut of actor Zac Cregger is a smart one that does require you to accept a mild bit of unbelievability in the situation but rewards you by keeping you off balance and examining compelling themes. The adage goes that plot holes don’t matter if there is a good story.
For me summarizing the plot would spoil the fun. As you’re probably aware, if you’ve seen ads or trailers, Barbarian seems to be about a woman finding out that a rental she reserved has accidentally been double booked with a man. Of course, it’s a dark stormy night, and the question becomes should she trust this guy? They hit it off, but there’s palpable tension underneath their chemistry. Then there’s the question of the house and what lies deep within it.
It’s hard not to see some comparison between Zac Cregger and Jordan Peele. Both started in comedy; both are now making metaphorical social satire horror movies. Peele is a little more established now with three films under his belt, but Barbarian by Cregger is done in a Jordan Peele style. It’s about more than plot twists and scares and it’s also saying something about American society in general. Exploring themes of trauma, abuse, trust, parenting, indifference towards evil, and the behavior of men toward women, it’s also about the decay of American capitalism as seen through the fall of Detroit. How a decaying society Social satire is nothing new to the horror genre, but what’s great is it’s not preached to you, and it’s all done through the visuals and character development.
The performances from the small cast are all first-rate. Georgina Campbell’s Tess, other than renting from an Airbnb in a lousy neighborhood, is a bright, intelligent character that usually makes logical decisions. Bill Skarsgård, as Keith, straddles the line ideally between trustworthy and untrustworthy. It’s a delicate balance and one he pulls off well. The best performance for me in the film belongs to Justin Long as a truly sleazy sitcom actor named AJ Gilbride, who is accused of sexual misconduct. It turns out he owns the Airbnb Tess and Keith are staying at. Long gleefully relishes the opportunity to play a morally lacking character.
My advice is to go into Barbarian completely fresh without reading any more about the film than what I’ve told you in this review. A significant part of the fun is the unexpectedly and gloriously weird directions it goes in. Some might find it ridiculous, but I didn’t think so. I was enthralled with the direction throughout. I think Cregger balances the varying tones well. The film was made on a shoestring budget of $4.5 million, but it looks like a veteran horror director made it. My advice is to go with it and embrace the weird. Embrace the absurdity. It’s one of the best films of 2022.
