Barbarian
2022 / Zach Cregger / HBO Max / R
Quick Thoughts
I enjoy the separate plotlines.
Makes me think twice about booking an Airbnb.
There are some fantastic performances here.
It's like the Director went "How can we drive this car into the house?"
The lens used to create the long perspective is unnerving and ingenious.
Everyone is talking about this film and for good reason. Read on to discover if this film will be for you or if you’ll be one of the viewers that found themselves disappointed and seemingly offended. The most I knew about this before going in, was that the fellas over at Horror Movie Talk ushered their listeners not to watch the trailer, and to experience the film blind, which has always been a favorite form of viewing films for me, so that’s what I did. I advise you to stop reading here and do the same.
The film is good, and just on the verge of being great. The experience reminds me of “The Hills Have Eyes” 2006 remake, which I love, and will be discussing on Halloween. A lot of character development happens before us in “Barbarian”. We experience high tension, traumatic events with one character, and then jump to another, which I find so damn effective, but I think this is something that can throw the audience. Yet, I do believe that the charisma that Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard, and Justin Long have to offer will keep your attention.
Once the overall premise of this film is conveyed ultimately I found myself slightly disappointed. The message here is important and needs to be discussed; women trust their intuition. At the same time, that message can be conveyed easily in just about every horror film featuring women, yet pitting this film against horror films that fall into the slasher subgenre doesn't feel quite right. We’ve seen incestual horrors, maybe too many times. I’m looking at you “Wrong Turn”. For me the baddie felt too familiar and that killed some of the impacts this film packed into its beautifully executed and patiently paced hour and a half.
Do you think films like "Barbarian" and "The Rental" are introducing a new subgenre; Airbnb Horror?
- Yeah, F that. I don't trust them places.
- Airbnb Horror, really? What's next, Uber Horror?