Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian” is a movie that works best if you go into it knowing nothing. The trailers give no information to the audience, and the description of the movie boils it down to its bare bones, if even that. At its core, the movie follows Tess (Georgina Campbell) and her stay at an Airbnb where things almost immediately go wrong. She’s been double-booked with Keith (Bill Skarsgård), a charming yet suspicious figure that invites Tess to stay the night. While Tess hesitates at first, she eventually agrees, and things go downhill from there. 

There’s a lot to “Barbarian” that works in its favor. The first part of the movie is brilliant, running on suspense and the few clues it allows the audience to peek at. No one can be trusted, which leads to tense scenes that left me gripping at my seat. The music works perfectly with this section, filling the silence with eerie synth sounds reminiscent of 80s horror movies. But what stood out to me the most was the dialogue. It felt natural, and the awkwardness of two people being forced into an uncomfortable situation was fully realized. 

But the beginning isn’t the only good part of “Barbarian”. The main three actors do amazing work bringing their flawed characters to life. Campbell plays Tess as terrified but resilient, creating a “final girl” that could rival those of the 80s and 90s. Skarsgård utilizes his experience playing Pennywise in the two “It” movies to bring a sinister edge to the otherwise lovable Keith. Justin Long, who plays newly disgraced director AJ, makes it easy to laugh at his sleazy and unlikeable character when he emerges later in the story. The acting is consistent throughout, and one of the best parts of the movie.

The other two consistently beautiful parts of the movie are the cinematography and practical effects. Director of photography Zach Kuperstein makes the movie feel fantastical with his unsettling yet wondrous shot composition. Even when I felt taken out of the story, I would be drawn in by the look of the film. The grimiest of settings had a magic to them. The special effects were also spectacular. To avoid spoilers, I will not go into the applications of the special effects, but the team behind them should be proud of the sheer number of people in the theater who had to look away at the gore they created. 

But not everything about the film was great. “Barbarian” relied too heavily on its twists and unbelievable character decisions. I think giving away the twists of “Barbarian” would be unfair to the film, but I will say that they are both the selling point and worst part of “Barbarian”. There is shock, and then there is fear. I was shocked by the twists. I was not afraid of the twists. Once the big reveal happens, the movie feels slogged down by the backstory and story beats it feels compelled to tell you. And in the end, the twist isn’t anything new when it comes to horror. I would have preferred something truly outlandish or impossible. 

But the outlandish and impossible was saved for the characters’ decision-making skills. I understand that most modern horror films ask you to suspend your disbelief: that makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is why the characters made every terrible decision possible. Yes, they went into the creepy room. Yes, they kept screaming even though they knew to be quiet. And phones? They were there when the story needed them to be there. If characters need to go against human nature to fulfill the plot, it might be time to revisit the script.

“Barbarian” is a great horror movie to see in theaters surrounded by people willing and excited to throw all common sense out the window and get scared. It’s a well-made film that can get a few scares out of you. Its story can be a little clunky and even goofy at times, but the rest of the movie makes it worth a watch.

Ranking (1-10): 

My Life is Worse Having Seen This

At Least They Turned on the Camera

Not as Bad as Morbius

Almost Bearable

Hey, It’s a Movie

Not Bad, Not Bad

I Actually Liked That

At Least an 80% on Rotten Tomatoes

Yummy Oscar Bait

Is that Citizen Kane Over There?

Article by Zoey Mueller