Written by: Ryan Dailey
Sometimes, multiple, different flavors collide and the world is an instantly better place. When chocolate had a meeting with peanut butter a Halloween staple was born. Rap met metal and gave the world a love/hate relationship with a whole new genre of music.
Barbarian is another addition to the handful of great horror films to be released this year after a very depressing slump not only in this genre, but pop culture in general. Barbarian is unapologetic, which is a rarity in this day and age, but also is a very interesting and entertaining mash-up of Don’t Breathe, Frankenstein and The Hills Have Eyes but still maintaining its own voice and originality.
Zach Cregger presents to the world the tale of a documentary researcher, Tess, (Georgina Campbell), who finds out the AirBnB she booked has been double-booked. Given that she is in one of the worst sections of Detroit, forcing her to become an uneasy roommate with Keith(Bill Skarsgard).Tess is weary of Keith at first, not knowing the true terror lies beneath her feet.
After a series of terrible events befall Tess, it is revealed that troubled actor AJ Gilbride (Justin Long) owns the house and comes to Detroit, looking to sell it to pay for his legal help.
It is here that the terror is revealed, a brilliant move that keeps the audience glued to the movie and guessing almost all the way to the end, where at that point, one can not help but watch just to see what come next.
Given that Cregger got his start in the cult favorite and hilarious comedy troupe, The Whitest Kids You Know, this film is not lacking in suspense and horror. If the viewer is aware of his friend Trevor Moore and how he passed, one might say parts of the film were cathartic for the writer/director.
Films such as this one, Pearl, X, My Best Friend’s Exorcism and Men are bringing horror back, and in a big way. The genre is starting to stray further and further away from the trends set into place around 2016 of playing it safe with reboots and trigger-free remakes and returning to stories with heart, characters that the audience care about and dialog that is memorable and quotable, even at times, hilarious. Like Peele before him and Craven and Carpenter and Raimi before Peele, Cregger is a voice to keep an eye on.
Barbarian is available on VUDU and HBO Max as of this writing and was released theatrically on September 9, 2022.