Barbarian: Movie Review
Why hello, dear reader!
For the first time in who knows how long, I went to a theatre to watch a movie! The place was practically empty, though maybe that had more to do with it being a matinee? Either way, it was nice. I got my classic theatre nachos and root beer.
And I saw Barbarian! Since this movie just came out, I kept any spoilers after my spoiler line at the end of the post, so don’t cross that line if you haven’t watched the movie yet!
The Movie
2022 horror film, Barbarian, was written and directed by Zach Cregger and stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long.
In Barbarian, Tess arrives at her Airbnb late at night and finds it’s been double-booked and is already occupied by Keith. He invites her in and, though a bit wary, she decides to stay the night as all the hotels have been booked due to a medical convention. The next day, Tess gets locked in the basement and, while trying to find a way out, discovers a sinister secret.
The Review
Overall, this was a good popcorn flick. It kept my attention, it definitely made me flinch at some points — though to be honest, I flinched due to grossness rather than fear — but it’s not my favourite. I saw several ads that showed night-vision footage of “real” reactions to the film and it was also called “the scariest” movie of the year — to me, it wasn’t a scary film. It was fun for the most part, well-shot and acted, but not terrifying in the least in my opinion.
While it was well-paced, atmospheric, and had some disturbing elements, ultimately there were many moments that shattered my suspension of disbelief and left me feeling a little dissatisfied. Also once the “reveal” happened, I felt that all the tension seeped out of the film.
I also felt that the message the movie was trying to convey (very much men are bad type deal) was hit or miss. Some aspects were well developed, other times it was heavy-handed. Overall, Barbarian was no Get Out in terms of weaving the theme in well. On the other hand, the satirical elements were done well and it wasn’t a bad movie.
6/10
x PLM
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT | ABSOLUTELY DO NOT CROSS | WARNING!
I’ll be going into some specifics scenes about Barbarian now, so if you haven’t watched the movie, do not read any further!
Still here? Alright, let’s go!
Let’s talk about the moments that broke my suspension of disbelief. First off, when dear old Keith disappears and Tess decides to go in after him, she doesn’t call the cops for back-up, she doesn’t bring a weapon, she just goes down. That was moment number one. Especially since Tess was so careful around Keith — taking a photo of his driver’s license and all that. But when faced with an obviously dangerous situation, she takes no precautions.
When Tess escapes and finds some cops, they refuse to help her because she doesn’t have a driver’s license or ID on her, even though she tells them she was kidnapped and someone is in danger. When they go to the house, they shrug and say it’s locked and not her house so too bad. Tess is visibly hurt and a mess, but they don’t take her seriously. Yes, this is set in a bad part of Detroit, but I still find it hard to believe that the cops wouldn’t do anything. Not knock on the door or call it in.
Next, the theme. Barbarian explores the theme of misogynic behaviour and toxicity. Keith is a “good guy” but he still displays some troubling behaviour. He persists in trying to get Tess to sit and drink with him, even though she’s obviously uncomfortable, then when she tells him about the creepy room in the basement and says they should leave, he says no and that “he has to see it for himself” — a very subtle nod to how often men can be dismissive of women. That was well done.
Then you get AJ, the owner of the house, who flees L.A. after raping a co-star. He tells a friend that it wasn’t rape, that he was only “persuasive”. There is a moment where he seems to regret it and possibly have a redemption moment…up until he throws Tess off a water tower to save himself.
Then, of course, there’s the original owner of the house, a kidnapper and rapist.
Literally every male character in the movie is a bad person to a degree (except the homeless man) — even the cops who ignore Tess’s obvious distress. At first I didn’t know why the movie was called ‘barbarian’, until a friend let me know it was a call-out to the male characters in the movie all being horrible people.
I don’t know, I liked the subtle misogyny of Keith, but near the end, it started to feel a bit much — if that makes sense? I guess it just felt like it lacked a bit of nuance in the end. Anyway, let me know what you think of Barbarian! I’d love to know!
