When I said in other movie review pieces that I was holding out hope for an awesome flurry of horror films for fall – I really hoped for the best.
Sadly, “Barbarian” falls short for me due to its lackluster writing and attempts to paint a full picture of events without helping the audience with transitions.
Maybe I’m too spoiled by other horror flicks I’ve seen recently.
But, there’s definitely something lacking here.
That being said, the cast was a nice mix of new and old faces.
But, even that couldn’t save it from annoying me more than scaring me.
Barbarian is a horror film written and directed by Zach Cregger.
It stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Richard Brake, and Justin Long.
Arnon Milchan, Roy Lee, Raphael Margules, and J.D. Lifshitz serve as producers on the film.
The film is 107 minutes long and rated R for some strong violence and gore, disturbing material, language throughout, and nudity.
Tess Marshall (Campbell) arrives in Detroit for a job interview and has booked a rental home in a remote, rundown neighborhood.
She is surprised to find the property is already occupied by a young man named Keith (Skarsgard) who rented the property through a different app.
With a storm raging outside and no hotel vacancies, Tess finds herself with no option but to spend the night in the house with Keith.
Initially unnerved by Keith’s awkward behavior, Tess eventually warms up to him.
That night, Tess notices her bedroom door has been open and hears someone moving around the house.
While she investigates, she hears Keith on the couch suffering from a nightmare and wakes him – which scares them both.
After a bit more awkwardness, they both turn into bed to sleep the night off.
The next day, Tess awakens to find that Keith has gone already, but left a note saying he’d be back later.
She attends her job interview and returns to the rental where she is chased inside by a homeless man who demands she leave the house.
Needing to use the restroom, Tess searches for a roll of toilet paper in the basement and accidentally locks herself inside.
She searches for a way out and stumbles across a hidden door in the basement, leading to a secret corridor.
In the corridor, Tess finds evidence that someone was held captive and filmed and flees, being freed from the basement by Keith.
When she tells Keith, he ventures down to the basement to investigate.
When he doesn’t return, Tess goes back down after him and discovers another subterranean tunnel leading further under the house.
Following Keith’s screams, Tess finds him claiming that there is someone in the tunnel and they bit him.
As Tess panics, a deformed female suddenly attacks the pair and kills Keith.
A few weeks later, sitcom actor AJ learns he is being accused of rape by a co-star and is fired from his pilot show.
Facing pressure to sell his assets to pay for his legal costs, AJ travels to one of his rental properties in Detroit to look into selling it which is revealed to be the house where Tess and Keith were staying.
He finds their belongings still in the house but no sign of them.
Then, AJ inspects the basement and discovers the hidden door and tunnel.
It only really gets weirder and more violent from there.
If anything, this film serves as a lesson in common sense and reinforces the notion that when something “feels” wrong, it’s just better to seek a safer alternative.
But, hey, you can judge for yourself!
