Barbare

The good thing about the film: the setting. It's just wonderfully creepy when there's a huge vault under a "normal" house, which is then discovered by the protagonists.

But what doesn't work at all is the plot, because almost none of the protagonists' behaviour makes sense. They consistently make decisions that no normal person in their right mind would make. And so the plot is not driven by authentic behaviour of the characters, but only because the script wants it to be. And you can see this in the movie almost all the time.

If you always tell yourself while watching: I would never do that, what he or she has done now, then that is evidence of bad writing and ultimately of a bad film.

I went in totally blind, with no expectations whatsoever as I only heard of this movie the day I decided to watch it. I think that's the best way to enjoy it.

This is campy horror film that has all the classic tropes from horror movies of a home invasion, with some fun twists and turns in it. This is definitely more of campy film though. Not quite as a campy as movies like Child's Play or Leprechan, but definitely not a true horror movie that will give you nightmares like the Ring or the Excorcist.

Bill Skarsgård really does a great job setting things up, and Georgina Campbell serves well as the classic "damsel in the distress." Justin Long is truly hilarious. This pokes fun at a lot of hororr movie tropes while still being scary enough to have audiences jumping out of their seats. It's a movie that's best seen with a lot of friends in a packed theater. But I don't think it will be a horror classic.

"Barbarian" is nerve-racking - from the opening seconds, not minutes, but seconds of the film, director Zach Cregger immediately immerses viewers in an experience that leaves knuckles white, nails bitten, and minds consistently wondering what on God's green earth could possibly happen next.

Viewing "Barbarian" without any knowledge of what it is about is the optimal viewing experience; however, even if you've seen the trailer for this film, you'll be happy to know that it spoils basically zero of the twists and turns this movie has to offer. Thus, I do not want to spoil anything either, which makes this an incredibly hard review to write! So, what I will do is attempt to explain the basic premise of "Barbarian," and what makes it one of the most thrilling theatre experiences I've had in a long time.

Starring the beautiful Georgina Campbell as a lone Airbnb renter who is staying overnight at a house in Detroit, Michigan, "Barbarian" opens with Georgina's character, Tess, arriving at her rental to find that another man - played by Bill Skarsgård - is already occupying the home. Claiming that this incident is the result of a simple mixup of double booking, Bill's character Keith invites Tess in to stay the night, promising that, in the morning, they will both get this situation sorted out. From that point on, the movie becomes a razor sharp thriller that will infect audiences with its inherent uneasiness.

Is Keith truly a stranger caught up in an innocent mistake, or is he someone, or something, more nefarious? And is the rental property all it seems to be, or is there a greater mystery to be uncovered beneath its welcoming surface? "Barbarian" begins by introducing question after question to its audience, ensuring that viewers remain on the edge of their seat trying to predict what will next occur. Second after second and minute after minute, this movie is full of surprises, to the point where, after the 45 minute mark, my expectations were blown out of the water to the point where it felt useless trying to guess what would happen next, because I hadn't the slightest idea what could possibly happen next. And that is the highest compliment I can give this movie because, regardless of how you choose to describe this movie, you cannot claim it to be predictable. And on a side note, the fact that the characters actually made intelligent decisions and thought things out only made the viewing experience more tense, because, since everyone was already doing what I assumed a smart person would do, I had no idea how the scenes and sequences would progress. And I also want to pay my compliments to the soundtrack, the direction, and the cinematography, all of which combined perfectly to create a truly chilling experience.

I feel like this is a vague and poorly written review, but only because I do not want to spoil anything for anyone. You may have seen the teasers claiming that this film is so scary that people are screaming, vomiting, and passing out in the theatre - while that is just false marketing at its finest, I will say that "Barbarian" did induce a physical reaction from me at parts - I could feel my heart practically beating out of my chest during certain sequences due to the suspense. So, while I don't necessarily find this film to be scary, it is one of the most adrenaline pumping experiences I have had in a long, long time. If you are at all a fan of thrillers, I'd recommend seeing this on the biggest screen you can find, and preferably late at night. This isn't the most horrifying movie you'll ever see, but it is sure to get your blood pumping.

UGH .... so close - SO CLOSE! But in the end, no cigar. All that potential and solid storytelling dissolving into to a nonsensical, clumsy, rushed, and ultimately unsatisfying conclusion, implementing all of the worst elements of horror movies. That's what disappoints the most. This movie held so much promise and had such a great start and journey all the way up until the end, but sadly the writer(s) somehow couldn't find the way to keep that strong storytelling up to par all the way through to the end. It wasn't that I disliked the end result. It was the clumsy way the screenplay got us there that left a lot to be desired. I was rolling my eyes on multiple occasions during parts of the final act. Video review to come soon.

I had really low expectations when it started because because it begins exactly the same as "Weekenders" did which really wasn't a great movie, different genres though. Over half an hour in I still wasn't sure where exactly the movie was heading, but when things turn dark the thrill starts, old school horror-esque.

My only complaint, which unfortunately seemed like it was done deliberately, is that once the horror starts, the movie introduces a completely new character arc and you have to wait for it to build up all again, it purposely teases the eerie stuff which is frustrating because you know the good stuff's coming but not yet. And it does this several times, keeps resetting which makes the second act seem off paced but it all comes together in the end.

It was a conventional horror like you'd remember in the 2010's, not really prismatic or director trying to reinvent the wheel; it's just people stuck trying to escape from something in a 'haunted' house. And I like how there was still logical explanation, albeit a disturbing one. A few details that weren't explained, didn't seem to have the time to as it tries to introduce all the characters properly.

The last act of the movie is all eerie, it however doesn't climax as hard as I anticipated, thought they'd have more fight but it still did a pretty decent job and the finale scene was sensible end. Almost everything about the movie was better than I expected, I suggest going in blind.