Bloody Disgusting’s Barbarian review is spoiler-free.
Meet one of horror’s biggest, most savage surprises of the year. Writer/Director Zach Cregger (“The Whitest Kids U’ Know”) eschews conventions in Barbarian to keep audiences on edge, making for one of the most delightfully unhinged viewing experiences in recent memory. A simple rental nightmare set up an intense pressure cooker scenario with no limits to the midnight madness.
Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives at her Detroit rental late at night during a torrential downpour. The rain distracts her from the subtle signs that a quiet night before her big job interview won’t go as planned. The keys, for one, aren’t in the lockbox. When a man, Keith (Bill Skarsgård), answers the door, the strangers realize the place has been double booked. Tess, out of options, agrees to share the space but remains guarded. As Keith soothes her apprehension, Tess realizes the danger has just begun.
Cregger creates an unrelenting unease from the outset. Everything about Tess’s situation screams trouble, but Cregger consistently traps his protagonist in place, leaving her with nowhere to go but forward. The torrential downpour combined with lockbox woes leaves her with only the briefest moment to register just how quiet the street is after dark. A popular conference taking place during her stay leaves her with no alternatives, either. Cregger rips away every possible chance dangled in front of Tess to escape the inevitable terror. More than leaving you on edge, it breeds mistrust while you wait for the threat to reveal itself.
Even that reveal is a measured escalation, a steady ramp-up from dread to full-blown sensory assault. It’s far from over. Cregger expertly crafts an unwavering unpredictability by forgoing a traditional narrative structure. The first act feels like a self-contained full feature before the rug gets pulled and new layers add to the deranged equation. And it builds. And builds.
At its core, Barbarian presents two sides of the same coin reacting to one hellish scenario. From it, it unleashes one sadistic and gruesome horror thriller unafraid to be as biting with its pitch-black humor as its horror. While there’s an interesting commentary to be mined from how Tess reacts and handles certain situations versus some of the supporting characters as unlucky as she, the emphasis remains on ensuring a full-throttle onslaught of nail-biting terror. No one is safe from the madness, and it’s brutal.
Campbell deftly retains audience allegiances even as her character defies all horror logic, sometimes by choice. A fortitude at odds with vulnerability keeps you invested in Tess and consistently unsure if she’s survivor material. That thread of uncertainty runs through every central character. Bill Skarsgård charms as Keith but creates enough doubt to raise suspicion. Justin Long’s AJ disarms with an affability that belies his denial and obstinate self-preservation. The arcs are as robust and compelling as the deeply flawed characters deserve. Authenticity grounds them even as the world around them crumbles into abject fear, darkness, and insanity.
Barbarian demands to be seen with a crowd. Creggers makes keen observations about humanity at their best and worst, then creates a visceral horror movie from them. All rules get tossed out the window, resulting in a confrontational and chilling feature that slams into you like a freight train and leaves you breathless. It’s smartly written, well crafted, and boasts a fantastic cast committed to the insanity. More importantly, it’s the type of violent, ruthless, and bloody horror that leaves a mark.
Barbarian releases in theaters on September 9, 2022.
[Related] Zach Cregger on Horror Influences and Mixing Terror with Comedy [Interview]
