I'm going to guess that one day the most unpredictable thing that a movie could do would be to do the predictable thing that everyone was expecting? Which brings me to the newest "horror sensation," this year's 'Barbarian.' Although most of those claims seem to be from social media posts posted by the studio that released the film. 'Barbarian' doesn't even have that many twists and turns really. There's some pretty clever misdirection early on but sudden changes in the narration seem to be what people are singling out.
The whole story focuses around a single house in an area of Detroit so decimated that it resembles a war zone. How this house would ever get rented in the age of internet reviews is truely the greatest mystery in 'Barbarian.' But get rented it does as Tess (Georgina Campbell) knocks on the door of said house that she has reserved only to be greeted by Keith, played by Bill Skarsgard. He invites her in so they can sort out the mix-up. It's this first part of the story that is the most interesting and well acted, setting the stage for a solid thriller until everybody goes to the creepy basement and the story settles into a standard horror movie formula.
But, before that happens, we get the perspective change to a television director (Justin Long) who has been credibly accused of sexual assualt and has lost his job. He owns the house in the war zone and goes there for reasons? There is no record of anyone renting the property, so while snooping around stumbles into the same terrifying secret. It's at this point where the movie descends into jump scares in dark hallways. It's also the least interesting of the "vignettes" on display. Justin Long is supposed to playing an an unpleasant character but he is so unlikable that I would guess that some of that is from who he is as a person.
Then we get a flashback to the person who created the terrifying secret to begin with. 'Barbarian' jumps around, shifting characters and time periods before the story ends up back in the basement to set up the conclusion. It's here that the movie somewhat gives up on building tension and goes into full schlock territory. Unlike 'The Neon Demon,' 'Audition' or 'Malignant' which head into gloriously shocking territory during the third act, 'Barbarian' gets pretty silly. This includes characters climbing to the top of a tall building and other various story cliches that deflate some of the creepy elements the movie had going for it.
That's the thing about 'Barbarian,' it's doesn't really push any boundaries and delivers few memorable moments. The filmmakers do rely on more than jump scares and there are some nice practical effects but it fails to really impact the viewer or leave much of an impression. It's a well made, entertaining entry into the horror genre and I would say to check it out if you're into those middle of the road scares. Just don't expect any nightmares. 6.5/10.
The whole story focuses around a single house in an area of Detroit so decimated that it resembles a war zone. How this house would ever get rented in the age of internet reviews is truely the greatest mystery in 'Barbarian.' But get rented it does as Tess (Georgina Campbell) knocks on the door of said house that she has reserved only to be greeted by Keith, played by Bill Skarsgard. He invites her in so they can sort out the mix-up. It's this first part of the story that is the most interesting and well acted, setting the stage for a solid thriller until everybody goes to the creepy basement and the story settles into a standard horror movie formula.
But, before that happens, we get the perspective change to a television director (Justin Long) who has been credibly accused of sexual assualt and has lost his job. He owns the house in the war zone and goes there for reasons? There is no record of anyone renting the property, so while snooping around stumbles into the same terrifying secret. It's at this point where the movie descends into jump scares in dark hallways. It's also the least interesting of the "vignettes" on display. Justin Long is supposed to playing an an unpleasant character but he is so unlikable that I would guess that some of that is from who he is as a person.
Then we get a flashback to the person who created the terrifying secret to begin with. 'Barbarian' jumps around, shifting characters and time periods before the story ends up back in the basement to set up the conclusion. It's here that the movie somewhat gives up on building tension and goes into full schlock territory. Unlike 'The Neon Demon,' 'Audition' or 'Malignant' which head into gloriously shocking territory during the third act, 'Barbarian' gets pretty silly. This includes characters climbing to the top of a tall building and other various story cliches that deflate some of the creepy elements the movie had going for it.
That's the thing about 'Barbarian,' it's doesn't really push any boundaries and delivers few memorable moments. The filmmakers do rely on more than jump scares and there are some nice practical effects but it fails to really impact the viewer or leave much of an impression. It's a well made, entertaining entry into the horror genre and I would say to check it out if you're into those middle of the road scares. Just don't expect any nightmares. 6.5/10.