My Review of Barbarian (2022)

 

Written And Directed by Zach Cregger

Tess: "Why is it always the girls who get their hearts ripped out in these things?"

Keith: "Girls can rip. Trust me."

Ah, the joys of the Airbnb business. Well, I'd say joys but seeing as this happened to be a horror movie, the word "terror" would be closer to the mark. Yes, definitely terror.

You had Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell). She had landed in Brightmoor, Detroit for a job interview and found herself having to share her Airbnb experience with a man named Keith (Bill Skarsgard). Naturally, she's suspicious of Keith.

To be fair, it's hard not to see why she wouldn't be as Keith could potentially be a serial killer underneath his unassuming manner. He's not by the way but in a neighbourhood that's in a state of urban decay, it didn't take Tess long to realise the place she was staying in had a lot wrong with it.

Notably the secret passage that both Tess and Keith discovered and a frightening figure named The Mother (Matthew Patrick Davis). The Mother killed Keith and took a rather maternal fondness to Tess, which was rather unsettling in itself.

The second half of this movie pivoted towards soon to be cancelled actor, AJ (Justin Long). Accused of raping a co-star, AJ was also revealed to be the owner of the Airbnb house and he was in for a shock when he discovered both The Mother and Tess while trying to fight for his survival.

There's a backstory in the second half provided for The Mother involving a man named Frank (Richard Brake) that implied a really grotesque history about the character. The Mother just wanted to be a mother. Tess and AJ just wanted to get away and had to work together. AJ betrayed Tess to save himself and got his just desserts. Tess had to be the one to end The Mother's reign of terror with the only option left to her.

- Zach Cregger, Sara Paxton and Kate Bosworth all have unseen/voice cameos in the movie.

- The non fiction book, The Gift Of Fear by Gavin de Becker somewhat inspired the events of this movie.

- Standout music: Benny Reid's Lonely At The Bar and The Ronettes Be My Baby.

- Chronology: 2022 in Brightmoor, Detroit as well as flashbacks to 1982.

I had watched this movie in preparation for another one I plan to see later today. Barbarian was an impressive movie with a well executed premise, a scary but sympathetic antagonist and a likeable lead in Tess. Worth watching.

Rating: 8 out of 10