"Barbarian" Review: An Unexpected Surprise!
If you like films that go in a direction you don’t expect, or subvert their genre, Barbarian is one to see. The film was marketed in a way that doesn’t give away the overall story, but has more to it than meets the eye. It’s a psychological thriller that will keep you questioning what will happen next, even when it admittedly goes a bit off track!
Tess (Georgina Campbell) is checking in to her Air BnB to no avail. A light pops on inside the house and she meets Keith (Bill Skarsgard), who seems to be occupying the space through another rental service. After they both realized they’ve been double booked, they’re tasked with awkwardly trying to figure out how they will do sleeping arrangements for the night. It’s the friend or foe mystery that propels the story forward.
As much as I’d like to give more context, going about as far as the trailers explore is best. Tess does discover an ominous room in the basement. Writer/Director Zach Cregger understands the story he’s telling and where he wants to lead his audience. Visually his framing leads the eye to an object or character, but he blocks his characters in the same frame to hide what we really want to see.
In understanding the rules of the horror genre, Cregger manipulates his audience in fun and entertaining ways. As Barbarian develops, its self-awareness and dark humor makes exploration of the secrets that lie beneath its story interesting to peel back. Somewhat like the way I’ve mentioned the genre(s) this film straddles, if you were paying attention! This is worth a view!
Rating: B
