As film fans, there’s always a handful of films that we allow to pass us by. This usually isn’t at all indicative of their quality – sometimes, like with Barbarian, we’re just a little Late To The Party.
When it’s really boiled down, horror is all about allegory. Usually, whatever monster might be lurking in the shadows is a gruesome stand-in for the things that truly plague us as humans. Symbolism has become the backbone of the horror genre, and it’s usually kept relatively close to the surface.
Barbarian is a little different, though. The movie begins with Tess (Georgina Campbell) arriving at her rental house in the middle of the night only to discover it has been double booked and is currently occupied by Keith (Bill Skarsgård). Due to the rough neighborhood and a lack of any other option, Tess reluctantly accepts Keith’s offer to share the home for the evening. Upon getting to know one another, the pair discover dark secrets about the home, with the house’s owner AJ (Justin Long) later finding himself in a similar situation.
Barbarian takes a talented core cast and a fairly simple premise and runs with it. From each scene to the next, the sense of unease is built through uncomfortable yet familiar situations until the true horror begins. There’s a definite divide between Barbarian‘s atmospheric build-up and its more intense horror, making it very much a film of two halves.
Barbarian Is A Solid Horror Movie, But Lacks The Nuance To Be Truly Great
The exploration of the tunnels revealing the house’s dark and twisted past is an excellent touch, but it’s only skin-deep. The scares that the realization brings are no worse than the imagination conjures during the build-up, making the pay-off feel significantly less exciting than it probably should have. Regardless, it’s thoroughly chill-inducing, partly down to how well the movie is put together.
Solid cinematography only serves to amplify the claustrophobic premise, and sound performances and impressive visual effects flesh the movie’s horror credentials out significantly. Unfortunately, there’s no real finesse to proceedings: Barbarian wields its horror heavily. This makes the film feel blunt in its execution, rather than the gut-punch of a knife edge executed by the best of the genre.
There’s very little to dislike about the movie. However, when compared with the way other movies incorporate their horror movie tropes, it just falls a little short, even though it’s well-made in practically every aspect. Even so, it’s good for a few scares, so it more than performs its expected task.
Rating: 70%
Summary: Barbarian has lots of good aspects, but it falls short of everything that would make it great.
Highlight: Justin Long’s character being completely ignorant of his status as a terrible human being is remarkably written and incredibly performed.