Barbarian (2022)


REVIEWER RATING: 
6/10

DIRECTOR:

CAST:


Here comes a VERY unpopular opinion about this hyped-up film.
Barbarian is just…meh.

Before anyone sends me death threats or condescending remarks, let me explain myself as I often do in my reviews.

Barbarian is scary. There is no doubt about that! Zach Cregger has mastered the chiller-feeling one gets when being locked in a basement, hearing a door slam shut or tiptoeing through an unknown basement dungeon with a foul smelling odor floating about. There’s no denying that the creepy factor immediately slaps you in the face when a lovely young BNB renter named Tess (Campbell) is confronted by a handsome stranger named Keith (Skarsgard) when she tries to let herself into the Detroit home during a dark and stormy night.

Skarsgard exudes uneasiness as he scopes out this mysterious and strong-willed woman who finally admits that the landlord screwed up the reservation. And what else is there to do except share the house, at least for one night?

My expectations ran amok as I envisioned Keith spiking her tea (although he has a profound conversation with Tess about this), tying her to a bed as his captive or even brainwashing her into believing he is a messiah who has come to claim his next sacrifice in a demon-like cult.

Nope, none of the above.
While the weirdness continues, Tess unlocks new underground dimensions to this house that stands amongst a dilapidated neighborhood and uncovers a most frightening spectacle.

As this unfolds, Justin Long comes crashing on to the screen as the famously spoiled movie/tv star, AJ who finds himself embroiled in a massive sex scandal that is about to wreak sheer havoc on his life. What does he have to do with Tess, Keith and the terror in the BNB? AJ is the owner.

This is where my fright fest begins to dwindle. Unwinding this spool of confusion as to what is lingering beneath this old residence, why and how just made my head spin. And although I don’t need everything spelled out for me, I couldn’t decipher all the pieces to this crazy puzzle. Nor did I want to.

AJ brings the comic relief that makes you relax for 10 seconds at a time, while wondering what the hell is really going on, and what started this idiocy. But like I said, I just no longer cared.

OVERALL: 
What began as a hair-raising horror film soon fell flat on the jumps once the antagonist was revealed and the scenario was explained in a mere throw-away manner. My hope was the originality would take this all the way through to the end, but I was just disappointed by the “That’s it?” ending. Disagree all you want, but that’s my story and I’m sticking with it.


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