‘Barbarian’ Review: “The Must-See Horror Event of 2022”
When was the last time a film surprised you? Like, really surprised you? Not in the sense that it was simply better or worse than expected. I’m talking sitting down in a dark theater and letting a movie play you like a fiddle. The last time that happened was probably last September’s camp romp Malignant. For 2022, that film is undoubtedly Zach Cregger’s Barbarian, a positively unhinged roller coaster of a genre picture.
The origins of Barbarian are as strange as the film they spawned. Writer/director Zach Cregger originates as a founding member of influential comedy troupe “The Whitest Kids U’ Know”, best known for their television series of the same name. His lone other theatrical directing credit is co-helming 2009’s poorly received Miss March. Those humble beginnings unburden Barbarian from expectation. Its initial set-up is simple, though clever. Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives in Detroit for a job interview, only to find her Air BnB has been double booked, with the kind, though slightly off Keith (Bill Skarsgard) inhabiting it. He invites her to stay the night, which she reluctantly accepts.
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Barbarian‘s first act revels in quiet discomfort. Campbell, a standout in the “Hang the DJ” episode of Black Mirror as well as SyFy’s Krypton, conveys a lot simply on her face. And Skarsgard is, well, suitably uncanny as always. Cregger’s script and tight direction zero in on the fears of being a woman in the company of a man with unknown intention. Playing almost like a so-called “elevated” horror film, Barbarian‘s first act isn’t unlike something A24 routinely distributes. Stress builds and builds until it’s unbearable, and then… Barbarian completely shifts gears.
Something happens that completely changes what the film is and what notion the audience has about it. It’s a sharp jolt that inspires nervous laughter. The best way to go see this movie is with no knowledge of the specifics of its plot being the set-up whatsoever. I’m going to do my best to preserve that experience. Barbarian makes a habit of constantly trying new things. New characters suddenly come into the plot, the most memorable of which is Justin Long in a career-best performance that continues his lovely oddball streak established in Tusk. It gleefully switches tones with the drop of a hat. You never know where to laugh, scream, or pity. It’s a euphoric feeling.
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Even locations, time periods, and who the protagonist is are in flux. The watchful eye of cinematographer Zack Kuperstein accentuates all these shifts with a visual style that provides jarring changes in color palettes, fidelity, and everything in between. Yet, at no point do all the disparate parts of Barbarian fail to cohere. Cregger imbues the entire film with unifying themes, any of which can be chosen to fixate on by a discerning viewer. Gentrification, race, misogyny, ego; there’s a lot at play here, and nearly all of it lands. Most importantly, however, never at any point does the unpredictable nature of Barbarian feel like a flashy cop-out.
Really, I don’t see any other way this story could’ve been told. It just feels… right. Barbarian is the kind of splashy, deceptively smart genre exercise that will breed countless screenwriters who will seek to emulate what it does so well. It’s in a league of its own. A film that’s thrilling as an exercise in making the audience go from “what the hell?” to “hell yeah!”. Furthermore, Barbarian feels like the birth of one of the horror genre’s next great artists. If you’re going to see one movie this year, make it Barbarian. This is, without question, the horror event of 2022. – James Preston Poole
Rating: 10/10
Barbarian is now in theaters.