Running time: 103 minutes
Starring: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis
Directed by: Zach Cregger
The story: When a woman arrives at her Airbnb only to discover that someone else is already staying there, she decides against her better judgment to stay the night.
The verdict: Barbarian is a slightly tricky film to review. Not because of its quality or lack of but because this is a film best gone into with as little prior knowledge as possible. With that in mind, this review will be reasonably short but equally reasonably sweet.
Barbarian was brilliant fun. Not only is it a film with three very distinct acts, it is a film that wrongfoots the audience from the start and in the best possible way. Barbarian sets up the perfect horror scenario and then flips it in a brutal and shocking way. The way that the rug is pulled out from the audience’s feet makes it such an engaging watch but also it hits all those horror notes - it’s tense, it’s scary and it’s brutal.
The cast is great and each main character has a distinctive personality that gives them a realism that can often be lacking in similar films. As is often the case in horror, there are moments where you are frustrated with the characters’ choices but it is out of fear for them rather than being annoyed at the implausibility. The standout for me was definitely Bill Skarsgård but no one could be faulted.
From a technical perspective, I really enjoyed the cinematography and visuals of Barbarian. The film looks smooth throughout regardless of what location it’s in and keeps a horror feel whilst never detracting from any other aspects. The score was also really effective.
I don’t want to say too much more in fear of ruining any of the surprises but safe to say Barbarian is up there as one of my favourite horrors of the year so far. Loved it.
The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a half
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