phancy.com - horror reviews - MOH 2022

Barbarian



IMDb Info

Release Year: 2022
Runtime: 1h 42m
Country: USA
Language: English
Genre Tags: Horror, Thriller
Plot Summary: A woman staying at an Airbnb discovers that the house she has rented is not what it seems.

Poster - Title Card


phancy.com rating:

phancy.com notes: A wild ride. Impeccable framing, use of color and aspect ratio. The story keeps swerving into a new direction once you think you have a handle on it. So many red flags are ignored, and tension is doled out in breadcrumbs. Even then more derivative portions seem fresh when viewed from a new angle. I kept thinking about the word "barbarian" the entire time, and the movie eventually shows you what it thinks about that in an ending that's both surprising and entirely predictable.


Outside Reviews:

Nick Allen
3 out of 4 stars - rogerebert.com

There's nothing strikingly new to "Barbarian," and its use of a murdered Detroit as a character doesn't do enough to shake off "Don't Breathe" comparisons, but the artistic impulses of Cregger's project make it a bold curiosity. The film has a compelling instinct of when to abruptly cut and fling us from one freaky moment to a different time zone or decade, allowing the viewer to breathe while then paying close attention to how the latest life story will fit in. And there's an ambition in how these new elements are included, creating vignettes of sorts made of cinematographer Zach Kuperstein's different aspect ratios and extensive shots, filling in the movie's thick atmosphere. The title "Barbarian" rings throughout, like the wailing choir and screeching strings from Anna Drubich's score; its significance creates a metaphorical house of mirrors, and disturbingly so.


Leigh Monson
Grade: B+ - Barbarian bashes ahead with a brilliant new vision of horror

Barbarian is the kind of film that leaves you speechless—which is why everyone will tell you to go into it knowing as little as possible. Zach Cregger (Whitest Kids U Know) directs from his own screenplay, revealing a talent for storytelling that horrifically marries the absurd and the relatable. A plain description of the events of this film—which won't be spoiled here—might sound like a prank from a masterful comedian. But Cregger steadily ratchets an escalating sense of tension that pulls viewers into the absurdity, making them believe an outlandish heart-pounding scenario. In other words, his debut as a horror filmmaker is impressive.