Barbarian (2022) Review – A High-Tension Nightmare Debut

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at the horror debut by the utterly brilliant Zach Cregger – Barbarian (2022). Updating this review from the future, if you are interested in the 4K Blu-ray Steelbook of Barbarian, why not check out our review to find out whether it is worth handing over you hard earned cash? Now back to the movie itself.

An Air BnB nightmare

2022 was a glorious year for horror. We had Pearl, X, Deadstream, Smile, and far too many others to even mention. It’s somewhat incredible, really, that one of that years most notable releases came from a debut director with no prior horror resume to speak of.

We originally missed Barbarian back on release but I decided to check it out and see what all the fuss is about. Honestly, I totally get it – it is a genuinely enjoyable movie. I am going to have to talk about the tonal shifts that occur, however, as I feel they may put a few viewers off.

Barbarian follows the story of Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell), a woman heading to Detroit for a job interview. Needing a place to stay, she rents an Air BnB in a sketchy neighbourhood.

Arriving late at night, Tess is dismayed to find out that her rental had been double-booked. Inviting her to stay with him, Keith (Bill Skarsgård) sleeps on the couch while Tess takes the bedroom. Little does she realise that the house has more to hide than simply poor management.

An enormous success

Written and directed by Zach Cregger in his solo feature-length debut, Barbarian has a lot to praise.

I mean, it would be easy to focus on the $46 million box office on a $4 million budget but that’s just part of the story. It currently sits at over 90% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and is enjoying an enviable 7/10 user score on IMDb. That’s incredibly impressive for a debut.

That’s not where the accolades stop, though. It achieved a bunch of award nominations and, more importantly, it earned the ReFrame Stamp for 2022. This is given out in recognition of the production’s hiring of women in key roles. A legitimately fantastic seal of approval.

This isn’t just for show, either. Barbarian tells a story of the consequences of abuse and the cycle of misogyny in manner that feels both respectful and important. It’s ostensibly a horror movie but the key message focuses on the destruction left by horribly abusive men. It’s just turned up to 11, naturally.

“The house has more to hide than simply poor management.”

The fact that it manages to present these serious issues with tongue-in-cheek, almost throughout, is something worthy of note and praise. Barbarian is a legitimately comical movie but, don’t worry, it’s still incredibly tense and really quite scary.

Utterly compelling opening

This movie is a tale of two halves… or three acts, as the case may be. We open with a rather serious and incredibly tense domestic thriller, before shifting into something that is far closer to a horror with comedy leanings, and then wrapping up with a full-blown action horror.

At the start of the film, we know absolutely nothing at all and that’s the best way to go into Barbarian. We simply know that Tess needs somewhere to stay, she’s in a sketchy part of town, and her Airbnb is double booked. This random dude currently staying at her digs seems decent enough but how can we be sure?

Zach Cregger is absolutely weaponising your natural instinct to distrust the unfamiliar.

He’s about to force you to drop your defenses, however, and that’s when things get seriously scary. Now, I obviously can’t spoil the film for you but, let’s just say, this whole situation is bizarre and it’s about to get a lot more unsettling.

Tess ventures into the basement and gets locked in. She’s absolutely terrified because something seems horribly amiss but, luckily, Keith shows up. He helps her out, but seems utterly unconvinced by her apparent fear.

Is he hiding something down there? Is he being completely honest? Was it all just in Tess’s head? It’s edge of your seat stuff and you will be dying to know what happens next.

The first thirty minutes are absolutely suffocated with a palpable sense of tension as Cregger explores corners of the house that you would simply rather avoid. It’s entirely compelling, genuinely tense, and hard to look away from. It’s about to take a sharp shift, however.

A massive narrative pivot

Cregger does not want you to feel comfortable, here. He doesn’t want you figuring anything out so we are about to take a sharp and abrupt turn away from the house to meet another character.

I hope you enjoy cliffhangers because you are in for a bit of a wait!

We are about to meet Justin Long’s AJ. AJ is a self-centred, boorish, arrogant character who is going through some personal stuff that is entirely down to his own doing, though he would prefer not to admit that.

“Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s still very enjoyable; it’s just different.”

He’s on a self inflicted downswing in life and his past treatment of women is starting to catch up to him.

AJ is a loser, for lack of a better word, and he is presented as so. The tension from the first half of the movie is suddenly replaced by an equal dose of light comedy. He seems to be messing up in just about every way and his very obvious selfishness leads him from one bad situation right through to the next.

A huge tonal shift

Let’s be honest for a second, this is a stark difference from what came before it. It is hard not to feel a bit of tonal whiplash from the change. It takes a little while for Act 1 and Act 2 to meet, as well, so I can imagine some viewers feeling a bit checked out, here.

I can’t shake the feeling that Cregger didn’t quite know where to go with the story and so just pulled the handbrake and hit a power-slide in a completely different direction.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s still very enjoyable; it’s just different.

We are going to need a fair bit of exposition dumping, a few flashbacks, and a heavy dose of illogical character actions to get back on track.

Once we do, the tone switches up again in Act 3 into full blown action horror. It’s all intense chase scenes, arms being ripped off, and faces being smashed in. You can’t say that Barbarian doesn’t offer a lot of variety. It’s enjoyable but in a completely different way.

Incredibly witty and a hell of a lot of fun

Barbarian is an immensely fun movie, but the tonal disparity and plot changes might put a few people off. With that having been said, the witty writing and captivating first half make it worth the price of entry alone.

“The witty writing and captivating first half make it worth the price of entry alone.”

There is so much tension in those early moments that it’s hard not to spend the entire time on the edge of your seat. Tropey scenes of hidden rooms and scary basements are done so well that you are willing to forgive Cregger all his horror movie sins.

Dark tunnels, scary sounds bouncing off walls, a complete lack of knowing what is around each and every corner. It’s captivating!

Even the more comedic stuff works tremendously well. The writing is witty enough to make the laughs feel organic and the moments of farce are simply a ton of fun.

The return to full blown Gonzo horror later on is, perhaps, the weakest part of the movie with the ending really leaving a lot to be desired. There’s still enough gore and hilarity to keep it feeling enjoyable, however, even when it doesn’t feel particularly satisfying.

Fantastic acting and interesting cinematography

Acting is very solid throughout.

Bill Skarsgård does a nice job with an interesting role and doesn’t slip up too much on the accent. Justin Long is utterly fantastic. I used to hate him, but my opinion has flipped completely in recent years. He’s brilliant, playing the horribly smarmy AJ perfectly and feeling extremely natural in the role.

The star of the show is definitely Georgina Campbell, though. We recently watched her in Lovely, Dark and Deep and The Watchers and she was excellent in both. She is equally capable here and just does a brilliant job with whatever she is asked to do.

Cinematography is decent, as is direction. The cramped house somehow expands to encompass numerous sets, each of which offers fantastic opportunities for creative shots and inventive scares.

Expect some heavy artificial grain, a soft picture, and a lot of texture thanks to the somewhat retro, grimy styling Cregger goes for, here. You will also want to watch with HDR10 or Dolby Vision to get the most out of those dark scenes.

All in all, this is a decent-looking movie and I enjoyed the aspect ratio switch and oversaturation midway through for a flashback scene. Barbarian looks very high-budget. Oh, and a special shout out to the sound design in those underground sections… very scary.

Barbarian is a tremendously strong debut for Zach Cregger. The first half is substantially stronger than the second but even the sudden pivot to comedy works really well. I’d be quite interested to see a prequel to this film as I think there is a lot of meat left on the bones, here.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.