Barbarian (2022) Review – A High-Tension Nightmare Of Two Halves

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at Barbarian from 2022.

An Air BnB nightmare

People have really raved about this title, and it is frequently cited as one of the more enjoyable horrors of the 2020s. With that in mind, we checked it out and, for the most part, I agree. Barbarian is a genuinely enjoyable movie. The only problem is, it is a film of two halves, and I am not sure whether the second half is anywhere near as good as the first. Let’s take a look.

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 in the day, 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.

Written and directed by Zach Cregger in his solo feature-length debut, Barbarian has a lot to praise, earning the ReFrame Stamp in recognition of the production’s hiring of women in key roles. Barbarian tells a story of the consequences of abuse and the cycle of misogyny through a few different angles, presenting the viewer with characters who are, ultimately, hugely destructive and demonstrating the issues caused by said characters.

“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. That doesn’t mean it sacrifices scares, though. For at least the first half, this is a really tense horror with some fantastic atmosphere and a very unsettling vibe.

A film of two halves

The problem is, the second half is wildly different from the first, both in vibe and presentation. The first half of Barbarian presents itself as a tense thriller with Tess arriving at the sketchy house in the pouring rain and being forced to spend the night with Keith. You have no real idea what is going on and no idea what the threat is. Something simply doesn’t feel right and that keeps you on edge. It’s legitimately effective stuff. The dark house is obviously hiding secrets and the tension is palpable. Everything feels perfectly executed. 

Around the midway point, Act 1 ends and Act 2 begins in a fairly abrupt fashion. It’s almost like an episode of a show ending and the next one beginning with a completely different, vaguely connected, story. The second half of the film is massively different in both vibe and tension. Justin Long’s AJ is a self-centred, boorish, arrogant character who is going through some personal stuff. He’s on a downswing in his life and his past treatment of women is starting to catch up on him. This is all demonstrated with a strong lean towards the comedic.

A weaker second half

AJ is a bit of a loser, for lack of a better word, and he is presented as so. The tension from the first half of the movie is gone and replaced by scene after scene of silliness before the events of the first part are drawn into the second. It’s a stark difference and it is hard not to feel a bit of whiplash from the change.

“The second half of the movie is nowhere near as scary and the big reveal… leaves something of a sour taste in your mouth.”

The second half of the movie is nowhere near as scary and the big reveal that preceded AJ’s introduction leaves something of a sour taste in your mouth. It’s a case of too much, too soon.

That doesn’t mean the second half has nothing to offer, far from it. AJ is quite comical in his buffoonery, and you do still want to know what, ultimately, is going on in the house. It just doesn’t work anywhere near as well. We get a lot of exposition dump to explain what is going on before the movie begins to head to its climax with some seriously illogical plot points. I can’t shake the feeling that Cregger didn’t quite know where to go with the story and left a lot on the table. The final twenty minutes, in particular, are seriously lacking, with the movie leaning heavily into the predictable and farcical.

Incredibly witty and a hell of a lot of fun

Barbarian is still a fun movie, though. 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 really like it. Tropey scenes of hidden rooms and scary basements are done so well that you are willing to forgive Cregger all his horror movie sins. Even the lacklustre second half features some moments of hilarity, and the backbone of a really interesting story is in here somewhere. Maybe a prequel would be a good idea? 

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

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 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 and takes up a large space, each set offering some fantastic opportunities for creative shots and inventive scares. This is a decent-looking movie and I enjoyed the aspect ratio switch midway through for a flashback scene. Barbarian looks high-budget and is very well-produced though pacing is a bit of an issue. The jarring story switch halfway through feels awkward and poorly executed.

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