I freely admit that I’m not a horror person, but I am a member of a horror-loving family, so lately I’ve been pushing my limits with the genre (aka trying to keep my eyes uncovered while watching scary movies). That’s why I finally ended up watching Barbarian on Netflix. I’m still recovering.
Barbarian came out in theaters in August 2022 and it quickly amassed a 92% “Certified Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. The horror movie, from director Zach Cregger (who has another anticipated movie coming up in 2025, Weapons), features Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård (who is also an executive producer) and Justin Long.
The story is creepy from the outset. Tess (Campbell) arrives at her AirBnB in the middle of a stormy night to find that someone else, Keith (Skarsgård) is already there. With no hotels available, they decide to share the house until they can get things straightened out.
Despite seeming to be nice, Tess is understandably wary of Keith. It doesn’t help when she awakens to find her bedroom door open, putting her in direct line of sight of Keith, who is asleep on the couch. It’s not long before they discover that their concerns were actually misplaced, because they have much bigger things to worry about.
Long plays AJ, a Hollywood actor who finds himself in the middle of a scandal. In need of money, he returns to Detroit with intentions of selling off his rental property, only to find that it looks like there are still people there and that the square footage doesn’t exactly match up. What follows is the stuff nightmares are made of.
With the basic setup in mind, Barbarian has a rather unique plot twist that I really didn’t see coming. I’m still trying to figure it out, honestly. It was disturbing and unsettling and intriguing til the very end.
I have to admit that I’m never ready for all of the jump scares that invariably come with horror movies, but in the case of Barbarian there were things that were chilling that had nothing to do with horror and everything to do with the messed up things that people do. The careful balance between real-life ick and the actual horror elements made for a really refreshing watch.
There are also some great moments of levity in the movie. As I mentioned, Skarsgård is an executive producer and I have a feeling he may have influenced the script because there are a few lines that wouldn’t be nearly as good if you didn’t know he has starred in several horror productions already, including his role as the titular creeper in the IT franchise.
If you’re a horror fans and you haven’t had a chance to watch Barbarian, it’s a great way to spend the evening (if you want some other options on that front, check out our best Netflix movies feature). I guarantee you’ll be thinking about it long after the credits roll.
Barbarian is available to stream on Netflix.