Barbarian (2022)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Barbarian (2022)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Length:  1h 42min
Rating: R
Director: Zach Cregger
Writer: Zach Cregger
Actors: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis, Richard Brake, Kurt Braunohler, Jaymes Butler, Sophie Sörensen, Rachel Fowler, JR Esposito, Kate Nichols, Kate Bosworth, Brooke Dillman, Sara Paxton, Will Greenberg

Metacritic Blurb: In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that her rental has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway, but soon discovers that there is much more to be afraid of in the house than the other house guest.

Cat’s Point of View:
The first time I watched Barbarian; I did have some expectations because I had watched the trailer in preparation for September 2022’s Top 20list. This made my #11 spot and Selina had Barbarian listed as her #12. In another month, it might have cracked the Top 10 for me, but it had really stiff competition at the time with the likes of The Munsters reboot, Clerks III, and Hocus Pocus 2 releasing during the same general timeframe. I digress…

The trailer had given me chills and left me with a lingering sense of disquiet and dread, as well as many questions. I compared my initial perception of the story to a crazy amalgamation of nightmare Reddit stories and an Airbnb double-booking from hell.

That being said, it’s almost spoilers to even talk about that much of the plot. I think the trailer actually gives away too much. If you want the full impact of this movie – go watch it blind. Don’t watch the trailer, and try to forget anything you’ve read here that has given anything away.

If you need some training wheels with your psychological horror and thrills, then some fore-knowledge might soften the blow of what’s to come…a little.

Barbarian does, in fact, offer us a bleak story of barbarism on multiple levels, in addition to the wink wink, nudge nudge play on words involving the film’s setting. Some of it is quite intentional, while, I’ve read that writer and director, Zach Cregger (The Civil War on Drugs, Newsboyz, Weapons) chalks some up to coincidence.

Whether the many fan-theorized layers to the title of Barbarian are substantiated or not is beside the point, however. Cregger has woven together a truly horrific story that was cringe-inducing and eerily plausible (if a bit far-fetched).

I am really looking forward to watching Cregger’s new horror movie that is releasing soon in 2025. With the skillful twists and turns he employed with Barbarian, I expect that not only will the next one hit hard, but it will find a way to blindside audiences with chilling surprises much like Barbarian did.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 92%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –70%
Metascore – 78%
Metacritic User Score – 6.8/10
IMDB Score – 7.0/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5

Movie Trailer: