Barbarian

UK Release Date. 28 October 2022
Certification. 18
Running Time. 1 hours 42 mins
Director. Zach Cregger
Cast. Georgina Campbell, Justin Long, Bill Skarsgård.
Rating. 27%

Review.

On visiting Detroit for a job interview, Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives at her pre-booked Airbnb only to find 476 Barbary Street already occupied by another guest, the mysterious Keith (Bill Skarsgård). 

With this initial premise, Barbarian highlights the level of blind trust required when using these faceless online accommodation providers. Unsettled and irate, the apparently hospitable Keith invites Tess into the house to resolve the matter. The inevitable gender tension is immediately established despite the convivial and cordial gestures offered by Keith, like allowing Tess to use the bathroom, making her a hot beverage and eventually offering her his bed for the night. 

The initial interchange between Tess and Keith is intense as first time director, Zach Cregger establishes and elevates the inexorable tension. He deftly uses cinematography to accentuate Keith's foreboding outline in doorways. Equally, Tess's deliberate routine of fastidiously locking every door in a new room does little to allay the audience's unease at the situation. The English actress, Georgina Campbell is impressive in the role of Tess and her actions for the most part are plausible. 

But at the height of psychological torment, Barbarian introduces a second (and third) storyline. The second storyline, defined by Justin Long's at-odds comedic portrayal of film director, AJ erodes the tension and suspense created in the opening chapter of the film. Barbarian is a film that ultimately falters when the nuanced threat and dread is replaced by repeated jump scares and extreme grindhouse lawlessness and debauchery.