Spoilers for Barbarian ahead…

Plot Synopsis

Barbarian (2022) starts out as a horror movie about a girl named Tess (Georgina Campbell) who is double booked in a Detroit AirBnB with an unsettling stranger named Keith (Bill Skarsgård). The movie takes a sharp right turn when Tess discovers a hidden room in the basement of the house.

She leaves the house, where the neighborhood is less than safe. When Keith returns to the house, he doesn’t believe Tess’s concern, and disappears into the basement, uncovering carved out tunnels. Keith and her are attacked by a terrifying, deformed woman, with Keith being killed immediately. 

Act 2 of the movie focuses on the owner of the AirBnB, actor AJ (Justin Long) whose career comes to crashing halt when rape allegations are made against him. He discovers the tunnels and the man who built them, a serial rapist named Frank, who spent his life abducting and inbreeding women in his tunnel. The deformed woman is a product of years of incest and inbreeding, who views Tess as her “baby”. The movie ends in a heart pounding chase sequence where AJ becomes the antagonist, attempting to sacrifice Tess to save himself, but the woman saves her and murders AJ. In a moving closing scene, the woman allows Tess to fatally shoot her. 

Acting: 4 out of 5

The stand out acting performance goes to Justin Long as AJ. The character is unbelievably unlikeable and Long plays it to a level of concerningly conviction. He captures the arrogance, rage, and selflessness that so often come with accused sexual assaulters. 

As a risk with many horror films, the acting occasionally wanders into a gimmicky feeling, but ultimately, the movie had impressive performances all around, especially from the lead, Tess, played by Georgina Campbell. 

Plot Intrigue: 5 out of 5 

The unique structure of this movie kept things interesting and upbeat by cutting away right before climatic moments. There were multiple times where I looked at the time left in the movie and wondered “what else could possibly happen?”. The movie moves from Act 1, focusing on Tess and Keith’s relationship to Act 2, AJ’s character, and ends on Act 3, the origin of the tunnels and Tess’s escape.

Ending: 5 out of 5

Barbarian didn’t fall into the trap of hinging the ending on a shocking twist or grand reveal. It created a thoughtful, metaphorical scene that reflected the underpinnings of rape culture, and the dangers of the power structures between men and women. For instance, instead of giving AJ, the rapist, a redemption arc by saving Tess from danger, the cycle continues with his sacrifice of Tess and then his hasty apologies, claiming he had no sake in the matter. 

Director Decisions: 3 out of 5

The director’s decisions in this film were unremarkable compared to other standout elements. Some exploratory decisions drew my attention, like filming Frank, the original antagonist, from behind to make him seem like a monster or alien. Unfortunately, some decisions drew my attention in a negative way, like the shaky camera that was present only in Act 1, seemingly at random. 

Characters: 4 out of 5

Barbarian is a masterclass in crafting a subtle commentary on the different types of men when interacting with women, especially in the context of rape allegations. On one side of the spectrum we have Keith, who is largely harmless but still refuses to take Tess’s word about the creepy basement as truth, ultimately leading to his death. On the opposite end rests Frank, who kidnaps and abuses women for his entire life. AJ, of course, wants to believe he is closer to Keith, but his behavior suggests he may be closer to Frank. He rationalizes, lies, and ignores his behavior for the entirety of the time he’s on screen, a powerful parallel to real-world culture. 

Average Score: 88%