Barbarian
★ ★★★
Why do horror movies keep ruining good things? I'm not an avid user of Airbnb, but now I'm going to check every crevice of my future rentals before settling in. I went into Barbarian not knowing or seeing anything about it. I heard good buzz and I had an opportunity to go the theater, and it definitely lives up to its hype. Director Zach Cregger does a masterful job of playing with your expectations and he unravels this twisted tale in inventive and curious ways.
I literally felt like I was in a haunted house, turning around dark, unknown corners, not knowing what to expect. But you also get an unexpected dose of humor and a very philosophical take about gender dynamics. The trio of Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long are brilliant in this movie. Each embody different character tropes that we often find in horror movies, but like the movie itself, make decisions that are unpredictable. Georgina Campbell is a fresh face that I won't be surprised we'll see pop up in other leading roles. I forgot how funny and reliable Justing Long can be for a film and Cregger uses Skarsgård's mysterious facade masterfully. It's no coincidence that the actor that played Pennywise is used to thwart the audience's preconceived notions.
Like the movie X from this year, it seems like horror movies are the only genre lately that is really taking chances, but also trying to say a lot in its narrative. Barbarian (like X) doesn't quite stick the landing to its unusual set up, but it's riveting nonetheless and will spark a lot of fun conversation.
