If you’re looking for a twisted, multi-layered and thought-provoking thriller for your next movie night, look no further.
Writer and director Zach Cregger took the simple concept of booking a rental home and spun it into a haunting depiction of what could be a real-life horror for vacation goers.
Tess, a young woman staying in a sketchy area of Detroit for a job interview, arrives to a quaint single-family home in the late hours of the night. Here she discovers the residence is already occupied by a man named Keith.
Confused, the pair compare booking confirmations and verify the dates and address are correct. Just when Tess is about to leave, Keith offers to split the rental property for the night so they both can stay. He offers the bedroom, opting for the sofa.
Against all proper judgment, a tired and frustrated Tess agrees and gets comfortable in the house.
It’s not the poor judgment call of spending the night with a strange man in a random house that’s worrisome but rather what hidden secrets are beneath the surface.
Cregger clearly used talented actors to his advantage, casting an emotional and passionate Georgina Campbell as Tess, and horror film veteran, Bill Skarsgård, who starred as Pennywise the clown in the hit movie It.
After some twists in the plot that leave you confused, a Hollywood man named AJ, played by Justin Long, shows up at the same rental house. If you weren’t thrown for a loop yet, you are now. How could these two stories possibly be related? And you won’t understand until later, putting the viewer on the edge of their seat waiting for what could happen next.
Cregger took a simple concept, and something we’ve seen before, and creatively added puzzle piece details and Easter Eggs throughout the entirety of the film.
By jumping to different time zones and cutting to new story lines, Cregger interrupts the viewer’s ideas. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, you’re more confused than you were before.
The less you know going into the theatre, the better.
Despite the confusion, the film is a crowd pleaser. The 20th Century Studios and New Regency film opened and earned a whopping $10 million in domestic box office sales during its first weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The film received a score of 92 per cent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Yet, even with a promising critic score, the abrupt ending leaves you asking questions and wanting more.
Recommended to watch in a pitch-black theatre to add to the suspense and overall ambience.
If you want to spend your night on the edge of your seat, and with chills running through your spine, Barbarian is the movie for you but brace yourself for jump scares… there are lots of them.