Writer/director Zach Cregger's Barbarian is horrifying, suspenseful and above all, brilliant. It twists and reels, then resumes with repeated bang. It's also basic in its uncooked conceptualization: forever peculiar but so uncluttered as to be profound.
It starts with an awkward, if not near-contentious rental conundrum (in a dilapidated neighborhood, no less), where a frustrated young lady, played by Georgina Campbell, appears at a "home" where a languid young man, Bill Skarsgard (It's Pennywise) has made camp. How did both come to be booked at the same spot? Who knows? But the two compromise, with the young man allowing the young lady to stay, from which a friendship (and a a budding romance) builds.
But when our heroine returns to the temporary station after a successful job interview, she discovers the abode harbors more than she realized, including hidden corridors and threatening props. Is her almost boyfriend linked to this bizarre ambiance, or is he as much a pawn in the deepening cat-and-mouse game? "Ay, there lies the rub."
Justin (Jeepers Creepers/Tusk) Long's sit-com hot-shot enters thereafter, accused of rape by a costar and to pay attorney fees, he's forced to sell some properties, i.e. the aforementioned. When the actor visits his fund-raising dump, he disinters the same mysterious layers, and from there the horror kicks in full throttle.
Richard (The Munsters '22) Brake's flashback caps it all, constructing a Tarantino-ish puzzle piece that explains the later monsterizations, along with a maternal but startling Matthew Patrick Davis appearance that's sure to freak one out till the cows come home.
To reveal any more would spoil the plot, though by the ens, one will be grateful for having been kept in the dark, but unhinged by Cregger's sinister reveal.
Barbarian's many lead-up manipulations are the prime cause of its long-term success, working like a string of magic tricks, while referencing classic, splatter/slasher foundations (Texas Chainsaw, Hills Have Eyes, Last House on the Left, Friday the 13th and Halloween), with Scream and Scream Again's daring juxtaposing at its heart. (In addition, there are traces of Frantic, Breakdown and Dying Room Only in one of its best, nail-biting segments.) However, Barbarian, for the sake of its barbarous tease, is also an avant-garde, weird-ass experiment all unto itself and for better or worse, destined for simulation.
I can't help but recommend this frightful flick, but be warned: Barbarian will haunt you for days on end, fueling your paranoia and cynicism, but in light of today's deceitful world, where nothing is ever quite as it seems, that's probably a good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment