Barbarian (2022) Review: The $4.5M Horror That Made $45M and Redefined Airbnb Nightmares

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source: tv.lk21

Synopsis:

Barbarian (2022) is a horror and thriller genre film directed by Zach Cregger. The film has a runtime of 102 minutes (1 hour 42 minutes) and is Rated R. Barbarian was made with a budget of only $4.5 million and grossed $45.4 million at the Box Office, making it one of the most profitable horror films of 2022.

Tess Marshall arrives in Detroit late at night for a job interview. She has already booked a rental house via Airbnb. The problem is, the house is double-booked. A strange man named Keith is already inside. It's pouring rain, it's dark, and there are no vacant hotels. Tess is forced to stay the night. Tess discovers that something is wrong with the house's basement — there is a secret corridor, hidden rooms, a dirty mattress, and a camera. It turns out the house belongs to Frank, a serial killer and rapist from the 80s who kidnapped women and locked them underground for decades. The result of that serial rape is the birth of "The Mother," a physically deformed woman born from repeated incest, who is extremely possessive and considers everyone to be her baby that she must take care of. In the middle of the film, we are shifted to the story of AJ Gilbride, a Hollywood actor who is bankrupt due to a sexual harassment case, and who is now the owner of that Airbnb rental house. He comes to Detroit to sell the house to pay for his lawyer, and he ends up going down into the basement as well. In the end, Tess, AJ, and The Mother are trapped in a survival horror that is brutal, tragic, and surprisingly emotional. The tagline is perfect: "Some stay for a night. Some stay for a week. Some never leave."

This is not a cheap jumpscare film. According to critics, Barbarian's strength lies in 3 things.

1. A daring story structure. The film is divided into 3 acts with very different tones. Act 1: A social thriller about a woman's trust issues versus a strange man. Act 2: A dark satire about a sleazy Hollywood guy. Act 3: Pure creature horror. But it all connects.
2. Its subtext is deep. Zach Cregger said he wrote this film after reading the book The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. It's about the small red flags that women feel every day. The empty and abandoned Detroit also becomes a metaphor for America's past sins that have been buried.
3. "The Mother." She is not your typical evil monster. She is the most tragic victim. All of her violence comes from trauma and a distorted maternal instinct.

The weakness? The third act feels a bit rushed and some of AJ's character decisions are deliberately made to be stupid to make the audience annoyed.

This film stars: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis and more.

In my opinion:

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Since watching the film Weapons and then Resident Evil, I have become a huge fan of Zach Cregger. And when giving several film reviews (including Resident Evil), I often use his films as a reference, namely Weapons and Barbarian. Fun fact, several times I mentioned the film Barbarian as a reference, but in fact I had NOT watched the film Barbarian.. Hahaha.. Embarrassing, right? As penance, I have watched it and will give an honest review on this blog.

I will go straight to the visuals and cinematography. From this film, I am not surprised that Zach Cregger has become one of the geniuses in horror films. One of the unique things is the camera work and its POV. In addition to the 1st person + negative space mode (ex: dark space, emptiness), there is a scene where the camera switches to 3rd person mode or can also be called Over The Shoulder. It's not really a new thing, but for me, this breaks the 'boredom' where horror film shots have been the same all this time. As a result, the audience (especially me) is not bored to keep watching until the end.

In terms of story, it's actually not new enough, it even reminds me of Leatherface. I mean, there is a terrifying figure in the basement as if hidden from the world. This film tells the story of a woman who is a victim of a man's madness, a psychopath and a pervert. The fruit of this evil is the birth of the figure "The Mother." This figure will give us feelings of fear, horror, and pity at the same time, like what we feel for the character Thanos in the MCU.

It starts with the characters Tess and Keith as tenants of a rental house via Airbnb which turns out to be double-booked. Until in the end they have to face "The Mother." Then in the middle of the story, AJ is introduced, a scandal-ridden artist who turns out to be the owner of that rental house. When AJ wants to sell the house for extra money, unfortunately he has to face "The Mother" as well. Zach skillfully weaves the story together until it merges at the end of the film and of course there are surprises in it.

But for me, this neat story has some oddities. First, it is not really explained how Keith and Tess could book the same house and in the same period? Second, why didn't AJ know that his house was being rented out by Airbnb? Third, why didn't AJ know the entire house he owned, which turned out to have a deep basement? Maybe I missed some points, so correct me if I'm wrong.

I heard this film is what launched Zach Cregger's name. The difference between other horror films and Zach's is very noticeable. This is a breath of fresh air in the world of horror films. Hopefully Zach Cregger will continue to make other great films, because he is AWESOME!

For this one is 8/10.

Knowledge Center:

Barbarian (2022) | Lesson: Trust Your Intuition. The film was directly inspired by Gavin de Becker's 1997 bestseller The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence. Director Zach Cregger read a chapter about subtle "Pre-Incident Indicators" women are taught to ignore to avoid seeming rude. The entire first act — the double-booked Detroit Airbnb, the unwanted tea, the forced help with luggage — is built from those red flags. The lesson: Your body notices danger before your mind can explain it. 

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You think Barbarian is a film about a monster in the basement? Wrong. Its director, Zach Cregger, said this film was initially just a writing exercise. 10 years before this film was made, he read a non-fiction book by security consultant Gavin de Becker entitled The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence (1997). In that book there is a special chapter for women. De Becker said, "Society often teaches women to ignore the small alarm inside them so they don't appear 'impolite' or 'like a bitch.' Yet that alarm is an evolutionary gift."

Cregger realized, "As a man, I never thought that half the population is a potential threat. I live in a different psychological landscape." From there he made an exercise, "What if I create a scene where the man seems super nice, but I slip in ALL the little red flags that I as a man would ignore?"

The result is the first 30 minutes of Barbarian.

3 red flags in the film that were taken directly from the book:

1. Forced Favor. Keith carries Tess's luggage even though Tess already said "no need." He makes tea even though Tess said she didn't want any. This is a technique to make the victim feel indebted.
2. Unsolicited Compliment. A compliment that is out of place to lower defenses.
3. Unwanted Touch. Touching personal belongings or non-sexual physical touch without initiative from the woman.

Cregger deliberately made Keith do all of them. Male viewers think "what a nice guy," female viewers scream "DON'T GO IN!" Ironically, Keith turns out not to be the barbarian. The real barbarian is underground. Cregger said this is a metaphor — the real fears of women on the surface (the double-booked Airbnb) often obscure the much older and more systemic patriarchal danger buried beneath, like Frank.

The book The Gift of Fear says intuition is not mystical. It is a super-fast calculation of the brain from small signals. If your hair stands on end for no clear reason, DO NOT ignore it.