![]() ![]() What kind of nightmare fodder happened here? If she gets out alive, should she mention the torture chamber in her guest review? Around one dark corner, Tess discovers a detention room of some kind, abandoned except for a dingy cot, old camera and grimy handprint on the wall. Downstairs, there are hallways, tunnels and secret passages probably best left unexplored - not that it stops her from investigating. The next day, against her better judgment, she opens it to discover an ominous basement untouched by whatever cozy attention their hosts put into the main house. That first night, Tess notices a door at the end of the hallway that seems to open by itself. For female audiences, this corresponds to a real-world fear of how not to become a #MeToo victim, then blindsides us with a very different kind of terror. To Cregger’s credit, the sense of dread he creates is the stuff that the very best horror movies are made of. Yes, there is a monster lurking in this house, but it’s not this man, and no man can help Tess defeat it. (The gnarly but curiously unspecific title is even less helpful in preparing the viewer.) Set in Detroit’s all-but-abandoned Brightmoor district, this lead-in is deliciously uncomfortable, playing on fears that women aren’t safe among unknown men - but it’s not at all indicative of where the film is headed. Like that Alfred Hitchcock classic, “Barbarian” also resets abruptly after a long and misleading first act. Writer-director Zach Cregger assumes you’ve seen “Psycho” or, if not, that the psychic trauma of that film has seeped into our culture enough that no 21st-century woman travels without worrying to some degree that any sweet, seemingly nonthreatening stranger she meets on the road could be a serial killer. Should she really believe they double-booked the same place in a derelict Detroit neighborhood? Or is there another reason he’s there? What if he’s some kind of rapist or ax murderer? Is the flimsy lock on her bedroom enough to protect her should he turn violent? Tess does have certain survival instincts (she’s sharp enough to decline a drink from this guy, who calls himself “Keith”), and she has empathy, too, which will become kind of a defining characteristic later on, when things get super-crazy and you just want her to get out of town as fast as possible. But it would be wrong to think you have “Barbarian” figured out.įor Tess, there are plenty of other red flags in the way her unexpected roommate behaves. For audiences, this casting is a clue Tess is in for a scary stay. It’s already late, and she decides to stay - this despite the fact that the stranger sharing the house is played by Bill Skarsgård (the actor who embodied Pennywise in the recent “It” remake). What would you do? Check in anyway and hope for the best? Or take the mix-up as a sign and get the heck out? In “ Barbarian,” Tess (Georgina Campbell) makes the wrong decision. Imagine showing up for an Airbnb rental, only to discover that another guest is already there. ![]()
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