FearTASTIC Vault O’FUN #151
Barbarian (2022)
Director(s): Zach Cregger
Writer(s): Zach Cregger
Starring: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard, Justin Long
That Zach Cregger guy? He’s going to be a problem.
Okay, I meant that in the COOL way, like how GEN Z/ GEN ALPHA says it where the person in question is someone that is groundbreaking and making waves and there will be a problem to the SYSTEM, get it?!? Okay, perhaps the slang is not for me, but the main point being is that Zach Cregger is a phenomenal writer/director of some of the most clever horror movies in the last couple years; two in fact that I’ll be talking about in our first ever BACK-TO-BACK DIRECTOR SERIES in our FearTastic Vault because it’s worth noting that within three years, Zach has been able to establish himself as solid figure in the macabre world with is original style of storytelling that can be summed up as sub-genre misdirection (at least to me)!
Everything about the movie Barbarian, from the intriguing poster to the trailer, and hell, the first half of the movie makes you think you are watching a type of horror movie that you’ve seen before and there’s nothing wrong with that because even by those standards, Cregger does a great job. The plot is very straightforward where our main character Tess arrives at a rented house that has inadvertently been double booked with another person, Keith. From there, you’re already thinking that there may be something wrong with Keith as again, Cregger hits all the right notes of this being a solid horror flick about why people should be weary of sharing a random house with strangers but as the movie unfolds, the magic of the storytelling begins to morph into another plot and ultimately, you realize that this has become a whole other horror movie with a different set of standards for this horror sub-genre!
The beauty of the way the storytelling unfolds is it feels like it gets peeled back naturally; it doesn’t feel forced or rushed and you don’t feel like you were tricked into it or anything, this is not the same as a M. Night flick where there’s a plot twist, this is simply a change in course of storytelling. What you thought this story was about was false and frankly, that’s YOUR fault for assuming and now you’re on another adventure that is completely new to you; nothing in the trailer, poster, etc. could have prepared you for this since there was no inclination that what you are watching was the story that’s currently playing on screen. That is the beauty of Cregger’s storytelling! It’s like halfway through the movie, you’re looking at it with brand new eyes with NO expectations and so you can appreciate the movie with absolutely no bias.
There’s a purity to that which I appreciate as a movie fan and the fact that it’s still written so well regardless of the change in course, makes the landing that much better. The performances of the actors in this thing only feeds the storytelling aspect of the flick as the layers of the movie get peeled back to explain the main story. Again, Skargard introduces you to one story and as you move forward you get introduced to Justin Long’s story which is another thing entirely and their performances are what makes it seamless and what ties it together is Georgina’s overall performance which I can’t get into detail without tip-toeing into Spoiler-ville so we can just say that their storylines all intertwine beautifully and that their performances are critical to ensure that the transition is flawless.
As much as I could wax poetic about Cregger’s cleverness about the misdirection of the initial storyline, the actual horror elements of the ACTUAL storyline are top notch! Keeping this review as spoiler free as possible but by the time we get to the meat of the tale, there is plenty of the kind of elements of suspense, gore, effects, makeup, etc. that you would expect from that kind of horror sub-genre and it is done stupendously which means that Cregger doesn’t ONLY rely on the misdirection element of his storytelling to drive this movie. It would be so easy to call it day once he found his niche and become complacent knowing that he created a genre where the audience is already flabbergasted and satisfied that he brought something original to the table but he chose to take it all the way and keep true to the genre and made sure that the horror itself was still in tact and clearly made it a priority. There were scenes in the flick that made me so happy as a horror flick because once I understood the assignment, I adjusted my expectations accordingly and man, this film NAILED the expectations. The right amount of gore, the best kinds kills and effects/makeup throughout the movie were very entertaining and fit well with the story being told.
I thoroughly enjoyed the misdirection of this flick and appreciate Cregger’s boldness in his storytelling which I could imagine at the time of pitching this thing to the studio, may have been a gamble, so kudos to everyone who took that gamble and thank goodness the audience was patient and open enough to have this gamble pay off!
Life is FAR more interesting when we take interest in things that scare us.