Barbarian( 2022/ Horror/ Mystery/ Disney Hotstar)
Director- Zach Cregger
Cast – Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis
A young woman arrives at her pre-booked AirBnB to find someone already staying in.
A sold out hotel inventory of the town leaves her with no choice but to stay in with the stranger for the night.
But don’t you worry.
Neither the stranger turns out to be a problem nor her lack of options.
I have realised that the sticky situations, characters find themselves in,in the horror flicks. are often the result of their silly and overtly bold decisions.
But much as you wish that they didn’t, they are ultimately the source of your adrenaline bursts, frayed nerves and thumping hearts… the very reason we watch horror for.
And Barbarian fares fairly high in these aspects.
In the first act, it revs up a tension so high that your nerves are taut enough to create a twang. There were scenes where I had to take a break just to give a breather to my pulse rate.
It’s amazing how they have created that effect just by maintaining an intrigue, impending threat, a looming fear and you do not even know, of what, if you delve into this film without any prior knowledge.
What works wonders in a horror is the fear of the unknown. And that is what the makers encash on, in the first act. For best results, I would suggest avoid watching the trailer or reviews with spoilers.
The second act flings you out of the claustrphobia & relentless fear. It was almost a relief to be out back in the world under the skies. But the relief is short lived and the third act brings back with it, the terror, the tension and the urgency to escape.
It takes a while but the story finally joins the dots. Yes, there is a story too and the climax was quite a run for the pulse rate.
Barbarian is no ordinary run-of-the-mill horror. It thrives on intrigue, unexpected and pulsating tension.
So tighten your seat belts for this thrilling ride and do not try to find out in advance where the flight is headed … i.e if you are a horror buff.
Others to stay away.