Barbarian (D or 1/4 stars)
Here we go: my fairly scathing review of a film that I appear to be in a vast critical minority of. Documentarian Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives at an Airbnb that she has rented in a rundown Detroit neighborhood in 'Barbarian' (a gory horror flick directed by Zach Cregger). It's nighttime, it's storming, the front door key is missing and, she soon discovers that this rental house is already occupied by Keith (Bill Skarsgard, Pennywise the Clown from It); it would seem that the house has been double-booked. Keith invites her in and, due to the inclement weather/area hotels being booked up, Tess stays the night; each wonders if they can trust the other.
In the a.m., while looking for toilet paper, Tess gets locked in the basement; where she finds a dingy secret room that suggests disturbing things once took place there. With time, Keith finds her, goes downstairs to check it out himself {stupidly}, and vanishes deep below the earth's surface into a cavernous underworld, of sorts. Meanwhile, Hollywood actor AJ (Justin Long), who owns the Detroit house and has just been accused of rape, travels back to Detroit, hoping to sell it. But the macabre mystery of what's going on in the man-made tunnels below the basement goes back - we learn - some 40+ years to a rather disturbing origin story.
Ya know, the first 35 minutes of this movie are pretty cool. I was engaged. Intrigued. The acting was good. I was on edge; thinking that disarming Keith may be up to no good with Tess; who also thinks that Keith 'could' be up to no good, and acts accordingly. The plot was keeping me guessing as to where this was all heading and, I was thoroughly creeped out. But then the basement shenanigans commenced. Tess' descent into the basement & into the eventual horror is mystifying because she had SEEMED like a relatively smart, cautious & careful woman to that point. But then she just turns maddeningly dumb ... acting in ways that make no sense outside of the construct of a horror flick. My eye-rolls began & then only increased.
Gone was the tension & suspense. Sure, there was a good jump scare or two to come. But the filmmakers lost me and there was no coming back. Why does Tess do what she does? Why does Keith do what he does? Why would anyone accept staying in this neighborhood for an Airbnb? Not realistic, AT ALL. Who doesn't scope out the entire house they are staying in before realizing that something CRAZY is happening in the basement?? I mean, come on ... runnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and don't look back -- don't be a stupid horror movie trope. Why does the basement door close & lock at will? Is this a supernatural story, or what!? What was the point of the camera & bucket in the first dingy room Tess encounters?
Why are there no missing persons investigations going? How could any human being have created the seemingly never-ending underground tunnels that harbored the sinister being? I also find it VERY hard to believe that the police would be THAT dismissive of someone in need {when a certain someone pleads for them to come check out the house}. Near the end of the film, when two characters fall from atop a water tower, how did "The Mother" creature make it to the ground first to break the fall of the other character who fell before her? Again, supernatural, UNREASONABLE strength & stamina by "The Mother" did not jive with the based-in-reality plot that was set-up for us initially. It felt like a slap in the face to me.
Director Zach Cregger seemed to want to say something about a) the dilapidated, withering away of America's suburbia and/or b) the current state of America's #metoo movement. The Justin Long {an actor who I always enjoy} character is so deplorably chauvinistic & cartoonish that it isn't even fun to hate him. Cregger spends that 1st half hour meticulously setting up one type of horror film only to abruptly switch the tone, add a new character, & flimsily connect the two stories by the end. It was a cheap solution to an initially fascinating, layered horror set-up and, as 'Barbarian' progressed with its improbabilities & with its characters routinely making dim-witted decisions ... my interest diminished precipitously.
In the a.m., while looking for toilet paper, Tess gets locked in the basement; where she finds a dingy secret room that suggests disturbing things once took place there. With time, Keith finds her, goes downstairs to check it out himself {stupidly}, and vanishes deep below the earth's surface into a cavernous underworld, of sorts. Meanwhile, Hollywood actor AJ (Justin Long), who owns the Detroit house and has just been accused of rape, travels back to Detroit, hoping to sell it. But the macabre mystery of what's going on in the man-made tunnels below the basement goes back - we learn - some 40+ years to a rather disturbing origin story.
Ya know, the first 35 minutes of this movie are pretty cool. I was engaged. Intrigued. The acting was good. I was on edge; thinking that disarming Keith may be up to no good with Tess; who also thinks that Keith 'could' be up to no good, and acts accordingly. The plot was keeping me guessing as to where this was all heading and, I was thoroughly creeped out. But then the basement shenanigans commenced. Tess' descent into the basement & into the eventual horror is mystifying because she had SEEMED like a relatively smart, cautious & careful woman to that point. But then she just turns maddeningly dumb ... acting in ways that make no sense outside of the construct of a horror flick. My eye-rolls began & then only increased.
Gone was the tension & suspense. Sure, there was a good jump scare or two to come. But the filmmakers lost me and there was no coming back. Why does Tess do what she does? Why does Keith do what he does? Why would anyone accept staying in this neighborhood for an Airbnb? Not realistic, AT ALL. Who doesn't scope out the entire house they are staying in before realizing that something CRAZY is happening in the basement?? I mean, come on ... runnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and don't look back -- don't be a stupid horror movie trope. Why does the basement door close & lock at will? Is this a supernatural story, or what!? What was the point of the camera & bucket in the first dingy room Tess encounters?
Why are there no missing persons investigations going? How could any human being have created the seemingly never-ending underground tunnels that harbored the sinister being? I also find it VERY hard to believe that the police would be THAT dismissive of someone in need {when a certain someone pleads for them to come check out the house}. Near the end of the film, when two characters fall from atop a water tower, how did "The Mother" creature make it to the ground first to break the fall of the other character who fell before her? Again, supernatural, UNREASONABLE strength & stamina by "The Mother" did not jive with the based-in-reality plot that was set-up for us initially. It felt like a slap in the face to me.
Director Zach Cregger seemed to want to say something about a) the dilapidated, withering away of America's suburbia and/or b) the current state of America's #metoo movement. The Justin Long {an actor who I always enjoy} character is so deplorably chauvinistic & cartoonish that it isn't even fun to hate him. Cregger spends that 1st half hour meticulously setting up one type of horror film only to abruptly switch the tone, add a new character, & flimsily connect the two stories by the end. It was a cheap solution to an initially fascinating, layered horror set-up and, as 'Barbarian' progressed with its improbabilities & with its characters routinely making dim-witted decisions ... my interest diminished precipitously.