We know, we know - the Stream has been heavy on horror as of late. What can we say? It’s Spooky Season, and the streaming gods have delivered a screaming bounty. For our last frightful entry before the merry holiday sprint toward the end of the year, we’ve got a horror flick that just hit streamers after its theatrical release a couple of months back. It’s smart, hilariously horrifying, and, most importantly, novel.
Now let’s get to it.
Barbarian
What It’s About: This horror (but also kind of funny?) movie is tough to describe without spoilers. Essentially, a girl checks into an Airbnb, but there’s someone already there. Then everything goes wrong.
Why You Should Watch: For frights, an inventive plot, and some good laughs.
It’s hard to pitch this without giving it away, but we’ll do our best. The first 20 or so minutes of this movie feel pretty paint-by-numbers. There’s an Airbnb in a spooky neighborhood. In it resides an unexpected creepy stranger, and despite this, the woman decides to stay there. It’s the first in a series of terrible decisions made by the main character (has she ever seen a horror movie?), but that’s the film’s greatest trick. It plays into your expectations, creating a false sense of familiarity so that you're completely caught off guard when the movie pulls the rug out from under you and kicks into high gear. Halfway through, Justin Long shows up (wait, whaaa?!) and delivers arguably the best part of the movie as you sit on the edge of your seat and try to figure out how he fits in. Barbarian is a one-of-a-kind horror delight that delivers all anyone wants from a scary thrill ride, along with laughs and some scathing commentary on gender politics in the #MeToo era (as does a lot of pop culture these days). If you’re looking for something scary and fresh, this is the movie to get one last Halloween fix before Tuesday.
Who’s In It, and Where You Probably Know Them From:
Georgina Campbell - This scream queen has been playing on the edges of British TV for years, and you might recognize her from Black Mirror or Suspicion.
Bill Skarsgard - You probably recognize him as Pennywise in the recent iteration of the It franchise. He is also set to star in the upcoming Nosferatu remake, so good for him for leaning into his, uh, physical talents.
Justin Long - You know him as the lovable loser in the early ‘00s in films like Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball, and Accepted, or rom-coms like Going The Distance and He’s Just Not That Into You.
Who Made It, and What Else Have They Done: Zach Cregger wrote and directed the movie, and you might remember him from the short-lived and under-appreciated sketch show/group The Whitest Kids U Know. Check him out below as an asshole President Lincoln.
Where You Can Watch: HBOMax and Hulu