Barbarian

Me parece un poco triste y quizás injusto que en los últimos años las películas de terror que subvierten, satirizan y ridiculizan las tendencias del género hayan recibido críticas más favorables que algunas películas de terror serias y atmosféricas hechas a lo tradicional, cuya calificación en el mejor de los casos ronda el 58%.  Al mismo tiempo, sin embargo, no se puede negar que justamente Barbarian funciona brillantemente en esa subversión y sorpresa. (07.12.2022)

Es bueno que Disney+ rompa el mito del VoD familiar y estrene películas de terror interesantes. Pero Barbarian está sobrevalorado. El guionista y director Zach Cregger disfruta jugando con las formas y en el primer tercio gradúa decentemente la tensión de lo desconocido. Pero al desentrañar más tarde el misterio, revela la debilidad creativa de limitarse a tomar prestados elementos clave de los avances del género y, en última instancia, cae en una autoparodia involuntaria. Y se cree genial. Debía ser realizado por un carnicero ingenioso, idealmente con raíces europeas, que no tuviera miedo de explotar el potencial del terrorífico contenido de las cintas de vídeo. (06.11.2022)

The concise first third of Barbarians with the wonderful Bill is great; the second has an unexpected comedic edge (I roared with laughter at the twist from jump-scare to reality farce), and the third is a mishmash, but... the original mix of inverse home invasion, lactation instruction, collecting of VHS snuff flicks, drama about cruel motherhood and black comedy about the MeToo movement simply kept me watching, even though some of the dramaturgical choices are very dubious and the film barely holds together in places. As another entry in the canon of Detroit high-concept horror movies (the magnificent and in some ways related Don’t Breathe and the more allegorical It Follows are worth mentioning), it is indeed a more than respectable work. A place where society has collapsed invites the rise of barbarism. (28.10.2022)

Sometimes, you can tell within the first five minutes of a horror movie that, despite its seemingly classic slasher premise, there's something different about it. Barbarian is that kind of different — in the best way. It's visually refined, atmospheric, and incredibly suspenseful. Even when it inevitably veers into entertaining absurdity, it keeps you thoroughly engaged the whole time. This is exactly how I imagine a well-made modern horror film. (24.05.2024)

Avoid spoilers, you really don't want to know which way the initially relatively simple looking premise will go. Just the few reviews posted here now would have easily ruined the experience for me. Barbarian is a dream horror debut, the best and least predictable genre film in years, and Zach Cregger is the one Hollywood producers should be fighting over right now. Anyway, without spoilers, it's very hard to talk about this film, so I'll perhaps just give a very tentative indication that it's divided in three parts. The first one overflows with tension and culminates in a heart attack and fucking scary sequence. The second part lightens the tone, but the humour is not intrusive, rather it comes from the fact that the focus shifts to the funny character. The third part is a horror ride with a dash of gore. The overall plot is perhaps a bit wild in the end, you have to work a bit to "believe", but that is the only complaint I can have about this revelation. The sound is worth a special mention – I don't usually pay much attention to it, but Barbarian is really beautifully scored, it's almost ear-piercing. (25.10.2022)