I just watched Barbarian and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell I just saw. And I mean that as a compliment.
Most horror movies follow the same playbook. Barbarian takes that playbook and sets it on fire. You will not know what's coming next.
The movie starts simple enough. A woman named Tess shows up at her Airbnb rental late at night, and there's already a guy there named Keith. Right away, your alarm bells are going off. We've all heard the horror stories about sketchy rentals and creepy strangers. The whole first part of the movie had me on edge, wondering if this guy was going to hurt her or if she was just being paranoid.
Then things get weird, really weird…
The movie goes from "scary Airbnb situation" to "what the actual hell is happening" real quick. There's this underground nightmare world beneath the house that's absolutely insane. You discover there are tunnels, rooms, and a whole twisted history hiding under what looks like a normal Detroit neighborhood.
The craziest part? Halfway through, the movie completely switches gears and follows this douchebag actor named AJ (Justin Long) driving around California singing in his car after getting hit with sexual assault allegations. At first I thought Netflix glitched and started playing a different movie. But it all comes together when he ends up at the same cursed house.
The monster in this movie—they call her "The Mother"—is genuinely messed up. She's this grotesque woman who was born from generations of incest and abuse in those underground tunnels. The movie reveals that some sick old man named Frank had been kidnapping women and keeping them down there for decades, creating this cycle of horror. But here's the twisted part: by the end, The Mother shows more genuine care and protection than most of the actual humans in the movie, especially the men.
The guy who made this movie (Zach Cregger) used to be in a comedy group, which explains why there are these moments where you're laughing even though you're also horrified. It's like he threw every horror movie trope in a blender and somehow made something that feels completely new.
Now, I've seen people online who absolutely hate this movie. They think it goes too far off the rails in the second half. They complain that Tess makes some pretty questionable choices (like going back into that nightmare tunnel to save AJ, who honestly didn't deserve it), and that the whole thing gets too crazy in the final act. The ending with The Mother throwing herself off the water tower to save Tess is either beautiful or ridiculous depending on who you ask. I get it—this movie is messy and doesn't follow the rules.
But honestly? That's why I loved it. I'm so tired of horror movies that play it safe. This one took risks and even when it didn't work 100%, at least it was trying something different.
Look, Barbarian isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. It's weird, it's gross, and it will definitely make you uncomfortable—but it made me think about things I don't usually think about after watching a horror movie. And in a world full of remakes and sequels, that's pretty rare.
If you want something that'll mess with your head and keep you talking about it for days, give it a shot. Just don't watch it alone in an Airbnb.
Watch on Apple TV