Alien at the Movies

Barbarian

It was a dark & stormy night when a pretty young woman, Tessa (Georgiana Campbell), arrives at the Airbnb in Detroit that she rented; only to discover it was doubled booked. The first arrived renter, Keith (Bill Skarsgärd), suggests that they share it for the night until they can straighten things out the next day. Tessa is uneasy & Keith seems to be too friendly & accommodating in what is advertised as a horror flick. I️ start to imagine a “Psycho” Norman Bates vibe. Suspense builds with locked & unlocked doors as well as hidden rooms & passages starting to peak my suspicions & panic with my inner voice screaming don’t do that and just turn & run away. There are a couple of awkward film transitions, some jump scares, creepy moments, some plot holes, a “MacGuffin” or two or three, & some surprises. If you like this horror genre, you’ll probably have a good fun time. Justin Long as AJ is introduced as another poor soul caught in this terror trap. The dictionary defines barbarian as a person from an alien land, culture, or group believed to be inferior, uncivilized, or violent. You’ll likely either love or hate this film with very few falling in between. The less you know about the plot, the better the time you may have.

Alien gives it 2½ “odd house in the neighborhood” stars out of 4.