Barbarian / YMMV - TV Tropes

Alternative Character Interpretation: What's the deal with Keith? He is innocent of any wrong-doing within the film but there are still enough incongruities with his character to make you wonder. Whilst the double-booking of the house was a legitimate accident, he still exploits the situation in ways that have inappropriate romantic undertones - insisting that Tess stay the night, going out of his way to provide fresh sheets for her to sleep on the bed, dimming the lights for an improptu wine date - and even staring expectantly at Tess afterwards, possibly hoping for her to invite him to bed. While he is self-aware enough to know that a woman might feel uncomfortable sharing a house with a strange man, he goes about it in ways that make him seem manipulative rather than understanding. Is he only different from AJ and Frank in that he doesn't get the opportunity to act upon his nastier desires? Is he a Dogged Nice Guy who thinks he "deserves" to get laid by being "friendly"? Or is he an actually nice, if awkward, guy and the film is using him to make the point that even legitimately well-intentioned men can come across as creepy and threatening?
And You Thought It Would Fail: Zach Cregger revealed that he had a hard time getting the movie made due to its very unconventional style and plot, with even A24, a studio with a reputation for producing artsy horror films and other movies filled with strange ideas/concepts, passing up on it. Ultimately, 20th Century Studios decided to take a chance with it. The result was a Sleeper Hit that made its minuscule $4 million budget back about ten times, with mostly positive reviews and finding even more of an audience on streaming.
Awesome Music:
- The first half of the trailer is set to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's "Our House," a perfectly lovely ballad that helps set a homely mood right before everything turns sour.
- After the Mood Whiplash of a cut to AJ, he is shown driving and singing along to “Riki Tiki Tavi” by Donovan, one hell of a catchy song that will have you singing along with him.
Broken Base: The movie's sudden Genre Shift into comedy halfway through is the biggest point of contention in the film. For some, it's a great way Mood Whiplash that subverts expectations. But for others, it completely ruins the movie's horror.
Complete Monster: Frank, the original owner of the ramshackle Detroit home, posed as a maintenance man to gain access to victims. A vicious and sadistic rapist, Frank abducted numerous women and filmed himself raping them. After the children were born, Frank abused and even raped them as well, one violation leading to the birth of the monstrous "Mother", whose madness and deadliness Frank is responsible for in the present.
Critical Dissonance: The movie was utterly adored by critics, praising its unconventional narrative structure and masterful use of tension. But audiences were heavily polarized by it. A significant of general moviegoers found its sudden Mood Whiplash and slight Genre Shift to feel off-putting and ruined the horror of the film. And many of said audiences questioned the film's numerous plot holes.
Fandom Rivalry:
- With Smile (2022). Due to both being socially conscious horror films released around the same time. Fans of Smile found that film to be much scarier, disturbing, and had more consistent tone than this one. Prefering Smile's more streamlined plot to and finding this film to take too many leaps in its narrative to be taken seriously. Fans of this film on the other hand, found Barbarian to be a much more unique and creative film compared to Smile, which they felt was far more predictable, generic and highly derivative of other horror films like Hereditary, The Ring, It Follows, etc.
- A similarly small one with Run Sweetheart Run, as both are horror movies with black, female leads that double as dissections/satires of gender dynamics. Though it borders on Friendly Fandoms far more, as the observation is usually less charged and more just an observation of the similarities.
Friendly Fandoms: Despite there definitely being a rivalry between the two there are plenty of fans who love both Barbarian and Smile equally and would even suggest both would make a great double-feature. Helped by the fact that the directors of both films respect and admire each other's movies.
Hype Backlash: The film was unanimously praised by critics and audiences on its release, and gained many devoted fans through very positive word of mouth. This hype caused it to be lauded as one of the best, scariest, and most shocking films of 2022. As such, this could lead to some viewers walking away feeling underwhelmed, disappointed or just confused. Once the initial hype died down, many of the film's detractors were then allowed to express their criticisms towards the film more freely.
Jerkass Woobie: Despite being a kidnapper and vicious, monstrous murderer, it's implied that the Mother legitimately wants to keep her "children" safe, and is the victim of years of abuse from Frank.
Love to Hate: AJ is a rude, greedy, self-centered asshole who very likely raped his former co-star, but Justin Long's performance makes him endlessly entertaining to watch.
Memetic Mutation: "Get in loser, we're going naked"^Explanation
Moral Event Horizon: AJ is a complete asshole who almost definitely raped his co-worker, refuses to take any accountability for his actions and accidentally shoots Tess when they escape the basement but he has a few humanizing moments and Justin Long's performance provides him enough skeevy charm that he isn't completely unlikeable...at least until he throws Tess off of the water tower to save his own skin. That's the point that he switches from, in his own words, maybe being a "good guy who did a bad thing" to definitely being a "bad guy".
Narm Charm:
- "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes is EXTREMELY on the nose as a closer for the movie, but it also fits the film's grimly comedic tone well, and is a pretty great track in its own right too.
- The scene in which The Mother jumps off the water tower was amusingly reminiscent of Gollum’s fall into lava. One almost expects an audible “splat” when she hits the ground.
Nausea Fuel: The Mother offering a hair-covered bottle of her own breast milk to Tess and AJ. When AJ refuses, she forcefully breast feeds him.
Realism-Induced Horror: While the film's main antagonist is a superhumanly strong mutant woman, much of the story revolves around Tess's mundane fear and discomfort as a woman in an unfamiliar environment in the company of a man she doesn't trust. In addition, the theme of sexual assault prominently features both in AJ's subplot and the film's backstory, as the Mother herself is revealed to be the offspring of a Serial Rapist who kept women as sex slaves in his basement. Horrible people like AJ and Frank really do exist.
Squick: The reveal of The Mother being the product of continuous intergenerational incest.
- AJ has his eyes gouged out and his head ripped open at the end.
Tear Jerker: Everything about the movie's primary antagonist. The Mother was conceived as the result of continuous incestuous rape by Frank and is greatly terrified of him. The Mother developed maternal instincts and only wanted to be a nurturing mother. Before Tess has to execute her, the Mother sounds distressed as she tries to convince her to go back into the house with her after AJ unwittingly shot her. Once she realizes Tess won’t and can’t join her, The Mother willingly accepts being shot by Tess to finally end her hellish life.
Tough Act to Follow: The film's first act, which is pure Psychological Horror Mystery centered on Tess' suspicion of Keith, is considered by many to be the movie's strongest act, and feel the second half, which includes a significant Genre Shift was inferior.

YMMV / Barbarian

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