History Film / Barbarian

* ActorAllusion:
** At one point, Keith says, "Do I look like some kind of monster?" Creator/BillSkarsgard is best known for playing the monster clown Pennywise in [[Film/{{It 2017}} 2017]] and [[Film/ItChapterTwo 2019]].
** Keith also acknowledges that he looks like a guy who breaks into houses. Bill Skarsgård played such a character in his previous film ''Villains''.

* JerkassRealization: AJ seems to have one while talking about accidentally shooting Tess (and, subtextually, about [[spoiler:the rape he committed]]). [[spoiler:[[IgnoredEpiphany It doesn't last.]]]]

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The [=AirBnB=] and [=HomeAway=] people who ended up double-booking the same house to two people, setting the plot in motion.
** Even after that, everything might have turned out okay if Tess hadn't gone looking in the basement for toilet paper. "Might" is the key word here, since [[spoiler: we later learn that the Mother comes out of the dungeon to roam the street at night.]]

* MoodWhiplash: The first half of the film comes to a violent head with [[spoiler:the Mother repeatedly and brutally slamming Keith's head into the basement wall until it's nothing but paste while all Tess can do is watch. SmashCut to black, and...we start following AJ in his convertible in LA singing along to Music/{{Donovan}}. The tone becomes almost comical (aside from the fact that AJ is a scumbag who [[spoiler:almost definitely raped his co-star]]) right until he comes across the Mother in the basement himself.]]

** Frank [[spoiler: probably spent decades withering away in that dungeon before AJ finally gives him the opportunity to end himself. All things considered, he got off easy - and it's hinted that he only did so because AJ mentioned that cops would be swarming the place soon, and [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled he didn't want to face the punishment]].]]

* BackhandedApology: The drunken apology that AJ leaves via voicemail is not very good, to put it mildly.
-->'''AJ:''' I, I just want to say that I'm really really sorry if I did anything that night that might've, like, offended you, or... you know, people can have different versions of the same thing, and I'm actually not even mad at you about it, and I hope you're not mad at me, 'cause I, I'm really sorry...

** [[spoiler:AJ has his eyes gouged out and his head cracked in two.]]

* DecoyProtagonist: Played with. [[spoiler:When Tess attempts to save Keith, he gets killed by the Mother and she roars in Tess's face, at which point we smash cut to AJ in California, with the implication that Tess is dead. When AJ gets captured, he immediately runs into Tess who's relatively unharmed; Tess is ultimately the sole survivor of the affair.]]

* PushedAtTheMonster: [[spoiler:AJ pushes Tess at the Mother -- by pushing her ''off'' the water tower, providing an ample distraction for AJ to get down and escape. He clearly hoped for either the fall or the Mother to kill her, but the Mother actually saves Tess's life in that moment as she's come to view her as her "baby".]]
* RedHerring:

** [[spoiler: Andre]]'s first appearance is chasing Tess while screaming at her. Turns out [[spoiler: he was trying to warn her about the monster in the house]].

* TheWorldsExpertOnGettingKilled: Andre has been living in the neighborhood for 15 years and knows everything about the dangers of the Barbary house. [[spoiler:Just as he's trumpeting how safe he is from the Mother, she bursts in and kills him, leaving our two less experienced protagonists to themselves]].

** At one point, Keith says, "Do I look like some kind of monster?". Creator/BillSkarsgard is best known for playing the monster clown Pennywise in [[Film/{{It 2017}} 2017]] and [[Film/ItChapterTwo 2019]].

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:Both Tess seemingly killing the Mother by ramming into her with her car and actually killing her by shooting her in the head at the end of the film are depicted as somber moments, since The Mother was ultimately another victim of Frank's barbaric actions, raised in horrid conditions such that she had no choice in becoming a feral, murderous monstrosity, and that it's a miracle she even grew up to be her own twisted version of a caring mother who tries to keep her "babies" fed and safe from Frank and the outside world.]]

* EyeScream: [[spoiler:AJ gets his eyes gouged out by the Mother, who then rips his head in half.]]
* FamilyPortraitOfCharacterization: AJ's wealth manager drops him as a client with calm professionalism, but the family photos of his wife and daughters with him indicates strongly that he is absolutely disgusted by AJ's deeds and misogyny.

* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Against Andre's advice to save herself, Tess goes back to the house to rescue AJ. She's rewarded by [[spoiler:him accidentally shooting her and then intentionally shoving her off a water tower]].

* DaylightHorror: Frank posing as a maintenance worker to [[spoiler:unlock women's windows in order to kidnap them, and him entering his basement where one of his victims is screaming,]] is all done during the day.

* IgnoredEpiphany: After [[spoiler:accidentally shooting Tess and escaping the basement, AJ seems to undergo a JerkassRealization about how his actions affect others, with him noting that even if he didn't intend to hurt Tess (or his co-star), he still did and still needs to face the consequences for his actions. Unfortunately, he immediately falls back into his ItsAllAboutMe tendencies once the Mother reappears, as he barely thinks to wait up for the mortally wounded Tess, let alone help her escape, and eventually throws her off a water tower to distract the Mother and save his own skin]].