Barbarian

That title. 'Barbarian.' It set off alarm bells for me as much of recent horror in the past couple decades has become increasingly sadistic and grim, which greatly turns me off personally. Franchises like 'Friday the 13th' are more my bag because there are always levels of camp to them that veers them towards actual enjoyment, instead of being traumatized by newer films that tend to think the more real something looks, the more horrifying it is. Well, they are right, apparently! "Disturbing" though is more how I'd describe it. So, with a title like 'Barbarian,' I just wasn't ready, and I was fine with this one "not being for me."

However a trio of friends whose opinions I value ended up giving this film a try and were very keen on what they saw. It felt like the go ahead, the permission I needed, and thus I watched it that afternoon.

Quite simply, 'Barbarian' is a very good film, and one of the most important pieces of advice I can say, which is the consensus it seems of most people who have seen and enjoyed this, is to go in as blind as possible. The less you know about it, the better chance you're going to enjoy it. In fact, DO NOT WATCH THE TRAILER INCLUDED HERE. You're better off.

What I'm willing to say is that, despite my worst fears and/or prejudice, this film is not sadistic or grim. So if you're the same as me, you're safe here. That's not to say those moments don't exist - there's definitely a few that could fall into that category. But they appropriately move the story along so that it doesn't feel exploitative or disturbing, at least for me. As to the heart of why I liked this so much, it comes down to how it balances being the "popcorn movie" that it is for the horror genre, along with constantly defying the expectations you're guaranteed to develop and change repeatedly from the moment the film begins. It hooks you in quick, and keeps you guessing not to what is going on exactly, but more of .... where am I? What is this world we're in? Is it familiar? It's not unsettling, it's just ... different. And that creates tension, but not the kind that is uncomfortable. As deeper as the film goes, literally, it builds and builds until it becomes nearly unbearable because you just want to know what in the FUCK is going on. The tension here is its best feature, and it's a comfortable tension. A tension that is somehow enjoyable, in fact, and that is the film's special magic.

Even if horror isn't your thing, I'd highly recommend this, because as cinema, it's exactly what's needed to help move the genre, and filmmaking forward, and a hell of a lot of fun.