Second or third time I've started this but this time I watched it all the way through. It was an okay movie but I'm not sure what all the uproar was about over it when it first released; I mean, it was just another horror movie... kind of a weird take on The Hills Have Eyes IMO. It wasn't a "bad" movie; in fact, it was well-acted and the suspense was there from the very outset, building throughout the first half of the film. I'll give the producers credit for one thing, though: whether it was planned or not, that sudden cut at the midway point of the film had me scratching my head wondering if I'd been duped into watching some lame joke. Finally the stories met back up and it started making sense again. Another prop to Barbarian is that it had some gory scenes in it...not "overkill" (pardon the expression) but enough to make it interesting...a real "gorror" film instead of just another suspenseful, creepy movie (not that I'm averse to those). The ending was weirdly touching, and the acting throughout the film was superb. I've never seen (that I can recall, anyway) this Justin Long in anything else but he played the douchebag to absolute perfection. From the moment you saw him 'til the moment you didn't, you just wanted him to get his just rewards. LOL He really pulled his part of beautifully in the film. The rest of the cast were great, as well, and the score and cinematography were very well done. My biggest complaint is simply that the storyline itself was just...meh...there really wasn't one. I can't imagine trying to read this in a novel because it was just too outlandish and ridiculous. I mean, sure, there are times you have to just disengage your brain and enjoy the show, but this... Hard to explain, but it oddly just felt like it was trying too hard to be believable...and it wasn't. It fell into that twilight zone sort of area where you couldn't believe it, but it wasn't outlandish enough to just unplug from reality and enjoy it (say like a Godzilla or Child's Play - type horror film). Apart from the (what I consider) weak storyline, however, the movie was enjoyable and well-done. Worth a watch for fans of horror movies but I would stop short of saying it's worth watching more than once. Definitely NOT sorry that I watched it, though; it was worth the watching.
Review by ShubesBlockedParent2024-03-24T03:37:59Z
Second or third time I've started this but this time I watched it all the way through. It was an okay movie but I'm not sure what all the uproar was about over it when it first released; I mean, it was just another horror movie... kind of a weird take on The Hills Have Eyes IMO. It wasn't a "bad" movie; in fact, it was well-acted and the suspense was there from the very outset, building throughout the first half of the film. I'll give the producers credit for one thing, though: whether it was planned or not, that sudden cut at the midway point of the film had me scratching my head wondering if I'd been duped into watching some lame joke. Finally the stories met back up and it started making sense again. Another prop to Barbarian is that it had some gory scenes in it...not "overkill" (pardon the expression) but enough to make it interesting...a real "gorror" film instead of just another suspenseful, creepy movie (not that I'm averse to those). The ending was weirdly touching, and the acting throughout the film was superb. I've never seen (that I can recall, anyway) this Justin Long in anything else but he played the douchebag to absolute perfection. From the moment you saw him 'til the moment you didn't, you just wanted him to get his just rewards. LOL He really pulled his part of beautifully in the film. The rest of the cast were great, as well, and the score and cinematography were very well done. My biggest complaint is simply that the storyline itself was just...meh...there really wasn't one. I can't imagine trying to read this in a novel because it was just too outlandish and ridiculous. I mean, sure, there are times you have to just disengage your brain and enjoy the show, but this... Hard to explain, but it oddly just felt like it was trying too hard to be believable...and it wasn't. It fell into that twilight zone sort of area where you couldn't believe it, but it wasn't outlandish enough to just unplug from reality and enjoy it (say like a Godzilla or Child's Play - type horror film). Apart from the (what I consider) weak storyline, however, the movie was enjoyable and well-done. Worth a watch for fans of horror movies but I would stop short of saying it's worth watching more than once. Definitely NOT sorry that I watched it, though; it was worth the watching.