Barbare

C'est bien que Disney+ brise le mythe de la VOD familiale et lance des films d'horreur intéressants. Mais Barbare est surestimé. Le scénariste et réalisateur Zach Cregger aime jouer avec la forme et dans le premier tiers, il intensifie bien la tension de l'inconnu. Mais en révélant progressivement le mystère, il expose une faiblesse créative en empruntant simplement des éléments clés de films révolutionnaires du genre, et finit par glisser dans une auto-parodie involontaire. Et pourtant il pense être cool. Cela aurait dû être créé par un « boucher » innovant avec des origines européennes, qui n'aurait pas hésité à exploiter le potentiel terrifiant du contenu des cassettes vidéo. (06/11/2022)

Je trouve un peu triste et peut-être injuste que les réactions du public soient plus favorables ces dernières années aux films d'horreur qui subvertissent, satirisent et se moquent des tendances du genre, plutôt qu'à certains des films d'horreur sérieux et atmosphériques de style traditionnel, lesquels se retrouvent au mieux avec une note de 58 %. En même temps, il faut bien admettre que Barbare fonctionne à merveille dans les côtés subversif et surprenant qui le caractérisent. (07/12/2022)

The concise first third of Barbarians with the wonderful Bill is great; the second has an unexpected comedic edge (I roared with laughter at the twist from jump-scare to reality farce), and the third is a mishmash, but... the original mix of inverse home invasion, lactation instruction, collecting of VHS snuff flicks, drama about cruel motherhood and black comedy about the MeToo movement simply kept me watching, even though some of the dramaturgical choices are very dubious and the film barely holds together in places. As another entry in the canon of Detroit high-concept horror movies (the magnificent and in some ways related Don’t Breathe and the more allegorical It Follows are worth mentioning), it is indeed a more than respectable work. A place where society has collapsed invites the rise of barbarism. (28/10/2022)

A properly intense wild piece that reminds me of my favourite Ghostland. I'm glad to see that every year some talented and unknown horror filmmaker comes along to satisfy our needs for years to come. Zach Cregger has made a very good horror film that can't leave anyone downright cold. Barbarian has perfect craftsmanship (the sound and cinematography are of Wan's caliber). Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård are both perfect (Justin Long a little less so, but it’s alright). The opening is a little slower, but once the action moves to the basement, it starts a hell of an uncomfortable, chilling and intense horror with a very uncomfortable and claustrophobic setting, a properly creepy villain – the best one so far in five years. The film also emphatically emphasizes the rational behavior of the characters, which is a very nice touch. It also manages to pleasantly and unpleasantly surprise the viewer on several occasions, the mystery and thick atmosphere works as well as the fear of the unknown. There were a few heart-attack-inducing jump-scares and of course there was gore – basically, everything we want to see in this genre. I'm giving a standing ovation, tearing my hair out and roaring HELL YEA!. Anyone who is going to be mad at this movie, I'm going to be mad at them. 9/10. (28/10/2022)

Avoid spoilers, you really don't want to know which way the initially relatively simple looking premise will go. Just the few reviews posted here now would have easily ruined the experience for me. Barbarian is a dream horror debut, the best and least predictable genre film in years, and Zach Cregger is the one Hollywood producers should be fighting over right now. Anyway, without spoilers, it's very hard to talk about this film, so I'll perhaps just give a very tentative indication that it's divided in three parts. The first one overflows with tension and culminates in a heart attack and fucking scary sequence. The second part lightens the tone, but the humour is not intrusive, rather it comes from the fact that the focus shifts to the funny character. The third part is a horror ride with a dash of gore. The overall plot is perhaps a bit wild in the end, you have to work a bit to "believe", but that is the only complaint I can have about this revelation. The sound is worth a special mention – I don't usually pay much attention to it, but Barbarian is really beautifully scored, it's almost ear-piercing. (25/10/2022)