Yes that was interesting. I think the key difference between Long and the old guy was that the former still retains some semblance of a conscience. It makes him feel uncomfortable with his decisions at times, like after he throws the protagonist off the top of a tower to slightly increase his chances of survival. Then that part of his brain that is uncomfortable with the cognitive dissonance goes into action to explain his actions and how in the end he is just a normal decent guy and a victim of circumstance.
A nice guy to get along with so long as your wellbeing does not get in the way of their self-interest, because then all bets are off!
I really liked this and Long almost stole the movie (but Campbell is excellent, no question). I was super happy this didn’t go into standard territory - which is the first thing you think when it’s a double booked Air BnB and the other booking is the increasingly wonderful Bill Skarsgard.
The tone shifts were masterfully done, IMO, and strengthened the proceedings.
Watching Long’s story “unfold” seemed like a very minor parallel to watching shit go sideways in the first half. He’s been accused of something horrible, you can believe it but you aren’t sure, then you get the terrific bar scene that confirms what a huge pile of shit he is. And this is before he’s greedily running around measuring the tunnels and then trying to sacrifice Tess to live. His stammering justifications were note perfect. Him dying was a legit catharsis, even though mom was creepy as fuck.
I really like the 1st half/2nd half contrast when looking at the two male characters. We’re waiting for Keith to be a creep or worse, only he turns out not to be. It’s all red flags to start, but they’re a result of coincidence and circumstance. He’s a decent guy but he’s in the wrong place at the wrong time. Long flashes red flags immediately but everything just keeps getting worse, character wise. “If I could just talk to her, I’m sure I could straighten this out”. Oh fuck man.
the only thing I can’t seem to recall - what did the nieghbor say about why they were leaving the neighborhood? It doesn’t matter, but I remember the conversation and then him asking Brake if he’s leaving but I thought he said something about why they were moving. I feel like Brake’s taciturn performance suited perfectly. We don’t need to see him kill or do anything else. The clear after effects, and AJ’s reaction to the tape, are more than enough (to say nothing of our own imaginations, since we’ve seen this sort of thing before). The contrast in neighborhood from then to now was also superb. It was jarring at first, but of course it would be.
So the Barbarian is the broken and bloody path Brake and Long’s characters have left in their wake (this is not AJ’s first sexual assault). Or maybe the vacuum created by the dissolution of the Home Owner’s Association, IDK.
I don’t think his neighbor explicitly says it but the hint I picked up was that he felt too many Black folks were moving in.
I liked this movie but absolutely LOVED one moment in it. Of course I’m referring to that gleefully jarring cut from the horrifying monster reveal and Keith’s gruesome, brutal murder straight to A.J. cruising in his convertible on the sunny coast of California singing that ridiculous Donovan song Riki Tiki Tavi. This is peak A.J. living the dream and it all goes significantly downhill from here. Probably my favorite movie moment of the year.
Everybody who read the Jungle Book Will know that Riki Tiki Tavi’s a mongoose who kills snakes When I was a young man I was led to believe there were organisations To kill my snakes for me I.E. the church, I.E. the government, I.E. school But when I got a little older I learned I had to kill them myself
I said, Riki Tiki Tavi mongoose is gone Riki Tiki Tavi mongoose is gone
I liked that his one fatal flaw was that he just couldn’t believe Tess unless he saw it for himself. Classic “let’s wait for proof” guy which fit nicely with his place in the story.
Keith - Nice guy, but doesn’t believe women without verification. Knows all the right things to say/do, but doesn’t really understand the threats women live with every day.
AJ - High-fiving, broseph, date rapist. Thinks the chicks are just “asking for it” and he’s not gonna take “no” for an answer. Likely says all the right things in regular business meetings, but once he lets you in the inner circle or gets angry enough, then it’s all “bitches, bitches, bitches” with probably some diet-racism thrown in to boot. Thinks that since what he does isn’t “forcible rape” he’s not really a bad guy.
Frank - Superpredator, kidnapper, torturer, rapist. Evil through and through and doesn’t care. Does have enough understanding to realize the jig was up once AJ arrived, but not remorseful at all.
The only one I’m not sure about is Andre the homeless dude. Maybe he represented the bystander that just lets it all happen as long as he can live his life normally?
Oh yeah, given the character’s screen time he’s really well developed. And you can understand him needing to see (her story is improbable and she’s a stranger, even though you had a nice evening talking and flirting with her a bit), but you also clearly see the problem there through Tess’ eyes.
On Andre, his first attempt at helping Tess is a disaster. And how could it not be. Solo women getting approached by randos is a potentially a high tension/problem/scary situation. And that’s when someone walks up normally and is at least polite on the surface. Andre is running at her yelling, which is doubly terrifying.
I don’t watch horror films, but my gf enjoys them, so I do see them on occasion. And I have to admit that most of her favorites have been much better than I expected.
She wanted me to see this one, as she had already seen it and thought I’d like it. So we fired it up on HBO Max last night, and I absolutely loved it. For me, it was a perfect horror film. Extremely well done. If you haven’t seen it, you really should.
One of the great things about Barbarian, is that it is very much a “classic” horror film. So many horror films in the new “elevated horror” renaissance we are seeing in theaters tend to attempt to transcend the genre. Jordan Peele has basically spearheaded this shift in genre, with movies like Pearl also moving in this way.
Barbarian is not that kind of movie, it is a pure traditional horror movie, with some killer twists, body horror, gore and mystery. Such a classic.
Also, directed by a WKUK alum, who is part of the sketch-comedian to horror director pipeline that exists now.
