Barbarian, the clever horror film that disappeared from Disney+, is now available on Netflix

Welcome to the Airbnb from hell! A horror thriller with a very original storyline, which compensates for some concepts that are a little too big for its stature.

Tess (Georgina Campbell) has to have a job interview in Detroit and rents an Airbnb during her stay in the “Motor City”. The neighborhood seems a bit scary, but hey… When she arrives late at night, she discovers that the house is already occupied by a certain Keith (Bill Skarsgård). Obviously, the owner rented the accommodation on two platforms without bothering to cancel one of the reservations. The local hotels being full, she still decided to spend the night there, in the company of the young man. But in the dead of night, she is awakened by mysterious sounds…

On Halloween 2022, Barbaric arrived in France on Disney+, accompanied by an excellent reputation: with a budget of 4.5 million dollars, this first horror film by Zach Gregger grossed 45! Because in the United States, this production led by Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgard and Justin Long was released in cinemas.

Offered by us directly in streaming, Barbaric did not stay on the platform for long, and given that Disney had not prepared a DVD or blu-ray for it, the film was legally unavailable for several months. Good news if you missed it or if you want to watch it again, it has just reappeared on a competing service, Netflix. The editorial team recommends it: here is our packed review initially published in October 2022.

Barbaric initially presents itself as a horror thriller based on two questions: is Keith a monster or a real good guy? And how long will the film be able to last by playing on this suspense a little? light ? But this first feature film by Zach Cregger (also on the script) has more in store than one could have imagined, the plot linking false leads and unexpected plot breaks. It's complicated to go into detail without revealing the best twists – in fact, avoid the trailer as much as possible, which is rather seductive but which already says too much for our taste.

Perfect program for a highly entertaining Halloween evening (but never too spooky, be aware of this if you are primarily looking to be scared), Barbaric however, has the big flaw of wanting to tick all – but really all – of the boxes of the time: feminism, #MeToo, toxic masculinity, #BlackLivesMatter, systemic racism, privileges of the straight white male… Which would not be a problem if the film sought to reflect on these subjects rather than simply illustrating them – sometimes in a rather funny way, let's admit it –, as if their simple invocation was enough to give it scope. It's not Jordan Peele who wants. This established, the film still manages to maintain a difficult line, between survival populated by relatively new horrific visions and real pieces of comedy. And that’s not given to everyone.

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