78
Metascore
38 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussSan Francisco ChronicleBob StraussAn unnerving thriller that never goes quite where you’d expect, this feature writing/directing debut from Zach Cregger (“The Whitest Kids U’Know”) also does monstrously amazing things with lighting, sets and special effects makeup.
- 88St. Louis Post-DispatchKatie WalshSt. Louis Post-DispatchKatie WalshCregger slowly builds bone-chilling and suspenseful sequences up to screechingly operatic moments of face-melting horror, and then swiftly cuts to a different chapter, making a hard left into a completely different mode, taking us all on the roller-coaster ride. His facility with comedy also aids in these jarring tone switches, and Barbarian is as funny as it is terrifying.
- 83ConsequenceClint WorthingtonConsequenceClint WorthingtonUndoubtedly, Barbarian will raise comparisons to last year’s Malignant, a similarly wild-as-hell horror flick that zigs and zags down all manner of crazy roads. And to be sure, there’s a similarly perverse glee to be found here, as Cregger toys with your expectations before jumping you to another element of his insane narrative.
- 80TheWrapSimon AbramsTheWrapSimon AbramsThe most impressive thing about “Barbarian” is that Cregger keeps developing his twisty plot well after he sets everything up. Messing with viewers seems to be his guiding dramatic principal, from playful camerawork to unpredictable plot twists. Bless ‘im.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDirector-screenwriter Cregger displays an obvious perverse glee in guiding his audiences through his outlandish twists and turns.
- 80IGNMatt DonatoIGNMatt DonatoBarbarian is one of the wildest horror films in years from its combination of subgenres to full-throttle approach to unapologetic exploitation themes.
- 67ColliderChase HutchinsonColliderChase HutchinsonIt is an experience built around surprise revelations and plunging into the unknown. What is found there is not nearly as impactful as the actual journey itself, making for a mixed bag of horror and humor that rises above its lesser parts enough to hold together.
- 40The GuardianBenjamin LeeThe GuardianBenjamin LeeThere are depressingly few pleasures to be had here, and one of them is at least, for a while, playing detective trying to figure out just what on earth is buried at its centre.