Now, I am not the biggest horror movie fan out there. I don't gleefully wait for Halloween movies or talk in detail about the old horror franchises. Occasionally, I will check out a movie that doesn't seem to fall into the usual tropes of the genre. So Barbarian looked interesting to me, and the first half of the movie certainly got my attention, but then Justin Long shows up.
I don't hate Justin, but dang his appearance just took the air out of the movie. While some people didn't mind the left turn he brought to the proceedings, I think adding him in just created a major tonal shift that turned me off to the movie. It seemed the moment he showed up, the entire movie just lost its way.
I wasn't particularly fond of the reveal as well. I was hoping it would be something more grounded and real rather than surreal and pedestrian. What looked like a potential modern look at urban horror morphed into a predictable horror movie.
The only thing I can really give credit to is the settings and the attention to detail these settings had. They were really engrossing and interesting, but it was too bad they couldn't create a better story out of it. Horror movies in general are pretty predictable, and unless you have a really unique concept or a unique vision, it's just gonna be another horror film to me.
I don't hate Justin, but dang his appearance just took the air out of the movie. While some people didn't mind the left turn he brought to the proceedings, I think adding him in just created a major tonal shift that turned me off to the movie. It seemed the moment he showed up, the entire movie just lost its way.
I wasn't particularly fond of the reveal as well. I was hoping it would be something more grounded and real rather than surreal and pedestrian. What looked like a potential modern look at urban horror morphed into a predictable horror movie.
The only thing I can really give credit to is the settings and the attention to detail these settings had. They were really engrossing and interesting, but it was too bad they couldn't create a better story out of it. Horror movies in general are pretty predictable, and unless you have a really unique concept or a unique vision, it's just gonna be another horror film to me.