R-Rated Thriller On Hulu Keeps Surprising At Every Turn

By Robert Scucci
| Published 2 seconds ago

If you’ve ever had your qualms about renting an Airbnb in favor of a hotel, then you’ll probably want to watch 2022’s Barbarian with caution. I’m not saying that every time you book a stay at a stranger’s house you’ll end up trapped in a series of tunnels beneath their property, but you can never rule out situations like this when you’re on the road and need a place to hang your hat for the night.

Boasting more twists and turns than the corkscrew sitting next to the bottle of wine you plan to share with your unexpected roommate, Barbarian is equal parts dark and hilarious, and has more tricks up its sleeve than a street magician trying to make a quick buck. 

It Starts With A Botched Reservation 

Barbarian immediately gets off on the wrong foot when a young professional named Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives at her rental house in a dilapidated Detroit neighborhood. Having come to the realization that the house was double booked – a fate worse than death – Tess is alarmed when a man named Keith (Bill Skarsgard) answers the door and lets her in. Having nowhere else to stay, Tess takes Keith up on his offer, but keeps her guard up because he’s a perfect stranger, and just a little too hospitable given the circumstances. 

After a successful job interview, the reason she’s traveling in the first place, Tess is chased into the house by a homeless man. Finding shelter in the basement, Tess discovers a hidden door that leads to a winding labyrinth that seemingly has no end. 

Meanwhile, Barbarian introduces its second narrative about the home’s owner, a TV actor named AJ (Justin Long). Facing legal issues over sexual misconduct allegations from one of his co-stars, AJ heads to Detroit to appraise the property and put it on the market so he could cover his expenses, as he was just fired from his show and needs to reevaluate his finances. 

Tess learns that a deformed woman occupies the basement where she’s held captive, and several other women in the past have met a grisly fate in the subterranean bunker. Through a flashback sequence, Barbarian introduces Frank (Richard Blake), the property’s original owner, who stops at the supermarket, gathering supplies to facilitate a home birth. 

Not A Comedy, But Not Without Humor

Never fully laying all of its cards on the table, Barbarian introduces multiple narratives that all arrive at the same stunning conclusion that will drop your jaw straight through the floor. But as terrifying as Tess’ situation may be, Barbarian isn’t without a sense of humor. I didn’t think I’d find myself laughing when I read the film’s synopsis on Hulu, but watching AJ bust out a tape measure to calculate the dimensions of the unearthed prison that he just discovered beneath his house is a hilarious sequence because he never once stops to consider the implications, but rather wonders if the added square footage would increase the value of his home. 

Barbarian will constantly keep you wondering who knows what from the moment the title card drops, all the way through the closing credits. One thing I know for certain after watching this horror thriller is that the next time I need to spend the night out of town, I’ll probably take my chances with the bed sheets at a La Quinta off the highway instead of renting a room through a property sharing app. 

As of this writing, you can stream Barbarian with an active Hulu subscription.