Barbarian
Justin Long’s entrance…
The first act of Zach Cregger’s Barbarian sets up a cautionary tale about trusting your gut when you enter a situation that just feels off. But just when that story reaches a climactic high point, the movie suddenly changes tones, shifts to an entirely new setting, and introduces a seemingly unrelated character played by Justin Long. (The switch-up is so notable, the movie released entire trailer built around it.) Eventually he becomes intertwined with the main saga, but the abrupt needle-scratch of his entrance is the first hint that Barbarian is an unconventional horror movie designed to yank the rug out from under the audience, which it ends up doing more than once.
…And the moment right before that, too
There are few movies these days where “go in completely blind” truly, genuinely applies, and Barbarian is one of them. Cregger does a great job of making it seem like you know where the story of Tess (Georgina Campbell), a guy named Keith (Bill Skarsgård), and a late night Airbnb mixup is going. It’s the perfect blend of “don’t trust this man” and “what the heck’s going on in this house,” leading up to a turn that’s scary, much more violent than expected, and feels like where the movie truly begins.
