Even as boutique labels like The Criterion Collection and Vinegar Syndrome thrive, major film studios are still coming around to the idea that physical media is back, baby. The list of acclaimed films from this decade — Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, for example, or Richard Linklater’s Hit Man — that have yet to receive Blu-ray releases is surprisingly long. And for the past four years, Barbarian has been at the top of that list.
Zach Cregger’s 2022 directorial debut did surprisingly well at the box office, and became a word-of-mouth hit thanks to its wild twists and disturbing horror imagery. The film was successful enough to establish Cregger — previously best known as a member of the sketch group The Whitest Kids U’Know — as a major new voice in horror, beginning a chain of events that eventually built up to Amy Madigan winning an Oscar for her role in Cregger’s followup feature Weapons (2025). (Which is already out on Blu-ray, by the way.) A remarkable arc, but not remarkable enough to put the movie that started it all in the hands of collectors — until now.
