In Barbarian, which just hit Hulu, writer and director Zach Cregger brings together two very different protagonists for a confidently perverse take on home invasion horror. Our main hero is Tess (Georgina Campbell), a young woman who travels to Detroit for a job interview. Things get off to a bad start when she learns her Airbnb is double-booked, forcing her to choose between two undesirable options. Does she risk sharing the house with a strange man (Bill Skarsgård), or should she try to sleep in her car?
She ultimately ventures indoors, where the guy, Keith, turns out to be harmless, making Skarsgård’s casting a self-aware red herring (after all, we’re not used to seeing him play a normal, likable dude). But then a different brand of horror emerges. After accidentally locking herself in the basement, Tess discovers a door leading to a labyrinth of underground tunnels. Terrified, she informs Keith, who decides to explore but doesn’t return. When Tess goes back to look for him, the film unleashes a deliciously unexpected jumpscare: a naked, unkempt woman emerges from the gloom, smashing Keith’s skull to a pulp and imprisoning Tess.
