Barbarian (2022)

I once told somebody that walking away from a traumatic situation was like the end of "Barbarian." I cited the main character, Tess, limping away from the scene as an example of how it felt to leave a nuanced, difficult situation that was bad for me.

As a people pleaser, and as a teacher, it is easy for me to look at the nuance of a person. I am trained from personal experience and college to look at people as complex moving parts, all of who are redeemable despite the bad things they do. This often gets me into hard situations, because I forgive easily despite the harm caused to me specifically. A Zach Cregger monster is a great example of how people who cause harm are often products on their environment, and sometimes, that environment is scarier than the monster itself.

I certainly have a lot to say about this in context to Resident Evil (2026) which deserves a rewatch from me before I fully examine how setting shapes character, but I am very familiar with "Barbarian," and think this is an applicable space to discuss how trauma shapes who we are.

The "monster" of our story is the inbred daughter of the daughter of a daughter of a kidnapped victim, who has been trapped in the basement of a house for years upon years. Our "monster" is one who is like that BECAUSE of the environment she was trapped inside of. She is the result of a horrible man's actions and neglect. This draws both explicit parallels and subtle parallels to "Jane Erye," a novel where our main character finds out that the man she is about to marry has a secret-- his wife lives in the attic and is deeply unwell.

I forget the explicit situation in which this character lives, but I know she is living as a result of her husband's decision. Every bad thing that happens in "Barbarian" is also the direct result of a man's stupid decision. The whole reason Tess ends up in the basement at all is as a result of a man making a bad decision.

Thought I should take some notes on this one because I actually liked Resident Evil (2026) and maybe I will have thoughts. I saw this movie in theaters also, and have always wanted to write about it so now I get to hehe.

• Barbery Street... nice
• Zack Kregger has a super distinct ass way of filming that is funny and witty and clear. I think him choosing to tell a story so centered on womanhood is so interesting.
• THIS MOVIE DOES THE CONCEPT OF THRESHOLD SO WELL: It reminds me of Joyce Carol Oate's "Where are you coming where have you gone" Wherein the threshold of the house is such an important aspect to the story, and once the main character crosses the threshold, their life changes forever.
• I know I have a lot to say about socioecomonic class in this movie and also uhhhh
• Kregger also does the fake out at the beginning of the movie which stresses on the them of men being perceived as monsters. I'd like to compare it a little to The Vourdalak (2023) as it is fresh in my mind, but it has to do with WHO we perceive as monsters around us. The only thing scarier than the unknown is horror we know. The main characters have a discussion of this at the beginning
• This does feel like a horror movie for people who like horror movies, from the stephen king ass font, to a scarsgard red herring, to suspense for the sake of suspense.
• We start seeing stigma around neighborhoods and perception of neighborhoods, wherein those in the clean city are looking down on the less inhabited or abandoned streets. this is ripe for the discussion because it could be a specific discussion on this specific city's gentrification/building efforts, or it could be a broader discussion. this could also be a red herring that does not really go anywhere, just like the giant gun over the house in Weapons, which I do not imagine I will ever write about because I did not love it. We do get discussion on landlords sorta through Justin Long's character- Detroit, Michigan
• I feel sadness every single day that this was not released on blu ray, it would have had a killer blu ray release
• Thank GOD the liminal horror trend came three years after this movie came out or god forbid we would have had a movie mostly set in the hallways underneath this house. I think we spend a perfect amount of time upstairs, outside, and downstairs. again there is an important differentiation between the different levels of existence here.
• This reminds me of another horror movie I watched with like underground monsters but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was.... it was not as good as barbarian though OH IT WAS HOKUM!!!!!!!!
• I should really put effort into formatting my references in case I have further references later so tagging is easier..... that should say Hokum (2026) but,,,
• Obviously the monster in this movie is not necessarily inherently bad, although a monstrous being, but it would feel remiss to not mention that the whole reason Tess ends up in the basement at all is as a result of a man making a bad decision.
• The clear Jane Eyre references are present and beautiful.
• "That frickin' witch" OH IS THIS A MADE FOR TV EDIT IS HE SAYING FUCK???? (it is lmao)
• I know that it is not the hottest take in the entire world but Jane Eyre literally being in Tess' suitcase always has me beaming like it was put there for me, like Jane Eyre is not a well known beautiful piece of literature most people know about. sigh. i also would like to acknowledge that this movie is probably not as jane eyre pilled as i would like it to be... but I appreciate any nod to Jane Eyre itself being a horror movie.
  • This alludes to themes about men being scary, because one could argue the the main dude in Jane Eyre is the real monster, not his wife he keeps locked up in his house, which is. a lot to unoack.
• ZACK KREGGER HATES CHILDREN AND BABIES he thinks parenthood is inherently scary-- fear of the mundane
• I write about this when I write about Resident Evil (2026) but Kregger deals with FEAR. what scares us? what normal fears impact our lives? it all is kind of fantastical but it boils down the very human fears; men, basements, change, gentrification
• It is still so odd to me that a man would create a movie about how men are inherently scary.... like this is what Men should have been
• Another theme that follows Kregger is that the monsters are not always monsters, rather the reactions to their environments.
• My coworker brought this point up once, I am unsure if it was about this movie or another movie, but there is something to say about the way police act in this movie. Traditionally, police show up at the end of a horror movie, and the problem is solved, but in reality they often exacerbate the situation more. I think he was making that point about Get Out (2017) which has different dynamics than this movie, but is still worth unpacking in this context.
  • an aside but i should write about get out at some point, because it is the first time in my memory i remember "getting" a movie on my own. I have always felt like there was a "right" way to interpret media, but I know it to be a truth that it is not necessarily WHAT the interpretation is but HOW you back up your interpretation. I think I made excellent connections to Frankenstein in comparison to that movie. It always comes back to Frankenstein.
• Justin Long's whole diatribe about being a bad person, and not being able to change what he has done but trying to fix it almost feels unearned. I do not think it is unearned, as he has experienced a lot of trauma, and naturally his character might feel remorse, but it moreso feels performative. This interpretation is proven correct when, later, he acts selfishly and is killed. because men suck. it is crazy to me that a man can make such a men suck movie.
• All, truly, what our "monster" wants is to take care of a baby, because she is a product of her environment. Horror and trauma shape us into the monsters we are, which in a way makes monsters redeemable, but at what cost?

Potential Connection Texts

• Jane Eyre
• Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

status - 3. sprout