--- title: "Barbarian: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/barbarian/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/barbarian" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 26 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Barbarian (2022): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 26 reviews: 25 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like Barbarian a great deal. Zach Cregger’s debut is praised above all for its structure: a double-booked rental in a derelict corner of Detroit that keeps changing shape, resetting the story and the audience’s sympathies more than once. Reviewers find it scary in the middle stretch and funny where it means to be, and several credit Georgina Campbell’s lead performance and the cast more widely. The strands of social commentary, on male entitlement and urban decay, are noted approvingly, though most treat them as secondary to the scares. The reservations gather at the end. A run of critics find the explanation behind the horror thinner than the mystery, and say the last act turns conventional or faintly silly after the tension that precedes it. The spread is narrow: only Collider is properly mixed, faulting exposition-heavy later sections, while The i Paper feels the film goes rote before the close. Little White Lies thinks the commentary rather blunt. ## Los Angeles Times — Katie Walsh Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 2022. Writer-director Cregger delivers a fresh genre surprise in the cult movie in waiting ‘Barbarian,’ a triumph of Airbnb horror that builds bone-chilling suspense to operatic horror before cutting to new chapters and modes. It wraps multilayered contemporary social commentary in a rip-roaring, utterly horrifying flick with skull-rattling scares. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-09-07/barbarian-review-horror) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 October 2022. The critic calls it an excellent chiller and one of the most bracingly effective of the year, with a smart structure and novel real-estate horror angle focused on a double-booked Airbnb in derelict Detroit. It flirts with humour but mostly delivers inexorable tension. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/oct/30/barbarian-review-terror-in-a-double-booked-airbnb) ## Empire — Siddhant Adlakha Fi1m's normalised score 89/100 (inferred from the text). 28 October 2022. The critic praises the film's unpredictable twists, tonal shifts, and thoughtful themes of urban decay and toxic relationships, calling it wildly unpredictable and a beguiling romp that maintains gripping intensity. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/barbarian/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 2022. Festival review. The critic highlights the inventive, nerve-shredding horror whose greatest shock is its unpredictability, with Cregger embedding the audience in the protagonist's mindset and delivering clever twists that recalibrate assumptions. Social commentary is thoughtful but secondary to the deft terrors. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/barbarian-review/5174176.article) ## Variety — Peter Debruge Rating Critics Pick. 7 September 2022. A simple premise involving a double-booked vacation rental gets downright demented in Cregger’s unpredictable and thoroughly enjoyable debut. It builds shock upon shock with an effective sense of dread and a deliciously twisted sense of humor, referencing Psycho while delivering outrageous thrills. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/barbarian-review-zach-cregger-1235362694/) ## IndieWire — Jude Dry Rating B+. 7 September 2022. It is a clever horror thriller with Justin Long as the ultimate toxic white guy, a wild ride that is a hell of a lot of fun with a little something to say, though the final explanation feels like a mish-mosh. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/09/barbarian-review-justin-long-horror-1234759468/) ## The AV Club — Leigh Monson Rating B+. 8 September 2022. Cregger's debut is impressive, a stunning addition to the horror canon that marries the absurd and relatable with an extremely dark joke told by a master comedian, though the explanatory mythology feels a little thin. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/barbarian-zach-cregger-justin-long-georgina-campbell-1849503967) ## The New York Times — Beatrice Loayza Rating Critic’s Pick. 8 September 2022. Cregger’s gleefully twisty horror movie is both a product of modern times and a throwback, as two strangers explore the basement of their Detroit rental home. It orchestrates a snappy spectacle that lets #MeToo, gentrification, and other elements fit like puzzle pieces into a broader nightmare. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/movies/barbarian-review.html) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 82/100 (inferred from the text). 28 October 2022. The critic describes the film as an admirably tricky horror that uses structural fake-outs to reroute expectations and sympathies. It starts as a send-up of millennial meet-cute tropes before shifting into ferocious subterranean set-pieces, with praise for strong performances especially from Richard Brake. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/barbarian-crowdpleasing-depravity-gets-very-unsettling) ## The Times — Ed Potton Rating ★★★★☆. 28 October 2022. The critic describes a gleefully scary and inventive tale full of disarming twists and #MeToo undertones, using the minor pitfall of a double-booked Airbnb as a satisfying plot hook in a decayed Detroit setting. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/theatre-dance/article/barbarian-review-73ccw5x5k) ## Little White Lies — Charles Bramesco Rating 3/4/3. 24 October 2022. The critic notes Cregger's use of misdirection and redefinitions of meaning through twists that expand themes of male predation and gendered violence, though the execution is seen as somewhat blunt and the subject matter perfunctory. Visual inventiveness and showman's instincts for entertainment are highlighted positively. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/barbarian) ## Radio Times — Patrick Cremona Rating 4/5. The critic praises the cleverly constructed horror with myriad twists and turns that keep it unpredictable and engrossing. Cregger is commended for eking out tension from mundane interactions and Campbell for a magnetic performance, though some fear factor wears off by the climax. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-a38wer/barbarian/) ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey Rating 4/5. 27 October 2022. The critic praises the craftily structured and frighteningly tense horror-thriller, noting its grotesque urban blight setting and effective middle stretch of genuine scares from claustrophobia and dark trapping, while noting some hokier elements later. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/barbarian-review-airbnb-booking-has-never-terrifying/) ## Time Out — Olly Richards Rating 4/5. 26 October 2022. The critic calls it one of the most thrilling horror debuts in years, inventive and constantly surprising with well-timed laughs and structural timing. A small criticism is that the final punchline does not land 100 percent, letting things get slightly conventional. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/barbarian-2022) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Frank Scheck Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 2022. The critic calls it a supremely gonzo horror debut that pulls out all the stops for a terrified frenzy and recalls early Wes Craven, with a perverse ride that will satisfy those who go along for it. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/barbarian-bill-skarsgard-georgina-campbell-1235205019/) ## RogerEbert.com — Nick Allen Fi1m's normalised score 76/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2022. Cregger proves himself a jack-in-the-box horror filmmaker with a double-booked Airbnb nightmare in Detroit. The film builds visceral dread through creepy mysteries and wacky reveals, even when they get dumb, with strong performances from Campbell, Skarsgård, and Long. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/barbarian-movie-review-2022) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 26 October 2022. The review highlights the best scene as one that nails the horror of knowing better, praising how the film avoids the usual 'you idiot' sensation by having a character make a bad call out of moral obligation while fully aware of the danger. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2022/10/barbarians-best-scene-nails-the-horror-of-knowing-better.html) ## The i Paper — Christina Newland Fi1m's normalised score 68/100 (inferred from the text). 27 October 2022. The critic finds it a cleverly plotted horror with solid gory scares and inventive unpredictability in its visual style and domestic setting, but notes it feels rote by the end with scares giving way to nearly-amusing violence and doesn't fully hit its target. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/barbarian-review-georgina-campbell-stars-in-this-twisty-horror-about-the-airbnb-from-actual-hell-1938804) ## Digital Spy — Ian Sandwell Rating 5/5. 28 October 2022. The critic calls it the must-watch horror movie of the year for its originality and constant subversion of expectations. They single out the unique narrative structure that switches up the story and keeps viewers on edge, along with tense set pieces and strong performances. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a41736283/barbarian-review-uk-release/) ## Paste — Natalia Keogan Rating 8.1. 8 September 2022. The critic calls it a bloody, bold, biting, and unpredictable horror gem that delivers whiplash with shocking revelations while maintaining a biting socially conscious undercurrent about male entitlement and the threat of sexual assault. They praise the satirical precision, humor, and strong performances, especially Georgina Campbell's. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/horror-movies/barbarian-review) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 89/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 2022. The critic praises writer-director Zach Cregger for brilliantly baiting and switching in an exquisitely crafted scary story that keeps developing its twisty plot and stays one step ahead of viewers. They single out the atmospheric tension, circumstantial peril, and the cast’s body language for making the film genuinely scary and upsetting. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/barbarian-film-review-2022-georgina-campbell-bill-skarsgard-justin-long/) ## /Film — Ryan Scott Rating 8.5/10. 7 September 2022. The critic calls it the unexpected surprise of the year and a masterclass in tension and unpredictability. They praise its deceptively simple premise that leads to shocking, original turns, strong performances, and a mix of scares and humor without relying on tropes. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/990424/barbarian-review-a-genuinely-shocking-and-fun-descent-into-horror/) ## Consequence Rating B+. 7 September 2022. The critic describes it as a bonkers horror favorite with compounding twists and a dark sense of humor that makes for one of the most surprising horror films of recent years. They highlight its surprising DNA with Psycho in the first act and the effective building of dread around the double-booked Airbnb premise. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2022/09/barbarian-review-bill-skarsgard/) ## Den of Geek — Joe George Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 October 2022. The critic praises the film for reinventing suburban horror for the 21st century by linking it to the long history of the genre while addressing economic and social issues like gentrification and privilege. They single out the shocking flashback sequence and its thematic depth about suburbia's dark underbelly. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/barbarian-suburbia-scariest-place-in-america/) ## Polygon — Joshua Rivera Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 September 2022. The critic praises it as a lean, surprising film with effective thrills that rewards close watching through well-calibrated creative choices and recontextualization of sympathies rather than big reveals. They single out its subtle shifts in viewer sympathies and the way it makes the biggest scares psychological, in the head. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23342834/barbarian-review-horror-twists/) ## Collider — Chase Hutchinson Rating B-. 7 September 2022. The critic finds the film a mixed bag of horror and humor that starts strong with effective tension and surprises but loses momentum through exposition-heavy later sections and diminishing returns. They single out the technical craft, particularly the cinematography and score, for praise while noting the journey is more impactful than the reveals. [Read the review](https://collider.com/barbarian-review-bill-skarsgard-georgina-campbell/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/barbarian.md