Alright so now that Barbarian is on HBO Max, we gotta talk about this banana sandwich,
bonkers horror film, that had my jaw on the ground a handful of times, and was a roller
coaster of “uhh what is happening?”
2022 has been a great year for horror, let's just say that haha.
But in this video we’re going to break down the story, explain that ending, along with
touching on some themes and messages cleverly tucked away in Barbarian.
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that creature in the basement from snatching you up, and also don’t forget to subscribe
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With that out of the way, a huge thank you for clicking this, now let's haha, let’s
get into the video.
So much like the movie, we’re going to break this thing down in sections, with the movie’s
3 act structure being the perfect template.
The first act opens on faint screams, along with the main character of Tess, as it’s
quickly established that she has been caught in a frustrating nightmare of being double
booked at an AirBnB, with Pennywise the clown.
You know, Bill Skarsgård, who is Kieth in this situation.
The two try to come to a solution in a funny “who is on first” type of conversation,
settling on both staying the night at the rental.
Tess gets the bedroom, while Kieth takes the couch.
There is an uneasy almost, “stranger danger” tension between the two as Tess ignores the
tea Kieth made for her, and Kieth goes on an awkwardly long ramble about not opening
the wine until she was present as to make her feel safe.
Through conversation, Tess lets her guard down, as they find commonalities, and call
it a night.
However 2 things seem a bit off, as Tess’s locked door is wide open, and the basement
door slowly closes in the background.
The next day, Tess notices that the house is the only livable one in the entire neighborhood.
After her interview, a homeless man staggers out of the rundown neighborhood, telling her
to come out of that house, it’s not safe.
And boy was this man right, because Tess discovers a hidden room after unfortunately locking
herself in the basement.
The worst casting couch audition room I have ever seen, with a bedframe, camcorder, and
bloody handprint.
Freaked out, Tess frantically tells Kieth they need to go, that something isn’t right,
only for him to discount what she is saying and investigate himself.
This constant disregard of what Tess says, combined with male ego, is a theme that pops
up more and more as the story progresses.
Here Kieth goes into the basement despite Tess’s warning, while the night before Tess
mentions if the roles were reversed, Kieth would have stumped right into the AirBnB without
a second thought.
That men can blast their way through life, while women have to be cautious
Kieth is heard screaming for help, as Tess cannot just stand by, discovering another
door, as the underground labyrinth goes even deeper.
And maybe it’s the way it was shot, but Skarsgard’s crawl on all fours gave me the
heebie jeebies the first time I watched this.
Anyway these tunnels have a metal gate at the entrance and several empty animal cages
sitting about.
Kieth warns Tess that someone else is down there, but it’s too late, as my ex girlfriend,
I mean some sort of creature rushes from the darkness and smashes Kieth’s face into the
stone floor.
Without any time to process that hand banger of an Act I finish, it’s seemingly all sunshine
and red convertibles with a beautiful ocean view, and Justin Long’s character AJ singing….No
really, we’re not going to talk about that insane shit we just saw?
Really?
I…
Okay then.
He’s singing Donovan’s Riki Tiki Tavi.
Which is a heavy dose of irony, because the song is supposed to be about standing up for
yourself and facing problems that seem insurmountable.
This ties into later events in the film, but here it’s the phone call AJ receives about
being Metoo’d by a co-star on the pilot he’s working on.
Through this brief conversation, it's very much established AJ is a scummy guy, calling
her a lying Bee sting, and after further conversations and meetings, no one wants to deal with him
because of this bombshell that is revealed, and is told no matter what do NOT contact
Meagan, the actress accusing him of sexual misconduct.
To make ends meet, AJ has to liquidate some properties, one of which happens to be located
in Detroit.
Ahhh yes, cohesive story-telling, it’s all connected maaaaaannn.
But here is another reference to the Riki Tiki Tavi song, as the frame is focused on
a snake hanging from the rearview mirror, as AJ parks in front of this view.
Symbolizing he is a snake, no good, a sign of the devil if you wanna get extreme.
Meaning these allegations against him, ehhh carry some weight.
AJ is a misogynistic narcissist ignoring his parents, bragging to his friend about what
really happened, while de-escalating it, like she was asking for it dude.
Having no regard for others, hilariously chucking Tess’s laptop, calling Meagan against the
advice he was given, and researching the added property value of the hidden basement rooms,
like some real-estate brochaco, rather than being concern that THERE IS A FREAKIN SNUFF
ROOM IN YOUR BASEMENT.
As AJ measures his dick, or rather creepy basement added property square footage, he
stumbles upon a disheveled pinkish room, with a small CRT TV playing a new mother’s baby
nursing video.
If not creepy enough, his tape measure is sucked into the dark void of the basement
hallway, and again we see him coward away from his problems, pulling a knife and running
away, landing into some caged in pit, only to find Tess is still alive in the basement.
A quick switch to a bright pastel neighborhood reminiscent of the one from Edward Scissorhands,
as we follow…
I gotta say these transitions from terrifying shit to bright happiness are amazing…
Anyway this is Frank living in the same nightmare house, and through context clues of Asia’s
“Heat of the moment” softly playing on the radio, mentions of the Reagon administration,
and the changed 4:3 aspect ratio, this is the early to mid 80’s.
Much like AJ, there is a weird connection of sorts to him and present events because
of the baby supplies at the market, specifically the same nursing VHS that is shown earlier.
Frank’s intentions are further illustrated as he stalks a woman from the store, posing
as a plumber to unlock her window for later.
Upon returning to the nightmare house, his neighbor mentions the neighborhood is going
belly up and they are moving.
Frank says he’s not going anywhere, hinting at him not changing his ways, as screams from
the basement are heard.
The video, the creature woman, Frank, something happened in the past 40 years to bring us
here.
Inferring that Frank was kidnapping and sexually assaulting these women in his basement, keeping
them in cages, and somehow this creature woman is a by-product, developing an infatuation
with being a mother due to the VHS tape.
Later on we do discover that
Though having completely different paths of morality, Tess and AJ are both caught in the
same situation.
AJ’s ego and ignorance drives him deeper into the madness, refusing to drink from the
hairy nipple.
I mean, haha how much, how much do you have to be paid to just lick it?
100 bucks?
Come ooonnnn.
Tess escapes, in one of the best and scariest shots of the woman reaching out, only to disappear
into the darkness again.
The homeless man, Andre, from earlier helps Tess, which was his warning from earlier,
and that's not even the worst thing in there, hint hint….
Tess’s faults are shown more clearly, as she just saved herself but wants to go back
in to save AJ.
Even Andre says she needs to worry about herself.
Tess flags down police that don’t believe her, think she is some sort of druggie, and
discount her claims, leaving her alone back at the house.
AJ finds another room deep in the basement that seemingly has someone living in it.
The final piece of the puzzle, Frank.
Yeah, that dude from the 80’s never left the house, instead living in the basement,
hint hint the worst thing in the house.
AJ’s first response is to save the man, that mother creature is going to pay for what
she did, and the cops are going to swarm this place, don't you worry.
Until AJ realizes the man is actually a sick pa-vert, who had been assaulting women for
decades, filming all of it via VHS tapes.
AJ’s tone changes dramatically, exclaiming what is wrong with you man, you… you….resulting
in Frank killing himself.
The thing about this scene that is so perfectly done, is that AJ and Frank are one in the
same.
Both hurting people for their own gain or pleasure, not taking into account they are
essentially monsters.
AJ is disgusted by Frank’s videos, but it’s him looking in a mirror.
Both are abusers, blaming others for the situations they are in.
And Frank here doesn’t end his life because he feels guilty about the last 4 decades of
abuse.
Noooo no no no, he ends it because AJ threatens the cops will show up, and this spins the
gears in Frank’s mind that he will be caught
Tess unfortunately continues this white knight persona, slamming her car into the lanky pale
woman, making her way back into the basement to save AJ.
But this selflessness is a curse to Tess, resulting in AJ shooting her.
It’s shown they are opposites of the same coin.
Tess attempts to save the day, gets shot, nonchalantly giving off the ole’ “it’s
but a flesh wound” act.
The quick shot of the nursing video implies she is of a nurturing nature.
While AJ half apologizes for shooting her, and refuses to get his car keys in the basement,
even though Tess risked her life doing the same exact thing minutes earlier.
Luckily Andre gives them shelter, filling in a bit of backstory for the creature woman.
She is a copy of a copy of a copy, you know a sweet home Alabama or the royals inbreeding
situation.
AJ states that he hurt someone, and that matters.
Here you think he is talking about Tess, because of the bullet wound, and a change of heart
from his shitty behavior, but it’s actually him referring to the allegations against him
from earlier.
He’s almost a changed person, but fixates on the “I need to fix it, I can fix it”
nature to his problems.
Though like a buck-naked kool-aid man, the creature bursts through the wall, beating
Andre with his own arm, chasing Tess and AJ to the top of a silo bin.
AJ reverts to his old ways, leaving Tess behind to fend for herself, panicking there is nowhere
to go, she’s never going to stop.
This is AJ realizing there is no way he can escape the allegations that his co-star said.
There is nothing he can do, even if he is innocent, it’ll tarnish his reputation,
but he can buy some time.
Using a woman as a means without compassion, AJ throws Tess from the roof, with the creature
woman Andrew Garfield spiderman diving to save MJ in redemption fashion.
Seeing the creature saved Tess, and is still alive, AJ begins to plead with her.
He had no choice, she was going to kill them both, it’s something he had to do, you were
slipping, yeah yeah I did nothing wrong.
Almost blaming her, again leaning into his scummy nature, and the allegations he is accused
of.
In his eyes he did nothing wrong, just another person in his path to get him to where he
wants to be.
Shockingly though, the creature is still alive, crushing in Justin Long’s eyes so that Jeeper’s
Creepers can’t get his peepers, remember he lost his eyes in that film too, the man’s
a scream King, then ripping his head apart.
AJ be dead.
The creature tries to carry Tess back to the house, with Tess saying she can't, she is
unable, slowly putting the gun to her temple, and pulls the trigger.
BOOM credits.
It ends with The Ronnettes “Be my Baby” which is a cheeky nod to everything at play
here.
The creature solely wanted a baby the whole time, with Tess being picked as that baby.
But unlike the rest of the movie, Tess finally puts her needs first, standing up for herself,
and lives to see another day.
Now there are a handful of different themes and symbolism at play from beginning to end
of Barbarian.
If you’re wondering why the Barbarian name to began with, it could be that the savage
woman was in fact a barbarian in her constant state of rage, not belonging to normal society.
Or uhhh could even be a play on the house’s street of Barbary.
But instead themes of abuse, trauma, toxicity, morality, male ego, and the status quo are
at play.
In a rough sense, AJ and Tess are mirrors of Frank and the Mother.
AJ is an abusive, narcissist embodying that male toxicity, thinking everything he does
is gold, while anything that goes wrong is blamed on someone else.
Gaslighting, is that a word we can still use?
AJ is Denise from Always Sunny, best example, while not necessarily being threatening from
the outside, is rotten at his core, as the evil spreads out.
The idea of an outside sheen or brightness can hide something gross below, much like
the house where all of this takes place.
Even comparing Kieth and AJ was set up flawlessly, because AJ is introduced in this flamboyant
bright cheerful manner, I mean why wouldn’t we trust this guy.
He looks like one wild and craaazzzyyyy guy to hang with.
Until we find out he’s a frat bro Chad.
While Kieth, is introduced in a creepy manner, its late, during a thunderstorm, a little
awkward, is he trying to sleep with Tess?
But is soon found to be trusted, unlike the reputation AJ puts on a lot of men.
Kieth might actually even be a victim himself because of his nightmares and frightful sleep
talking.
On the other hand, Tess is constantly giving in to people around her, with the quote “Love
and control are the same thing” mentioned earlier when sipping wine with Kieth.
Subtly hinted at with the constant calls from Marcus, an ex-lover, who we can infer had
a lot of control over Tess, and even Kieth telling her it’s too late to find another
place to stay.
More so being ignored by everyone when she tells Kieth about the basement, AJ about going
along with the Mother’s act, even the police that think she is completely crazy.
And in this constant putting others before herself mentality, she wound up in this whole
mess and got shot.
But the last 5 minutes are when the status quo changes, instead of AJ getting to live
out his days, keeping the horrors that he has committed a secret, he is actually killed
by a by-product of what he would have created, the Mother.
If he would have changed at any point in the film, this could have been avoided, however
it is almost a symbol of the abused getting back at their abuser.
While as Tess, playing in to the song from earlier….
No one is going to solve your problems, instead learn to quote “kill them myself”.
Now not literally meaning to kill the mother, but instead to stop the constant cycle of
giving up yourself for the other’s happiness essentially.
She’s changed for the better.
If she didn’t kill the mother, she would have submitted like many times throughout
the film, and been hauled back into the basement dwelling….
I’m not the biggest horror fan, but Barbarian was really something different.
The plot instantly grabbed me, and subverting expectations was probably its strongest attribute.
Like I was waiting and waiting for some cheap jumpscare, but instead disregarded the easy
ones, focusing on the tension of scenes to play out, and there are some truly horrifying
imagery.
The stark transitions from maybe the most harrowing scenes, to bright colorful happy
scenes in an instant, confused my brain in the best way possible.
Like waaaiiitt, we’re not going to talk about that dude who just got smashed by that
monster woman?!
And the flashback scenes were filmed in such a dreamlike different manner that made me
feel like it was an entirely different movie.
Great use of atmosphere and lighting as well, because the handful of times the mother either
lurched from the darkness or slowly receded into it were brilliant.
Barbarian is definitely in my top 10, maybe even my top 5 of the year, and this rewatch
allowed me to pick up on so many small things I missed, and interesting connections.
Treat yourself this weekend
But yeah, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Barbarian and if you think this is a top-tier
horror film for 2022?
I loved watching this a second time.
And I’ll let you know
We’re currently running a competition giving away 3 copies of TOP GUN MAVERICK on the 15th
of November.
And all you have to do, to be in for a chance of winning, is like the video, make sure you
subscribe with notifications on, and drop a comment below with your thoughts on Andor.
We pick the comments at random at the end of the month, and the winners of the last
one are on screen right now.
So if that’s you, message me on twitter at heavy spoilers
If you want something else to watch, be sure to check out some of our other cool videos,
whether it be our upcoming DC slate breakdown or our constant House of Dragon videos.
Watch them all, dragons maaaaaan
With that out of the way, thanks for the constant support, I’ve been Jared, and I have just
deleted the AirBnb app.
Haha I’ll see you in the next one, take care, and Peace.