Barbarian

I like Justin Long, he was fantastic in Jeepers Creepers but Barbarian is uninspiring, to say the least. Not that that is the fault of the actors. Without giving too much away, Barbarian feels a little like The Hills Have Eyes, meets Psycho, meets Quasimodo. The problem here is the scripting and handling. Its takes far too long for this story to get off the ground, it has weird, nonsensical plot holes and the reveal comes far to early. Whats left almost feels like a second film. It leaves only a reiteration of the essential earlier plot line with a few wrinkles, as the film moves towards its rather icky, conclusion. Of course, any sense of fear and tension, built up subtly in the first part of the film, is dissipated too. You know what's coming. In summary, this film feels like it borrows from other horror flicks, in the worst possible way, leading to a disjointed but predictable viewing experience that's neither all that scary or even terribly interesting. The only thing propping it up, is the acting, which is of a high standard. Yet, as I've said more times than I can count, that on its own, is not enough.