Barbarian

 

Barbarian is a 2022 American horror film written and directed by Zach Cregger in his solo screenwriting and directorial debut. The film premiered at San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on September 9, 2022, by 20th Century Studios. The plot revolves around Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell), who arrives at a rental house only to find it has been double-booked with another man named Keith (Bill Skarsgård). Unsettled by the situation, Tess decides to stay the night while Keith sleeps on the couch. However, she discovers a sinister presence within the house as there is a hidden tunnel in the basement. Keith ends up down there and is killed by a humanoid monstrosity known as “The Mother”. AJ Gilbride (Justin Long), who is facing rape allegations, also goes to the same house since he is already renting it. He ends up in a pit in the basement along with Tess, as The Mother treats her victims like her babies. While Tess plays along, AJ is less willing. Tess is able to escape but gets no help from the police, so she waits until it’s dark to go back into the house to help free AJ.

The film received largely positive reviews for Cregger’s screenplay and direction as well as the cast performances. It grossed $45.4 million worldwide on a production budget of $4–4.5 million.

Zach Cregger was inspired by The Gift of Fear and wrote a single thirty-page scene that incorporated as many red flags as possible. He became frustrated during the writing process and decided to introduce a twist that would “flip [the scene] on its head.” Early in pre-production, Cregger reached out to multiple financiers and distributors but was rejected. J. D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules agreed to produce the film through their BoulderLight Pictures banner, and were later joined by Vertigo Entertainment after they reached out to Vertigo’s Roy Lee who had served as an early mentor to them.

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