Critics have described Barbarian as the “best horror movie of the year” ahead of its release in cinemas.
Written and directed by Zach Cregger, Barbarian follows Tess Marshall (Georgina Campbell) who books to spend the night in a rental home in Detroit, only to find the room is already occupied by a man named Keith (Bill Skarsgård) when she arrives.
The film, which was released in US cinemas last month, also stars Justin Long, Richard Brake, Kurt Braunohler, Kate Bosworth and Sara Paxton.
Ahead of its release in the UK on Friday (October 28) and on HBO Max in the US, Barbarian has been heralded as the must-see horror film of Halloween by some outlets.
In a five-star review on Digital Spy, it’s described as a film which “constantly wrongfoots the audience, delivering audacious swing after swing”.
“You might not have heard of Barbarian before its cinema release, yet come the end of the year, it’ll be all you can talk about as it’s the best horror movie of the year,” the review reads.
The film is similarly touted as the “most shocking horror movie of the year” by Den Of Geek, who praised the “genuinely innovative and clever narrative that benefits from the less you know”.
A four-star review on Time Out, reads: “If he doesn’t 100 per cent land the final punchline, letting things get a touch conventional at the end, it’s a small criticism of an otherwise specularly well-made horror.
“In Barbarian, you won’t know what’s coming from one minute to the next, but you’ll almost certainly come out eager to see what Cregger does next.”
Barbarian currently holds a 92 per cent rating on the reviews aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. In the US, the film became a surprise hit at the box office, grossing over $42million from a reported $4.5million budget.
Another horror film gaining traction this month is Terrifier 2, which has reportedly led to some cases of people passing out in cinemas.