All right, 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 article, we’re going to break down the story, explain that ending, along with touching on some themes and messages cleverly tucked away in Barbarian.
Zach Cregger exposes the true nature of people in his movie “Barbarian.” The story makes the observation that an entity’s internal evil is frequently much scarier than its apparent (or physical) deformities. The movie is broken up into three acts: the first act, which features the appearance of a monstrous-looking creature; the second act, which has the two antagonists; and the third act, which features the killing of the monsters and the protagonist’s subsequent escape. Without further ado, let’s get into the Barbarian explanation then followed by its ending explanation.
Act I: Meet Tess And Kieth
The first act opens with 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 to 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 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.
Tess And Kieth Discover The Monster
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 for what Tess says, combined with the 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, some sort of creature rushes from the darkness and smashes Kieth’s face into the stone floor.
Act II: Meet The Jerk AJ
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. This 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 Discovers The Monster
AJ is a misogynistic narcissist ignoring his parents and 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 concerned 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 the pit, only to find Tess is still alive in the basement.
Act III: Meet Filthy Frank
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-’80s.
Much like AJ, there is a weird connection of sorts between 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.
In 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 discover that.
Tess Escapes
Though having completely different paths of morality, Tess and AJ are both caught in the same situation. AJ’s ego and ignorance drive him deeper into the madness, to lick 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 …. 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 doesn’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 the worst thing in the house.
AJ Meets Frank
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 and the same. Both hurt 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 Saves AJ
Tess, unfortunately, continues this white knight persona, slamming her car into the lanky pale woman, and 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, but 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 of his problems.
Barbarian Ending
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 wanted 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 says she can’t, she is unable, slowly putting the gun to her temple, and pulling the trigger. BOOM credits.
Barbarian Ending Explained
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, stands up for herself, and lives to see another day.
Now there are a handful of different themes and symbolism at play from the beginning to the end of Barbarian. If you’re wondering why the Barbarian name began with, it could be that the savage woman was a barbarian in her constant state of rage, not belonging to normal society. Or uh 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 And Kieth Having Contrast
AJ is Denise from Always Sunny, the 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, it’s late, during a thunderstorm, and 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.
Tess Standing Up For Herself
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, whom 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, and even the police that thinks 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 into the song from earlier…. No one is going to solve your problems, instead, learn to quote “kill them myself”. Now not literally mean 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….
Barbarian Movie Review
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 is 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 different dreamlike 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 was 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
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