Barbarian (HBO Max) (Exclusive Series)

Initial release date: September 9, 2022

Studios: 20th Century Studios/Regency Enterprises/Vertigo Entertainment

Plot: A young woman discovers the rental home she booked is already occupied by a stranger. Against her better judgment, she decides to spend the night but soon discovers there's a lot more to fear than just an unexpected house guest.

Cast

Georgina Campbell - Tess

Bill Skarsgard - Keith

Justin Long - AJ

Matthew Patrick Davis - The Mother

Richard Brake - Frank

Kurt Braunohler - Doug

Jaymes Butler - Andre

Sophie Sorenson - Bonnie

Rachel Fowler - Jeff

J.R. Esposito - Jeff

Kate Nichols - Catherine

Kate Bosworth - Melisa

Writer/director: Zach Creggar

Rated R for some strong violence and gore, disturbing material, language throughout and nudity (102 minutes)

'Barbarian' is a 2022 horror movie that ultimately became a surprise hit critically and commercially. I didn't get a chance to see it while it was playing in theaters. And, now that it's available on HBO Max, I figured I'd finally have a chance to check it out ... and WOW, talk about a suspenseful thrill ride!

'Barbarian' has some pretty solid scares that will make any horror fan jump a bit. There are also some parts of the movie that are extremely tense and insane.

I actually didn't watch a lot of the trailers too much and watched the movie blind to savor the surprises and that was really worth it! This movie has many twists and turns and there's tons of suspense. The intensity and suspense kicks in maybe fifteen minutes into the movie and doesn't slow down at all.

And, the ending is something that you don't see coming!!

'Barbarian' is available to stream on HBO Max and on several PVOD rental platforms [Redbox; YouTube; Vudu; Google Play; Apple TV; Amazon Prime].

Here are some interesting tidbits for 'Barbarian':

• The script started out after Creggar read the book "The Gift of Fear," which encourages women to trust their intuition when confronted by obviously dangerous men. he used it as a writing exercise and began crafting a thirty minute short that consisted entirely of a conversation in which a woman continues to ignore a mounting series of red flags. He liked it well enough that he knew he had the makings of a longer film and began conceptualizing a broader story for the characters.

• The screen aspect ratio shifts from today's widescreen to an older standard ratio when the story shifts from the present to the 1980s.

• While writing the screenplay, Creggar named the movie 'Barbarian' as a placeholder. As the story progressed, the name eventually became the official title.

• Early in pre-production, Creggar reportedly reached out to multiple financiers and distributors, including A24 and Neon, but was rejected.

• 'Barbarian' was originally scheduled to be theatrically released by 20th Century Studios on August 12, 2022, before being rescheduled to be released on August 31 and later September 9.

• Disney reportedly maintained a theatrical release for 'Barbarian' (as opposed to a streaming release on Hulu) due to strong positive reception from studio test screenings.

• 'Barbarian' was released on digital download and HBO Max on October 23.