My theory as to why she didn't nab Tess or Keith at night when she was sneaking around could have been because they were sleeping and you don't want to wake a sleeping baby, so her nurture side probably told her, "well they're in the house and safe, I'll let them sleep."
Tiny detail I loved was when Justin Long was going through Keith’s bag the book he found was Jane Eyre, which also features an insane woman locked away and hidden from the world.
I could be wrong, but I interpreted the scene where he calls the rental agent a little differently. She says that they haven't had any renters for a few weeks. I think that's how long Tess was down there. Tess and Keith were the last renters and no one rented it since then, so that's why no one discovered their stuff. She'd certainly been down there more than a day or two. She says that she doesn't know how long it was, but she'd figured out not to upset "The Mother," so I got the impression that she'd been there for awhile.
That's what I gathered, too. She seemed to have a really good sense of the routine and what was right to do by that point, so I figured she and/or Keith were the last renters the agent referred to.
@@ChristineSMeyer I mean the movie didn’t really have Tess mention or have anyone like a friend or family throughout the movie other than the ex she had. Also she probably was getting to that but got distracted when having fun with Keith.
I actually don't think that Tess was making decisions based on them being morally right. Early on the movie we learn that she's in an abusive relationship. She tells Keith about a scenario dealing with a guy who thinks love and control are the same thing, and the girl that let's herself become something like a pet, then tells him that she can't believe it's happening to her. So I think that was establishing how she struggles to leave men behind, even when she knows it's dumb to go back and is putting her own well being at risk.
I don’t know if the two are mutually exclusive, though. I think you’re totally right but to say it doesn’t still speak to a moral fortitude as well as a character flaw is a little limited. To me at least
This can still be a moral issue. while people can change attachment styles throughout significant events in life, personality is pretty rigid. That being said, she likely learned to be a savior/codependent to some degree in childhood and is accepting of douchebags because of her comfort in salvation mode. She is also extremely cautious because of this dynamic has also proven to be painful/dangerous. Yet a pattern is familiar even when it's not truly comfortable. She followed this pattern of being a helper. Even though it's detrimental. This is likely something that makes her feel good or better when she's helpful and stupid or ashamed when it's with the wrong person. It's moral because no virtue is without pleasure and suffering on their continuum.
Also with the pic of Keith's ID, she showed that she didnt trust him by taking the pic, but by the next day she was looking at the pic and "caressing" his face like she was already falling for him. With AJ it seemed like pure empathy, because she had been down there for weeks and didn't want him to be subjected to the same thing.
Another parallel between the 2 storylines (I forget the character names forgive me): She has a line at the beginning of the movie that since she's a woman she has to be hyper aware of her surroundings at all time, but guys have the freedom to just walk into situations with no fear. Then we see during Justin Longs part thats all he does, just blunder his way through without giving a thought, like Maybe I shouldn't rush into the secret underground tunnel system in my basement
And at the end when she hits the mother with her car, she watches carefully to make sure the mother is dead. Comparatively, Justin long just believes the mother is dead when she falls off the water tower which is what kills him
@@hannahohno This. Lol. She took a lot of precautions when he met a stranger (Keith) but he has no problem entering a basement with 2 secret and extremely dangerous entrances, again, lol.
The ending is the reality for survivor's. There is never any justice. And even if you managed to win anything in court, the posses is not about you the victim. It is built around the perpetrator. And therefore just the act of trying to seek justice, is in itself, traumatising. The fact that the world never knew what he or the original house owner did, is realty. The vast majority of abusers never see any repercussions. As a survivor of csa, the current ending while harsh, is satisfactory to me as it is not lying. Or giving false hope.
Exactly my thought! Maybe that's something that's just very obvious when you yourself have gone through SA or other abuse, and not so obvious to the "ordinary" observer, but to me it was a fantastic ending - for exactly the reasons you mention.
Truth There's never a satisfactory ending to CSA survival stories. Tried explaining this in the Ethan Hawke black phone thing when people were complaining about no character development nor backstory and so were frustrated by the lack of closure. And I'm like "yeah, that's how CSA leaves you feeling"
@@KristiContemplates as a csa I agree. The crime is about the perpetrator. And the because of this, everything is in there court in our society. Just survivoring is constantly having things taken from you. Choice in life choices is a big one. Becuase it is crimes about power, the power stays with the perpetrator. They may never think about there victim for a second the rest of there life. But the victim spends the rest of there life thinking about the perpetrator. And thus the power stays in the perpetrators court. I see and call csa the same as soul murder. As the perpetrator plan move on and do what every they want. But the survivor had to live with the devastation the rest of a life. And it impacts absolutely Ever part of a survivor's life. And every action and desision. At 38, I am ONLY well enough to try to seek some type of compensation for my abuse. And EVER step is built to punish survivor's. EVERYTHING. But I will continue because I. DID. NOTHING. WRONG. And I refuse to let it go. I deserve my comunity knowing the monster in there midst. And NO SHAME is on male. I find my being Frank and open about my abuse, has helped others in my comunity.
it’s so sad because i was so terrified of keith and hated him (not knowing much going in and assuming he was the villain because it’s bill skarsgard duh) but then the moment he dies it’s just like oh my god i feel so bad he was just genuinely a nice art collective dude who was trying to help tess out 😭
I don’t think Keith was a nice guy at all. Sure he appeared nice and did a lot of nice deeds but he repeatedly ignored Tess’ (I forgot the main characters name. Is it Tess?) wants, like making her tea when she said no and offering her wine when she said no and countless other examples. I think he was probably the parallel for AJ who’s an obvious creep while Keith is a “nice” creep, but that’s just my opinion. I think if they were together he would constantly dismiss her.
The reason why they were leaving that perfect neighborhood was because of racial tension and black people moving to Detroit. Hence why he said “the neighborhood is going to piss.” The crazy thing about this film is Brightmoor actually has a lot of blocks just like that. You will see a brand new looking house like it just got dropped down in the middle of the neighborhood. I was born and raised in Detroit so I have a lot real insight to this film. Definitely my favorite this year.
Exactly! Knowing the history around it while watching actually makes it better. It’s not entirely fictitious there’s so much truth to it. Places like that do look like something out of a horror movie and it’s terrifying and sad.
That's what I said to my mom when he said that. You knew the way the place was looking fine and Regan was accelerating deindustrialization, it was White flight. Stankin tail...
@@alfie6441 I never understood why people are scared unless you see someone in the house or are alone. It's really just sad because it's loss of business and jobs then tax revenue and it snowballs.
I grew up in the Metro area and live in the suburbs just outside of the city. I have friends who live in the Brightmoor area, You could go several blocks with no street lights, boarded houses and burned out stores but one block will have these beautifully kept homes, gardens, street lights, people sitting out on the porches, then the next 6 blocks are back to being abandoned. I'd go over there for parties, have drinks on the porch. It was this weird feeling of being on edge with the surrounding area but that this block felt like a warm safe place.
I saw an interesting theory as to why Mother left Tess alone the first night. Basically that Mother heard the guy having the nightmare and was going to him. And that Tess woke him in up just in time. Since mother truly just wants to protect and nurture, since they were both quiet she just left them alone.
Whoa, hold on a second guys! I see everyone here talking about how the woman didn't want to disturb her 'babies' while she roamed at night, but let me point out that heavy door in the basement which sealed off the tunnels and could only be opened from one side by pulling that rope. Can someone explain how she managed to do that???
I think it was so wild the way she kept looking for help and safety from the men around her but in the end they just ended up being no help at all keith, the police, and obviously AJ. The homeless man tried his best but it was at his own demise unfortunately
I was so upset that the homeless man died like I seen it coming but I hoped when he warned her he woulda just been written out. But good observation all the men undermined her and used her even the cops wrote her off.
I mean, aside from AJ and the cops, Keith was a lovely, decent guy who actually made her life easier in many small ways when he really didn’t have to. And the homeless man was literally a knight in shining amour that tried his best in every way to help her/save her and it cost him his life. I think they balanced it out quite nicely, especially Keith because he was literally the antithesis of everything she was afraid he’d be, which makes a good point that not all men are AJs. Also, SHE could be a lot more proactive and independent. Everything happened TO her, she was always reacting on the back foot, until the end and even then that gunshot was not like Ripley in Alien.
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017 Keith wasn't worthless or evil though? Everything he does is understandable besides going down to the second basement without mentioning it
As soon as the basement was revealed, I’m ashamed to say that I had the exact same reaction as Justin Long’s character. I was like, “Damn! The square footage of this place is incredible! Look at this basement!!!”
Just a note: I think they explain why the rental company doesn't know about the tenants there (though it doesn't seem like they know about the double booking)-they mention that the last tenants were staying there two weeks ago and that they don't clean the house until a new tenant is going to be staying there. Tess says she doesn't know how long she's been down there, so I'm assuming she/Keith were the tenants from two weeks ago that the rental company mentioned (and with no new booking, they hadn't been out there to clean the property yet and see their belongings).
Additional comment: For a while there (might still be a big thing?) The city of Detroit was selling abandoned homes around the city really cheap (like, $100) with the stipulation that they get fixed to a certain standard. A lot of people, especially young people from California would buy them, sometimes unseen.
Definitely not like that now and it also wasn’t a bustload of homes for $100 but I have seen super cheap homes very close to the price years ago. But they needed a shit load of work to bring them back up to standards. And I’m talking from the standpoint of someone born n raised in Detroit
@@RicoSoprano_ I'm just outside Detroit on the east side. My sis used to travel all over out west, and she would get all pissed at these people from California (and a few other places) that thought they were going to profiteer off buying cheap Detroit homes. Little did they know what they were going to get themselves into.
@@thisiscait Have you given Jeepers Creepers another go? I re-watched that movie recently and it absolutely holds up, Justin Long was excellent in it. It's easily one of my horror favorites
As someone who can't watch most horror movies (and especially not this one with this subject matter) I am very grateful to have youtube and people like Amanda so I don't miss out on such bonkers plots. Truly, to completely miss out on such insanity would be a tragedy
@@fm.9783 i did notice that but they didn't say movies in general just the horror ones, so i inferred it as them being to scared to watch horror. If i'm wrong then i'm really sorry for making that comment.
I was having a particularly stressful day with my toddler and went to see this with some friends to get a little break. It definitely did not help with Mom guilt.
I definitely bit in hard to the Bill being bad, especially because I refused to watch the trailers. All I knew was airbnb + strange man and so when the twist came I was shocked. Great movie!
The Barbarian is one of the best movies of the year. I was so scared while in the theater. The twist was so simple but amazing. The writing, cast, and pacing were on point. Can't wait to watch it again. Justin Long did very well. 10/10.
That ending is so truly heart wrenching for me. Mother didn’t understand. She was human too. It wasn’t her fault, what she had gone through. That man didn’t deserve to off himself. Mother should have been the one to kill her. She meant well for her “babies” God I feel like I’m gonna cry. Not understanding that your baby is hurting only to be kill by them. And the look in her eyes before the trigger was pulled. Heartbreaking.
I thought Justin Long's ending was a pretty solid culmination. After his "breakthrough" we see that he'll immediately discard any sort of growth in favor of self preservation. He was there to sell the house to pay for his pending legal fees, so he essentially still dies a bad guy
Okay I feel that we have a clear psychic connection because this is the SECOND time I have told my aunt (fellow horror connoisseur with me) I was going to watch a review of a movie first with you in mind, and WITHIN FIVE MINUTES I saw you posted a video on it. She told me this might actually qualify as disturbing because I’m pregnant & I should pass on it til my nuggets born. So thank you for this 😂😂
They don't actually show anything. The concept is disturbing, but you never actually see a pregnant woman or any of his victims aside from "The Mother." They do show him unlocking the window in that one woman's house, but we don't see her again after that. And when Justin Long's character watches the video, we don't see what he's watching.
I watched Barbarian last night. It was crazy as hell. I felt like I was being manipulated in all different directions.... In a good way. I thought it was the most unique "Horror" movie I've seen in a long time. Next time I see a baby bottle I am running for my life.
On the subject of your theater experience. I went alone and was hooked immediately. 30 minutes into the movie a large gentleman sits down right next to me. Mind you there were only 2 other people in the theater. Starts looking at his phone on full brightness. I gave it about five minutes and said “I’m trying to watch this movie” and he puts it away. I got anxious and moved two rows down. He then leaves the theater and never came back. 🤯
this year has been exceptional for horror movies, most importantly original horror movies but Barbarian might be the best horror movie this year. this story went to places i wasn't expecting it to.
I know that the marketing for it was really corny and, conceptually, it's kinda corny, too, but I SUPER recommend that you go out and watch Smile before it leaves theaters. It's such an unexpected gem of a movie and I walked in not expecting much and came out absolutely stunned at how amazing it was from the acting to the camera work and it being, overall, so imaginative.
Considering Bonnie, The rental agent who double booked the place technically started the whole ordeal and rebuffed AJ’s concerns I honestly wondered if she was going to turn out to be a surprise villain lol
I kept hearing and 100% now agree that going in to the movie knowing nothing is the best thing to do. I was flabbergasted by the twists and turns it took.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and agree about the ending. I was waiting for more little cuts at the end in between the credits, maybe like what we get to see in Jennifer's Body for some final closure. I wanted to see Tess make it to a hospital or a news report or SOMETHING to get that feeling of satisfaction after she was dismissed by the cops, and confirmation of the public opinion of AJ.
I really appreciate you having some really concrete ideas for how things could have ended, which you’ve done on several videos I’ve watched. So many critics love to trash a movie or parts of it, and don’t offer any “here’s what I’d like to see, or think would be cool”. Really great stuff you’re doing.
Barbarian is an excellent continuation of the 'Comedian directs Horror' (which I hope carries on for a long time) 2 movies I've really enjoyed/appreciated of late are Glorious & You Won't Be Alone- tho they are very very different films. also Who Invited Them was decent, esp the cast
So glad you made this video, I was really hoping you’d talk about this movie! I absolutely loved it, genuinely one of my favorite horror movies of all time, if not movies period. So so suspenseful, I have never felt so on edge with a film before.
I think you missed she was held captive living on breast milk for weeks, which is pretty horrifying. That's why the rental manager said it hadn't been rented in weeks. Than noted on the call that it doesn't get checked till it's rented. Also when asked she had no idea how long she was held. That was their way of saying it isn't a coincidence he turned up just than.
The biggest unanswered question to me I have not seen addressed anywhere is this: who rented the house out to the original two characters? The property management agency say that no one has rented the house out for weeks to the house owner, and there is really no reason to disbelieve this, why would they lie? You might argue that is is possible that weeks had passed between when the two original characters encountered the "mother", and when the owner of the house first arrives at the house, but if that is the case why has no one come looking for the two original characters? Clearly people knew where they were staying and had reason to contact them, the guy was supposed to be finding a new place for his group/community to live in and was only staying in the house for a week, and the woman had just attended an interview and the interviewing woman said she has going to contact her the very next day. It's implausible to think that no one would have contacted the agency and that no one would have at least come to check the house out, which clearly hasn't happened given the house is unchanged from when the two main characters go into the basement and when the owner later first arrives at the house. This made me think on first viewing that the supernatural force must somehow behind renting the house out to the original two characters, especially given the mysterious "double booking" incident, but this clearly isn't true. The "mother" character would obviously not be capable of this given she doesn't even know how to talk. Frank/the serial rapist has the potential motivation to advertise the house for rent to attract new potential victims to the house, but I highly doubt he would be doing this given the state we see him in in the basement scene, or that he would be capable of realistically faking the two separate booking agencies online we see the original characters had booked the house from. Also, if he had somehow been renting the house out online with the aim of luring in new victims, where is the sign of any of those new victims? Is this a massive plot hole or did I miss something?
I burst out laughing when he looked at the laptop to find out whose it is and when he can’t figure out the password he just throws the laptop at the wall 😂
Yeah, and it also feels like a bit of foreshadowing for the water tower scenes. One attempt to figure out a password/fix a bad thing, and then next minute - yeet!
I had to pause the video right after the first 6 minutes to avoid any spoilers and watch the movie for myself. OMG! It was GREAT! Honestly one of the best horror films I've seen in a hot minute! I counted up all the videotapes in the scene with AJ and Frank in the last room of the tunnel and seems there are at least 41 victims at the hands of Frank based on that.
watched this last night and absolutely loved it! The pacing you pointed out is 100% why, it has typical horror elements, but they dont happen at the right time and that makes it so fresh. Loved it.
I loved it but struggled putting into words exactly why. You hit the nail on the head when you talked about the fun, tense, and unique experience. That's exactly it!
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I think the first part with Tess and Skarsgård's character was a fantastic example of how to build tension and dread. For me the ending worked, but there were some details that took me out of it a bit - the homeless guy knowing so much was one, but also the timeline. Like, he says she's lived there for 40 years, which is back when Absolute Monster Guy was starting out with his secret room horror, but she's also "a copy of a copy of a copy". I don't see how that timeline works. However, those are minor details. I loved the broken up structure, the tension building, and the ending so anything I didn't love is just a minor complaint.
Amanda, I am totally blind, I cannot see anything, so explain to me why I am over here literally afraid of what my dreams are going to consist of now, thank you for this, your review has given me ample nightmare fuel. And you're right, that boop was definitely terrifying. Consider it a job well done.
I loved this movie and especially the hard cuts of "oh God dark dungeonAND we're singing with Justin long in a beautiful sunlit day" gave me whiplash and was so good because of it. I would have liked Bill Skaarsgard to survive (really there was no reason why he shouldn't have, if Justin long was just a fussy baby why was he head smash at Buffalo jump? Except we needed that violence to really bunch home the hard cut) and thinking on it i definitely would have liked to see even as rhe credits some of the news stories (especially with the recent new hype of Jeffrey dahmer the parallels between cops not doing their job, and would the public give a damn this time?) But overall I was incredibly happy. Now one i wasn't happy with that I watched last night, and highly recommend you suffer through is Grimcutty on disney+ its an interesting premise (a phenomenon only has the power you give it, like a tulpa) but its handle so so so badly. It was almost do bad it was good? It even had a decent cast! Shannyn Sossamon (a knights tale) Usman Ally (a series of unfortunate events, gods favourite idiot) alona tal (supernatural, seal team) but. Nope.
yes i agree with Grimcutty, it wasnt exactly horror material and it did not handle it well. it couldve been better but they did not give it the tools to properly fly lmao
Awesome video Amanda! So many feelings on this film. I had expected/hoped either Keith was the villain or they’d work to survive together and have a romance. Keith seemed to just be awkward but you have to wonder if maybe the mother knew something we didn’t. After all he tried very hard to show he was harmless and got in her way refusing to let her leave. Tess was an incredible final girl. Justin Long was amazing as always. To begin with I wondered if Aj actually wasn’t guilty or he could get redemption. The fact he didn’t and got what he deserved was bold. Also all that women can go through.
This movie did a genious job of casting Bill Skarsgard and Justin Lonh and then relying on people's preconceived feelings about them. SPOILERS The way we think about Bill Skarsgard is exactly as Amanda pointed out - this good looking but essentially creepy guy, voted most likely to be the culprit in a horror movie. Then we spent the whole first half of the movie expecting him to do something bad and THEN we realize he's actually the good guy. While the total opposite happened to Justin Lonh narrative - he's a great guy, possibly being framed for a crime he didn't do, then it turns out he did do it, then it turns out he continues to be a creepy asshole for the remainder of the movie. If it was any other actors, the impact would not be so great. So good job movie!
I know you posted this review last year but it only just got around to watch this movie now and oh my God I am glad I did. GENIUS casting of Skaarsgard, what a clever way to build up expectations in the viewer, RIGHT before subverting it all on us.
Tess took a picture of his ID. One big mistake she made was not sending the photo to the director's phone when she met with her, in case he WAS sketchy.....
And also! Justice for Keith!! I just remembered that when Tess was waiting for her interviewer to come in she was looking at the picture of his ID on her phone and smiling 😭🥺
Everything from the trailer (Bill Skarsgard and Georgina Campbell in a spooky AirBNB and spooky tunnels) and Justin Long afterwards: 5/5 Everything else in this movie: 1/5 Composite: 6/10 This movie just raised a bunch of questions with no good answers. How did one man dig this vast labyrinth of solid stone tunnels? How did just 40-50 years of inbreeding yield a seven foot tall super-powerful mutant? If mama is so terrified of Frank, how has he been cared for all this time? What do they eat? How has no one noticed previous inhabitants of this AirBNB going missing if their cars remain outside and their possessions litter the homes interior? I'm totally fine with the suspension of disbelief, but this movie took it way too far and then some.
wait, so...I was SUPPOSED to laugh my ass off at this movie? because I'll be honest I was laughing at every jumpscare at "scary" moment. They just never hit "scary" for me.
When Tess goes down the find Keith, and then he is crawling in the hallway, all three of us watching together legit yelled and jumped. I hadn’t had a reaction like that since the screaming scene in Nope
This movie was wild! I saw the trailer once and it was really all over the place for me but did make me interested and when it started I had no idea where it was going and I loved that. I liked that you just didn’t know if Keith was involved, if he was lying, he seemed like a nice guy but then they would shoot him to look creepy so you just never knew. And I have never seen Bill in anything other then IT so I didn’t know what he looked like without the make-up and when the film went on I just kept thinking how he looked like Pennywise, lol. And I gotta say for a Swedish actor he does a very good America accent. I really liked Tess, she was just a really caring person, she could have left that situation a few times but wouldn’t leave someone behind either. I think the sturdiest mistake she made which was rare for her character was not leaving after the hobo chased her, I would be out if there but nonetheless you are rooting for her the entire movie. I had no idea Justin Long was in this and I loved that too! He was so good, for me he had a way of getting you to like and root for him and also despise him, I think that’s due to Justin just being a charming actor. I think one of my favorite things about the movie was showing the contrast between when Tess found the room/passage way and when Aj found it. I also really enjoyed the conversation she had with Keith about how women have to be more careful then men and how he wouldn’t have given a second thought to come in the house because it happens again with her and Aj. But when he chucked her off the balcony after giving that very well acted hero speech I was speechless! I couldn’t believe he actually did that and immediately acted like he knew she was going to be alright and making excuses, it was his fault too when he idiotically dropped the gun,lol. But I was dumbfounded when it just randomly cut to the credits, I just couldn’t believe it, I literally sat through the whole credits just to see if there was anything else but there wasn’t. Also along with the questions you asked I still don’t know how the door just randomly would shut, it made it seem like they were ghosts are something and did the door just always automatically lock if you closed it? But I felt so bad for the mother, she was a victim and didn’t know any better and I had to give it to her when she broke her fall and it was so sad seeing her so worried about her injuries, she really seemed to gravitate towards Tess most probably because she played along for at least a couple of weeks, I can’t remember how long they said it was. But I really enjoyed this movie! I really wanna watch it again to catch more details that I may have not noticed before.
This movie was original and a good time! I watch it twice and I have a theory that Tess's job interview, Keith, the rope connecting the basement, the AJ's assault, the homeless man and the police are all an elaborate scam. I hope there is a prequel or sequel to this movie because I have some loose ends I want to answer! For example, who's Marcus? who posted the house on Airbnb? Should have the police officers called back-up or ask her for her ID? This movie is an example that horror movies are cautionary tales!! Will watch again!
I’m only half way through the video, but as soon as you mentioned Until Dawn… Would you ever do videos on that or The Quarry? It’s a pretty interesting storytelling mechanic. Also I got the quarry’s good ending and have been riding that high for a week. No one died!
after watching: i cant deal with keiths insistence on going to see the creepy murder room himself. If someone tells you theres a hidden room with a bed, a camera, and a human waste bucket. FUCKING RUN! thats a torture room. why in tf would he want to see that shit for himself.
Can we stop teaching people, especially men, that persistence is not cute, it's COERCION. Like if that person gives you anything besides an ENTHUSIASTIC Yes, it's a NO.
The ending wreaks of being an alternate ending to me. I was torn about the ending as well but for kind of a different reason. The moment heading into the climax where AJ emphasizes he wants to do better after maybe seeing a little bit of himself in the man in the basement seemed like it was setting up something but then to just throw that away a minute later with his terrible actions feels wildly off and I am kind of like “Yeah, why was he introduced as a second protagonist?” The hard cut to him doesn’t make much sense to me in hindsight.
easily my favorite movie of the year. I went to the theater twice and each time I was the only one there (small town, afternoon, weekday) it was such a crazy ride both times. love it.
As someone who has been through Not-So-Great stuff, including a guy being 100% convinced he was just "being persistent", it was so cathartic to see The Mother kill AJ. It's hinted at that Tess was going through an abusive relationship, and of course The Mother had a life filled with only abuse, so it was a nice moment in my eyes. I also think it was important that The Mother killed AJ in defense of Tess, instead of revenge or anger towards an abuser. That despite everything and despite how twisted it was, she was motivated by kindness towards others.
That noise that wakes up Tess made my skin crawl again when watching this video right after watching the movie. I was expecting it but but it still got me.
Should've called it Boobarian, maybe. I thought it was pretty good, but kind of had it overhyped about how crazy it was, and I guess I just watch a lot weirder horror movies than my friends...
When she took a picture of his license, I checked the date. I watched it in September, so I screamed a lot to see the licensee expired two weeks prior to my viewing. It’s an August expiration, which I would’ve freaked over immediately if I were Tess
I had been waiting for you to do a video on this film since it came out. Glad you enjoyed it. Definitely one of the best horror films of the year. It’s so genius and effective.
Wow this movies plot randomly reminds me of Lisa Trevor in Resident Evil- running away from a horrifically disfigured person only to realize the real monsters look like humans.
Gosh I loved this movie so much! I’m so stoked that I got to see it in theaters even though we had to drive to the next town over😂 Great review! I always love hearing what you have to say, especially about movies like this!
As someone from the Detroit area, the single house in the neighborhood and the lack of cops to come around feels very much like, "Welcome to Detroit!" There's definitely safer areas, but you certainly might have to drive through some empty neighborhoods to get to them.
@@RicoSoprano_ It's funny that I kept thinking that, looking at photos of the house, it didn't feel like a Detroit home, and thought maybe it was the part of Detroit I'm familiar with. Looking it up, turns out it was filmed mostly in Bulgaria and Malibu. The "AirBnB" was designed by a Bulgarian. I feel like I was just gaslighted.
When Justin Long’s character said, “what is wrong with you?” to that old guy, the theatre I was in all busted out laughing because we all knew at that point how awful his character was. I think you’re right about how horrifying and funny this film was. I actually found the ending very cathartic and I was afraid that they were going to make him survive in the end, which I know would have been a more interesting ending but I much prefer the ending we got haha. Perhaps one ending that might have been interesting could have been him dying, but his untimely death overshadowing the media narrative of him. So he’s memorialised rather than “cancelled” in the end…
I loved this movie! Justin Long was incredible as always. My heart broke for poor Keith and I wanted to strangle Tess a few times for continuing to go back. 🤦♀️
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casting bill skarsgard as the nice guy was peak reverse psychology
EXACTLY! That was so smart
People need to learn how to have an open mind.
@@EarthsGeomancerHaving an “open mind” will get you killed. Did you watch the movie??
He is just too good at playing villains
I mean when he does that "looking at two directions at the same time", just gives you psycho vibes..
That hard cut to him googling and then measuring, totally oblivious to the biggest red flags ever was indeed the funniest shit I've seen in a minute.
It was genuinely hilarious and didn’t feel unbelievable.
Agreed! I laughed so hard!
Blinded by greed and self-interest.
Him seeing the cages and being like wtf but still measuring lol
The life of a white male.
My theory as to why she didn't nab Tess or Keith at night when she was sneaking around could have been because they were sleeping and you don't want to wake a sleeping baby, so her nurture side probably told her, "well they're in the house and safe, I'll let them sleep."
Oh that’s an amazing theory!! Makes so much sense!
I love that take.
Welp. I'm calling this cannon.
or maybe she heard Keith having a nightmare and came to check on him
I really like this theory. :-)
Tiny detail I loved was when Justin Long was going through Keith’s bag the book he found was Jane Eyre, which also features an insane woman locked away and hidden from the world.
i thought this too!
Nice catch
THISSSSSS !!!! I was waiting for someone else to bring this up
I noticed this too and got so excited. Such a good little detail
I for real was just like "oh my gosh and he read Jane Eyre too?! NOOOOOOO she killed my dream guy" so good on you for making that connection.
I could be wrong, but I interpreted the scene where he calls the rental agent a little differently. She says that they haven't had any renters for a few weeks. I think that's how long Tess was down there. Tess and Keith were the last renters and no one rented it since then, so that's why no one discovered their stuff. She'd certainly been down there more than a day or two. She says that she doesn't know how long it was, but she'd figured out not to upset "The Mother," so I got the impression that she'd been there for awhile.
That's what I gathered, too. She seemed to have a really good sense of the routine and what was right to do by that point, so I figured she and/or Keith were the last renters the agent referred to.
Also the lighbulb in the basement that she reflected off the mirror was out. That's how I figured out Tess had been down there a long time
Yes that is 100% what happened
It couldn’t be a few weeks though because Tess’ laptop which was unplugged still had power
@@ChristineSMeyer I mean the movie didn’t really have Tess mention or have anyone like a friend or family throughout the movie other than the ex she had. Also she probably was getting to that but got distracted when having fun with Keith.
I actually don't think that Tess was making decisions based on them being morally right. Early on the movie we learn that she's in an abusive relationship. She tells Keith about a scenario dealing with a guy who thinks love and control are the same thing, and the girl that let's herself become something like a pet, then tells him that she can't believe it's happening to her. So I think that was establishing how she struggles to leave men behind, even when she knows it's dumb to go back and is putting her own well being at risk.
Ooh! Good point! Even for AJ who definitely did NOT deserve it
I don’t know if the two are mutually exclusive, though. I think you’re totally right but to say it doesn’t still speak to a moral fortitude as well as a character flaw is a little limited. To me at least
This can still be a moral issue. while people can change attachment styles throughout significant events in life, personality is pretty rigid. That being said, she likely learned to be a savior/codependent to some degree in childhood and is accepting of douchebags because of her comfort in salvation mode. She is also extremely cautious because of this dynamic has also proven to be painful/dangerous. Yet a pattern is familiar even when it's not truly comfortable. She followed this pattern of being a helper. Even though it's detrimental. This is likely something that makes her feel good or better when she's helpful and stupid or ashamed when it's with the wrong person. It's moral because no virtue is without pleasure and suffering on their continuum.
Also with the pic of Keith's ID, she showed that she didnt trust him by taking the pic, but by the next day she was looking at the pic and "caressing" his face like she was already falling for him. With AJ it seemed like pure empathy, because she had been down there for weeks and didn't want him to be subjected to the same thing.
I agree with this take, and I thought the same thing when I was describing it to my partner who didn't want to watch it.
Another parallel between the 2 storylines (I forget the character names forgive me):
She has a line at the beginning of the movie that since she's a woman she has to be hyper aware of her surroundings at all time, but guys have the freedom to just walk into situations with no fear. Then we see during Justin Longs part thats all he does, just blunder his way through without giving a thought, like Maybe I shouldn't rush into the secret underground tunnel system in my basement
And at the end when she hits the mother with her car, she watches carefully to make sure the mother is dead. Comparatively, Justin long just believes the mother is dead when she falls off the water tower which is what kills him
Exactly, which parallels perfectly with him being a predator
She literally wandered into the murder basement, like on 3 separate occasions
@@hannahohno This. Lol. She took a lot of precautions when he met a stranger (Keith) but he has no problem entering a basement with 2 secret and extremely dangerous entrances, again, lol.
Pretty much same with Keith too, he could have come right back up after finding the room she told him about, but he kept looking. Lol
The ending is the reality for survivor's. There is never any justice. And even if you managed to win anything in court, the posses is not about you the victim. It is built around the perpetrator. And therefore just the act of trying to seek justice, is in itself, traumatising. The fact that the world never knew what he or the original house owner did, is realty. The vast majority of abusers never see any repercussions. As a survivor of csa, the current ending while harsh, is satisfactory to me as it is not lying. Or giving false hope.
Exactly my thought! Maybe that's something that's just very obvious when you yourself have gone through SA or other abuse, and not so obvious to the "ordinary" observer, but to me it was a fantastic ending - for exactly the reasons you mention.
Truth
There's never a satisfactory ending to CSA survival stories.
Tried explaining this in the Ethan Hawke black phone thing when people were complaining about no character development nor backstory and so were frustrated by the lack of closure.
And I'm like "yeah, that's how CSA leaves you feeling"
@@KristiContemplates as a csa I agree. The crime is about the perpetrator. And the because of this, everything is in there court in our society. Just survivoring is constantly having things taken from you. Choice in life choices is a big one. Becuase it is crimes about power, the power stays with the perpetrator. They may never think about there victim for a second the rest of there life. But the victim spends the rest of there life thinking about the perpetrator. And thus the power stays in the perpetrators court. I see and call csa the same as soul murder. As the perpetrator plan move on and do what every they want. But the survivor had to live with the devastation the rest of a life. And it impacts absolutely Ever part of a survivor's life. And every action and desision. At 38, I am ONLY well enough to try to seek some type of compensation for my abuse. And EVER step is built to punish survivor's. EVERYTHING. But I will continue because I. DID. NOTHING. WRONG. And I refuse to let it go. I deserve my comunity knowing the monster in there midst. And NO SHAME is on male. I find my being Frank and open about my abuse, has helped others in my comunity.
@@KristiContemplatesthey are making a second one but idk what that will be about
Love this take!! ^
it’s so sad because i was so terrified of keith and hated him (not knowing much going in and assuming he was the villain because it’s bill skarsgard duh) but then the moment he dies it’s just like oh my god i feel so bad he was just genuinely a nice art collective dude who was trying to help tess out 😭
I don’t think Keith was a nice guy at all. Sure he appeared nice and did a lot of nice deeds but he repeatedly ignored Tess’ (I forgot the main characters name. Is it Tess?) wants, like making her tea when she said no and offering her wine when she said no and countless other examples. I think he was probably the parallel for AJ who’s an obvious creep while Keith is a “nice” creep, but that’s just my opinion. I think if they were together he would constantly dismiss her.
@@a.l.michael6240 I agree that he was a creep too. Also he didn't believe her and trust her to get out of the house.
@@a.l.michael6240 Same. Don't know how anyone can see him as cute or likeable. Just from Amanda's descriptions, this dude gave me the yikes.
Women. ☕
@@a.l.michael6240 Yeah there are no real nice/strong male characters anymore in movies. Only women are allowed to be good characters.
The reason why they were leaving that perfect neighborhood was because of racial tension and black people moving to Detroit. Hence why he said “the neighborhood is going to piss.” The crazy thing about this film is Brightmoor actually has a lot of blocks just like that. You will see a brand new looking house like it just got dropped down in the middle of the neighborhood. I was born and raised in Detroit so I have a lot real insight to this film. Definitely my favorite this year.
Exactly! Knowing the history around it while watching actually makes it better. It’s not entirely fictitious there’s so much truth to it. Places like that do look like something out of a horror movie and it’s terrifying and sad.
yeah, its called white flight!
That's what I said to my mom when he said that. You knew the way the place was looking fine and Regan was accelerating deindustrialization, it was White flight. Stankin tail...
@@alfie6441 I never understood why people are scared unless you see someone in the house or are alone. It's really just sad because it's loss of business and jobs then tax revenue and it snowballs.
I grew up in the Metro area and live in the suburbs just outside of the city. I have friends who live in the Brightmoor area, You could go several blocks with no street lights, boarded houses and burned out stores but one block will have these beautifully kept homes, gardens, street lights, people sitting out on the porches, then the next 6 blocks are back to being abandoned. I'd go over there for parties, have drinks on the porch. It was this weird feeling of being on edge with the surrounding area but that this block felt like a warm safe place.
I saw an interesting theory as to why Mother left Tess alone the first night.
Basically that Mother heard the guy having the nightmare and was going to him. And that Tess woke him in up just in time.
Since mother truly just wants to protect and nurture, since they were both quiet she just left them alone.
I agree with you. If they were both comfortable why move them.
Plus I think the Mother doesn’t lie bad behavior, punishment is equivalent to death in her head.
Theory is flaming obvi9us that's why they were sleeping babys
Aw, she was about to wake baby boi up from a bad dream.
That or she was playing the part of his sleep paralysis demon until Tess woke him up.
Whoa, hold on a second guys!
I see everyone here talking about how the woman didn't want to disturb her 'babies' while she roamed at night, but let me point out that heavy door in the basement which sealed off the tunnels and could only be opened from one side by pulling that rope.
Can someone explain how she managed to do that???
I think it was so wild the way she kept looking for help and safety from the men around her but in the end they just ended up being no help at all keith, the police, and obviously AJ. The homeless man tried his best but it was at his own demise unfortunately
I was so upset that the homeless man died like I seen it coming but I hoped when he warned her he woulda just been written out. But good observation all the men undermined her and used her even the cops wrote her off.
I hate how most horror movies seem to have this subtext for women: men are worthless or evil.
I mean, aside from AJ and the cops, Keith was a lovely, decent guy who actually made her life easier in many small ways when he really didn’t have to. And the homeless man was literally a knight in shining amour that tried his best in every way to help her/save her and it cost him his life. I think they balanced it out quite nicely, especially Keith because he was literally the antithesis of everything she was afraid he’d be, which makes a good point that not all men are AJs. Also, SHE could be a lot more proactive and independent. Everything happened TO her, she was always reacting on the back foot, until the end and even then that gunshot was not like Ripley in Alien.
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017 Keith wasn't worthless or evil though? Everything he does is understandable besides going down to the second basement without mentioning it
@@JohnDoe-hj9fh He just seemed creepy and weird the whole time.
As soon as the basement was revealed, I’m ashamed to say that I had the exact same reaction as Justin Long’s character. I was like, “Damn! The square footage of this place is incredible! Look at this basement!!!”
I absolutely loved his reaction. He was definitely one of my favorite characters, as awful as he was.
That part was SO funny.
He's not scared at all. He's just pumped, and wants to measure it. 🤣
@@ceilinh6004 too bad that wasn’t the reaction of his coworker otherwise he never would have ended up at that house
i def enjoyed watching him get his skull bashed in lmaoooo
Just a note: I think they explain why the rental company doesn't know about the tenants there (though it doesn't seem like they know about the double booking)-they mention that the last tenants were staying there two weeks ago and that they don't clean the house until a new tenant is going to be staying there. Tess says she doesn't know how long she's been down there, so I'm assuming she/Keith were the tenants from two weeks ago that the rental company mentioned (and with no new booking, they hadn't been out there to clean the property yet and see their belongings).
That makes so much sense! My husband and I were confused about that also.
I agree. That's why the lightbulbs had to be replaced. They had been on for weeks.
@@Kourinthia Oooo amazing observation!! I hadn't even put together the lightbulb part at all!
Yooo this explains so much. Good catch
@@Kourinthia It makes so much sense idk how I didnt catch it during the initial watch
Additional comment: For a while there (might still be a big thing?) The city of Detroit was selling abandoned homes around the city really cheap (like, $100) with the stipulation that they get fixed to a certain standard. A lot of people, especially young people from California would buy them, sometimes unseen.
Definitely not like that now and it also wasn’t a bustload of homes for $100 but I have seen super cheap homes very close to the price years ago. But they needed a shit load of work to bring them back up to standards. And I’m talking from the standpoint of someone born n raised in Detroit
@@RicoSoprano_ I'm just outside Detroit on the east side. My sis used to travel all over out west, and she would get all pissed at these people from California (and a few other places) that thought they were going to profiteer off buying cheap Detroit homes. Little did they know what they were going to get themselves into.
@@MissTeacakes yes exactly lol definitely wouldn’t be what they were thinking.
Yep, and in the movie they were mentioning at one point how you basically can get a house for free.
@@amandaanstett6973 yeah that’s why it’s called a movie 💀
Justin Long is such an underrated actor. Absolutely loved him in this movie.
Wasn’t he Alvin? I think that’s why he is underrated
Any particular recommendations? I only remember him from the early 2000s and I didn't really click with his acting at the time
@@thisiscait He's great in Tusk!!
Agreed. I hated that they killed him off like that. It was predictable. I'm so tired of always killing off those types of characters.
@@thisiscait Have you given Jeepers Creepers another go? I re-watched that movie recently and it absolutely holds up, Justin Long was excellent in it. It's easily one of my horror favorites
That scene of Justin Long going ass first down the creepy stairs was both frightening and hilarious all at once.
As someone who can't watch most horror movies (and especially not this one with this subject matter) I am very grateful to have youtube and people like Amanda so I don't miss out on such bonkers plots. Truly, to completely miss out on such insanity would be a tragedy
You should experience such things yourself on screen, especially this one is just a perfect mixture of anxiety, gore and revelation.
@@visaeryon did you ignore the beginning of their comment or something 😭
@@fm.9783 i did notice that but they didn't say movies in general just the horror ones, so i inferred it as them being to scared to watch horror. If i'm wrong then i'm really sorry for making that comment.
I'm the exact same. These reviews give me all the info I need without risking triggering myself or making myself anxious. Thanks Amanda!
same
I was having a particularly stressful day with my toddler and went to see this with some friends to get a little break. It definitely did not help with Mom guilt.
I definitely bit in hard to the Bill being bad, especially because I refused to watch the trailers. All I knew was airbnb + strange man and so when the twist came I was shocked. Great movie!
The Barbarian is one of the best movies of the year. I was so scared while in the theater. The twist was so simple but amazing. The writing, cast, and pacing were on point. Can't wait to watch it again. Justin Long did very well. 10/10.
That ending is so truly heart wrenching for me. Mother didn’t understand. She was human too. It wasn’t her fault, what she had gone through. That man didn’t deserve to off himself. Mother should have been the one to kill her. She meant well for her “babies”
God I feel like I’m gonna cry. Not understanding that your baby is hurting only to be kill by them. And the look in her eyes before the trigger was pulled. Heartbreaking.
I thought Justin Long's ending was a pretty solid culmination. After his "breakthrough" we see that he'll immediately discard any sort of growth in favor of self preservation. He was there to sell the house to pay for his pending legal fees, so he essentially still dies a bad guy
After the roommate dies I had no idea where it was going for the rest of the movie. Super on edge. Seen some great horror this year!
Okay I feel that we have a clear psychic connection because this is the SECOND time I have told my aunt (fellow horror connoisseur with me) I was going to watch a review of a movie first with you in mind, and WITHIN FIVE MINUTES I saw you posted a video on it. She told me this might actually qualify as disturbing because I’m pregnant & I should pass on it til my nuggets born. So thank you for this 😂😂
They don't actually show anything. The concept is disturbing, but you never actually see a pregnant woman or any of his victims aside from "The Mother." They do show him unlocking the window in that one woman's house, but we don't see her again after that. And when Justin Long's character watches the video, we don't see what he's watching.
A legitly scary movie and one of the most traumatizing things is how he threw her laptop.
I watched Barbarian last night. It was crazy as hell. I felt like I was being manipulated in all different directions.... In a good way.
I thought it was the most unique "Horror" movie I've seen in a long time.
Next time I see a baby bottle I am running for my life.
On the subject of your theater experience. I went alone and was hooked immediately. 30 minutes into the movie a large gentleman sits down right next to me. Mind you there were only 2 other people in the theater. Starts looking at his phone on full brightness. I gave it about five minutes and said “I’m trying to watch this movie” and he puts it away. I got anxious and moved two rows down. He then leaves the theater and never came back. 🤯
I died a little during the tape measure scene. So funny, but also so tense. I think my nervous system was confused. 🤣
Yeahhhh🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
this year has been exceptional for horror movies, most importantly original horror movies but Barbarian might be the best horror movie this year. this story went to places i wasn't expecting it to.
Oooh recommend some!
Your reactions are everything Chu! ❤
I know that the marketing for it was really corny and, conceptually, it's kinda corny, too, but I SUPER recommend that you go out and watch Smile before it leaves theaters. It's such an unexpected gem of a movie and I walked in not expecting much and came out absolutely stunned at how amazing it was from the acting to the camera work and it being, overall, so imaginative.
Considering Bonnie, The rental agent who double booked the place technically started the whole ordeal and rebuffed AJ’s concerns I honestly wondered if she was going to turn out to be a surprise villain lol
Imo anyone in real estate is a confirmed villain
I kept hearing and 100% now agree that going in to the movie knowing nothing is the best thing to do. I was flabbergasted by the twists and turns it took.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and agree about the ending. I was waiting for more little cuts at the end in between the credits, maybe like what we get to see in Jennifer's Body for some final closure. I wanted to see Tess make it to a hospital or a news report or SOMETHING to get that feeling of satisfaction after she was dismissed by the cops, and confirmation of the public opinion of AJ.
The hard cut to “Be My Baby” at the end had me HOWLING
Filtered through Amanda the Jedi is literally the only way I watch horror movies. Thank you for this service.
I really appreciate you having some really concrete ideas for how things could have ended, which you’ve done on several videos I’ve watched. So many critics love to trash a movie or parts of it, and don’t offer any “here’s what I’d like to see, or think would be cool”. Really great stuff you’re doing.
Barbarian is an excellent continuation of the 'Comedian directs Horror' (which I hope carries on for a long time) 2 movies I've really enjoyed/appreciated of late are Glorious & You Won't Be Alone- tho they are very very different films. also Who Invited Them was decent, esp the cast
Well plus Jordan Peele started out in sketch comedy!
@@elwynbrooks and Josh Ruben
I have such a fondness for WKUK and I love that this is Zach’s return to directing
So glad you made this video, I was really hoping you’d talk about this movie! I absolutely loved it, genuinely one of my favorite horror movies of all time, if not movies period. So so suspenseful, I have never felt so on edge with a film before.
I think you missed she was held captive living on breast milk for weeks, which is pretty horrifying. That's why the rental manager said it hadn't been rented in weeks. Than noted on the call that it doesn't get checked till it's rented. Also when asked she had no idea how long she was held. That was their way of saying it isn't a coincidence he turned up just than.
The biggest unanswered question to me I have not seen addressed anywhere is this: who rented the house out to the original two characters? The property management agency say that no one has rented the house out for weeks to the house owner, and there is really no reason to disbelieve this, why would they lie? You might argue that is is possible that weeks had passed between when the two original characters encountered the "mother", and when the owner of the house first arrives at the house, but if that is the case why has no one come looking for the two original characters? Clearly people knew where they were staying and had reason to contact them, the guy was supposed to be finding a new place for his group/community to live in and was only staying in the house for a week, and the woman had just attended an interview and the interviewing woman said she has going to contact her the very next day. It's implausible to think that no one would have contacted the agency and that no one would have at least come to check the house out, which clearly hasn't happened given the house is unchanged from when the two main characters go into the basement and when the owner later first arrives at the house.
This made me think on first viewing that the supernatural force must somehow behind renting the house out to the original two characters, especially given the mysterious "double booking" incident, but this clearly isn't true. The "mother" character would obviously not be capable of this given she doesn't even know how to talk. Frank/the serial rapist has the potential motivation to advertise the house for rent to attract new potential victims to the house, but I highly doubt he would be doing this given the state we see him in in the basement scene, or that he would be capable of realistically faking the two separate booking agencies online we see the original characters had booked the house from. Also, if he had somehow been renting the house out online with the aim of luring in new victims, where is the sign of any of those new victims? Is this a massive plot hole or did I miss something?
I burst out laughing when he looked at the laptop to find out whose it is and when he can’t figure out the password he just throws the laptop at the wall 😂
Yeah, and it also feels like a bit of foreshadowing for the water tower scenes. One attempt to figure out a password/fix a bad thing, and then next minute - yeet!
I had to pause the video right after the first 6 minutes to avoid any spoilers and watch the movie for myself.
OMG! It was GREAT! Honestly one of the best horror films I've seen in a hot minute!
I counted up all the videotapes in the scene with AJ and Frank in the last room of the tunnel and seems there are at least 41 victims at the hands of Frank based on that.
By the end of the film, I figured that the title was aimed at AJ and Frank, despite the mother being the "barbarian" in appearance.
Saw this with my friend, sister, and dad. We all loved it!! It was such a fresh breath of air in the horror genre
watched this last night and absolutely loved it! The pacing you pointed out is 100% why, it has typical horror elements, but they dont happen at the right time and that makes it so fresh. Loved it.
I loved it but struggled putting into words exactly why. You hit the nail on the head when you talked about the fun, tense, and unique experience. That's exactly it!
Justin long: "I don't know if I'm a bad person"
The internet after Alexa Nikolas' H3 interview: "Yes"
Incredibly suspenseful can’t even compare it to anything else.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I think the first part with Tess and Skarsgård's character was a fantastic example of how to build tension and dread. For me the ending worked, but there were some details that took me out of it a bit - the homeless guy knowing so much was one, but also the timeline. Like, he says she's lived there for 40 years, which is back when Absolute Monster Guy was starting out with his secret room horror, but she's also "a copy of a copy of a copy". I don't see how that timeline works.
However, those are minor details. I loved the broken up structure, the tension building, and the ending so anything I didn't love is just a minor complaint.
Amanda, I am totally blind, I cannot see anything, so explain to me why I am over here literally afraid of what my dreams are going to consist of now, thank you for this, your review has given me ample nightmare fuel. And you're right, that boop was definitely terrifying. Consider it a job well done.
that tape measurer scene is by far the funniest thing I've seen in theatres this year. God bless Justin Long
I loved this movie and especially the hard cuts of "oh God dark dungeonAND we're singing with Justin long in a beautiful sunlit day" gave me whiplash and was so good because of it. I would have liked Bill Skaarsgard to survive (really there was no reason why he shouldn't have, if Justin long was just a fussy baby why was he head smash at Buffalo jump? Except we needed that violence to really bunch home the hard cut) and thinking on it i definitely would have liked to see even as rhe credits some of the news stories (especially with the recent new hype of Jeffrey dahmer the parallels between cops not doing their job, and would the public give a damn this time?) But overall I was incredibly happy.
Now one i wasn't happy with that I watched last night, and highly recommend you suffer through is Grimcutty on disney+ its an interesting premise (a phenomenon only has the power you give it, like a tulpa) but its handle so so so badly. It was almost do bad it was good? It even had a decent cast! Shannyn Sossamon (a knights tale) Usman Ally (a series of unfortunate events, gods favourite idiot) alona tal (supernatural, seal team) but. Nope.
yes i agree with Grimcutty, it wasnt exactly horror material and it did not handle it well. it couldve been better but they did not give it the tools to properly fly lmao
Most realistic cops EVER in a movie.
"Someone is being murdered!!!!!"
"Do you have ID?"
Awesome video Amanda! So many feelings on this film. I had expected/hoped either Keith was the villain or they’d work to survive together and have a romance. Keith seemed to just be awkward but you have to wonder if maybe the mother knew something we didn’t. After all he tried very hard to show he was harmless and got in her way refusing to let her leave. Tess was an incredible final girl. Justin Long was amazing as always. To begin with I wondered if Aj actually wasn’t guilty or he could get redemption. The fact he didn’t and got what he deserved was bold. Also all that women can go through.
This movie did a genious job of casting Bill Skarsgard and Justin Lonh and then relying on people's preconceived feelings about them. SPOILERS
The way we think about Bill Skarsgard is exactly as Amanda pointed out - this good looking but essentially creepy guy, voted most likely to be the culprit in a horror movie. Then we spent the whole first half of the movie expecting him to do something bad and THEN we realize he's actually the good guy. While the total opposite happened to Justin Lonh narrative - he's a great guy, possibly being framed for a crime he didn't do, then it turns out he did do it, then it turns out he continues to be a creepy asshole for the remainder of the movie. If it was any other actors, the impact would not be so great. So good job movie!
I know you posted this review last year but it only just got around to watch this movie now and oh my God I am glad I did. GENIUS casting of Skaarsgard, what a clever way to build up expectations in the viewer, RIGHT before subverting it all on us.
I loved that I didn't have anything spoiled for me when I went to see this.
How does the mother open the basement door if it stays locked for you from the inside!?
Tess took a picture of his ID. One big mistake she made was not sending the photo to the director's phone when she met with her, in case he WAS sketchy.....
I loved this movie! It took me for a ride in a way horror movies haven't done in a few years!
And also! Justice for Keith!! I just remembered that when Tess was waiting for her interviewer to come in she was looking at the picture of his ID on her phone and smiling 😭🥺
Kennie JD asked "How did incest give her super powers?" and I AGREE.
Everything from the trailer (Bill Skarsgard and Georgina Campbell in a spooky AirBNB and spooky tunnels) and Justin Long afterwards: 5/5
Everything else in this movie: 1/5
Composite: 6/10
This movie just raised a bunch of questions with no good answers. How did one man dig this vast labyrinth of solid stone tunnels? How did just 40-50 years of inbreeding yield a seven foot tall super-powerful mutant? If mama is so terrified of Frank, how has he been cared for all this time? What do they eat? How has no one noticed previous inhabitants of this AirBNB going missing if their cars remain outside and their possessions litter the homes interior? I'm totally fine with the suspension of disbelief, but this movie took it way too far and then some.
wait, so...I was SUPPOSED to laugh my ass off at this movie? because I'll be honest I was laughing at every jumpscare at "scary" moment. They just never hit "scary" for me.
When Tess goes down the find Keith, and then he is crawling in the hallway, all three of us watching together legit yelled and jumped. I hadn’t had a reaction like that since the screaming scene in Nope
This movie was wild! I saw the trailer once and it was really all over the place for me but did make me interested and when it started I had no idea where it was going and I loved that. I liked that you just didn’t know if Keith was involved, if he was lying, he seemed like a nice guy but then they would shoot him to look creepy so you just never knew. And I have never seen Bill in anything other then IT so I didn’t know what he looked like without the make-up and when the film went on I just kept thinking how he looked like Pennywise, lol. And I gotta say for a Swedish actor he does a very good America accent. I really liked Tess, she was just a really caring person, she could have left that situation a few times but wouldn’t leave someone behind either. I think the sturdiest mistake she made which was rare for her character was not leaving after the hobo chased her, I would be out if there but nonetheless you are rooting for her the entire movie. I had no idea Justin Long was in this and I loved that too! He was so good, for me he had a way of getting you to like and root for him and also despise him, I think that’s due to Justin just being a charming actor. I think one of my favorite things about the movie was showing the contrast between when Tess found the room/passage way and when Aj found it. I also really enjoyed the conversation she had with Keith about how women have to be more careful then men and how he wouldn’t have given a second thought to come in the house because it happens again with her and Aj. But when he chucked her off the balcony after giving that very well acted hero speech I was speechless! I couldn’t believe he actually did that and immediately acted like he knew she was going to be alright and making excuses, it was his fault too when he idiotically dropped the gun,lol. But I was dumbfounded when it just randomly cut to the credits, I just couldn’t believe it, I literally sat through the whole credits just to see if there was anything else but there wasn’t. Also along with the questions you asked I still don’t know how the door just randomly would shut, it made it seem like they were ghosts are something and did the door just always automatically lock if you closed it? But I felt so bad for the mother, she was a victim and didn’t know any better and I had to give it to her when she broke her fall and it was so sad seeing her so worried about her injuries, she really seemed to gravitate towards Tess most probably because she played along for at least a couple of weeks, I can’t remember how long they said it was. But I really enjoyed this movie! I really wanna watch it again to catch more details that I may have not noticed before.
This movie was original and a good time! I watch it twice and I have a theory that Tess's job interview, Keith, the rope connecting the basement, the AJ's assault, the homeless man and the police are all an elaborate scam. I hope there is a prequel or sequel to this movie because I have some loose ends I want to answer! For example, who's Marcus? who posted the house on Airbnb? Should have the police officers called back-up or ask her for her ID? This movie is an example that horror movies are cautionary tales!! Will watch again!
I’m only half way through the video, but as soon as you mentioned Until Dawn…
Would you ever do videos on that or The Quarry? It’s a pretty interesting storytelling mechanic.
Also I got the quarry’s good ending and have been riding that high for a week. No one died!
This is one of those movies that I didn't really get into the first time, but then rewatched seven times. Totally recommend.
Wait, what happened to Bill Skarsgard? Did he disappear into the basement too? Did I space out during this video?
I had no clue one of the wkuk dudes did this movie, i'm pleasantly surprised by that, he fucking nailed it.
Bill Skarsgård was fantastic in small role. I wish him all the best for his coming projects.
after watching: i cant deal with keiths insistence on going to see the creepy murder room himself. If someone tells you theres a hidden room with a bed, a camera, and a human waste bucket. FUCKING RUN! thats a torture room. why in tf would he want to see that shit for himself.
The sound design of this movie is fantastic
Can we stop teaching people, especially men, that persistence is not cute, it's COERCION. Like if that person gives you anything besides an ENTHUSIASTIC Yes, it's a NO.
The ending wreaks of being an alternate ending to me. I was torn about the ending as well but for kind of a different reason. The moment heading into the climax where AJ emphasizes he wants to do better after maybe seeing a little bit of himself in the man in the basement seemed like it was setting up something but then to just throw that away a minute later with his terrible actions feels wildly off and I am kind of like “Yeah, why was he introduced as a second protagonist?” The hard cut to him doesn’t make much sense to me in hindsight.
Honestly, I was convinced Long would be the only survivor so I’m pretty stoked the ending wasn’t pure pessimism fuel
“Innovative but dumb as fuck”
Yeah, that pretty much sums up the entire movie.
Loved it. With Malignant and this, I'm really looking the camp that horror movies are accepting now!!!!
easily my favorite movie of the year. I went to the theater twice and each time I was the only one there (small town, afternoon, weekday) it was such a crazy ride both times. love it.
2 Justin Long horror movies in one year?
What a treat!
As someone who has been through Not-So-Great stuff, including a guy being 100% convinced he was just "being persistent", it was so cathartic to see The Mother kill AJ.
It's hinted at that Tess was going through an abusive relationship, and of course The Mother had a life filled with only abuse, so it was a nice moment in my eyes. I also think it was important that The Mother killed AJ in defense of Tess, instead of revenge or anger towards an abuser. That despite everything and despite how twisted it was, she was motivated by kindness towards others.
It's heartbreaking to assume that the small cages is probably not for pets.
That noise that wakes up Tess made my skin crawl again when watching this video right after watching the movie. I was expecting it but but it still got me.
14:40
I love the way this section looks.
Should've called it Boobarian, maybe. I thought it was pretty good, but kind of had it overhyped about how crazy it was, and I guess I just watch a lot weirder horror movies than my friends...
I read that the sound Tess hears and wakes her up was probably the mother feeding Keith and that´s why he was having a nightmare, damn
When she took a picture of his license, I checked the date. I watched it in September, so I screamed a lot to see the licensee expired two weeks prior to my viewing. It’s an August expiration, which I would’ve freaked over immediately if I were Tess
I agree that the hard switch into sunshine is one of the best things about this fine movie.
I had been waiting for you to do a video on this film since it came out. Glad you enjoyed it. Definitely one of the best horror films of the year. It’s so genius and effective.
I keep watching horror movie reviews and getting therapy ads on them
I like when the old man was like. Some crazy things go on around here that house isn't even the half of it.
Wow this movies plot randomly reminds me of Lisa Trevor in Resident Evil- running away from a horrifically disfigured person only to realize the real monsters look like humans.
Gosh I loved this movie so much! I’m so stoked that I got to see it in theaters even though we had to drive to the next town over😂 Great review! I always love hearing what you have to say, especially about movies like this!
I love how you said, "I dunno if you've *seen* Until Dawn" instead of *played* Until Dawn, because that game really was more like a movie.
when they first show the lady, it was giving me strong REC vibes. I was totally thinking oh no demon lady in the basement gonna get everyone possessed
As someone from the Detroit area, the single house in the neighborhood and the lack of cops to come around feels very much like, "Welcome to Detroit!"
There's definitely safer areas, but you certainly might have to drive through some empty neighborhoods to get to them.
Yeah but a Airbnb in the middle of Brightmoor hood is super unrealistic lol
@@RicoSoprano_ True dat, lol! It almost seems like a Californian's myth of Detroit.
@@MissTeacakes right lol
@@RicoSoprano_ It's funny that I kept thinking that, looking at photos of the house, it didn't feel like a Detroit home, and thought maybe it was the part of Detroit I'm familiar with. Looking it up, turns out it was filmed mostly in Bulgaria and Malibu. The "AirBnB" was designed by a Bulgarian.
I feel like I was just gaslighted.
When Justin Long’s character said, “what is wrong with you?” to that old guy, the theatre I was in all busted out laughing because we all knew at that point how awful his character was. I think you’re right about how horrifying and funny this film was. I actually found the ending very cathartic and I was afraid that they were going to make him survive in the end, which I know would have been a more interesting ending but I much prefer the ending we got haha. Perhaps one ending that might have been interesting could have been him dying, but his untimely death overshadowing the media narrative of him. So he’s memorialised rather than “cancelled” in the end…
I loved this movie! Justin Long was incredible as always. My heart broke for poor Keith and I wanted to strangle Tess a few times for continuing to go back. 🤦♀️