Aaron's Thoughts
I know I’m late to the party on this, but man what a jolt that gave me. A few times each year you watch something that reinvigorates your love for cinema and reminds you just how much movies rock. The first cut to Justin Long & the cut to black at the end of the movie are genuinely two moments I’ll never forget.
The way this film is constantly wrong footing the audience and subverting your expectations is simply pure genius from Cregger. From how the whole first act plays out, to the casting of Bill Skarsgard, to the casting of Justin Long, to what you think the message of the film ultimately is, to who is really the true Barbarian, to the structural ways in which the story shifts. It is all just truly remarkable.
Your heart is in your throat when it should be, you are laughing when you should be, and your jaw is on the floor when it should be. Cregger has such a master over the tone and craft behind it.
I’m always a sucker for social commentary weaved into a story like this, but that can never come at this cost of it feeling forced or preachy (as it so often does). Thankfully, you are in such good hands here & it is sprinkled in so thoughtfully that you could easily just sit and be entertained by the spectacle without thinking about any of the things it’s commenting on. Which I think is one of the greatest compliments you can give something like this.
Through the roof excited for Weapons now!
