Tag: Movie News

The early praise for Barbarian has been immense, and that positive feedback isn’t limited to film critics. Both the cast and crew of the movie have been publicly vocal about their love of the project, but actor Justin Long may have given the film its greatest note during a recent press conference promoting its release. When asked why he signed up to co-star with Bill Skarsgård and Georgina Campbell in Zach Cregger‘s horror debut, the former New Girl guest didn’t hold back:

It was the best written horror script I’d ever read. There was something very classic, completely unexpected. I had no idea what was happening. I was so intrigued by it. It was just unlike anything I’d read. Starts off as a well written romantic comedy, which is really hard to do. The dialogue was so fluid and natural. Then there were
things happened in it that broke so many rules. I was just so grateful; it was one of those things you read, and you are just so grateful that whoever wrote it wanted me to do it.

Justin Long

These are big words from Long, who has appeared in his fair share of popular spooky movies. Although he’s known for his work in comedy, Long has also shown up in Sam Raimi‘s Drag Me to Hell and the Jeepers Creepers franchise. If anybody is qualified to comment on a horror script, it may be him. Unfortunately for fans of the actor, they’ll have to wait until September 9th to see him take on whatever threat may be present in Barbarian.

Barbarian is one of the year’s great mysteries. Aside from a few vague hints in the film’s marketing, nobody really seems to know what’s going to happen before the credits roll. The only definite is this – a woman is forced to confront a rather uncomfortable situation when the AirBnB she booked turns out to be inhabited by a complete stranger. Once she goes inside, all metaphorical Hell breaks loose, in a story crafted by the mind of director Zach Cregger.

During a recent press conference promoting the movie, Cregger detailed how the basic premise came to be. He explained it was a specific chapter in a book that lead him to his original idea:

I had read a book called the Gift of Fear by the security consultant, Gavin de Becker. There was a chapter in the book that was really primarily directed towards women and he was encouraging women to pay attention to these little minor red flags that men can give off in day-to-day situations. They can be very innocuous things that you might not notice. Things like complimenting you when it’s not necessarily appropriate or doing you a favor that you didn’t ask for or touching in a nonsexual way that’s not initiated by you. All these little things that seemingly don’t matter, but he was basically saying the gift of fear, it’s important to pay attention to these little red flags because you’re equipped with that to identify potential threats.

Zach Cregger

He continued, elaborating on how the selection grew to become an epiphany:

As I was reading it, I just kind of had this epiphany that I don’t ever have to think about that kind of a thing, because I’m a man and because I have this level of privilege where I just don’t have to consider that half the population might be somebody that means to do me harm for no reason. I just realized I occupy a completely different psychic landscape than most women do. It was kind of a big moment for me.

Zach Cregger

It was at this point that Cregger formulated his film, taking the concept of red flags and stretching it into a feature-length script. From there, Cregger claims, the story began writing itself. The creative couldn’t give much more information without entering spoiler territory, but it’s still interesting to hear how a seemingly innocuous book excerpt could spiral into one of the year’s most unexpected movies.

Barbarian hits theaters on September 9th.

Barbarian has a lot going for it, and that includes a bonafide horror star in Bill Skarsgård. The actor, who reached international fame for his portrayal of Pennywise the Clown in the most recent It adaptations, has been a major selling point of the film’s marketing. Working alongside him is Georgina Campbell, who achieved recognition with roles in projects like Black Mirror and His Dark Materials. During a recent press conference in support of Barbarian, the actress was asked what it was like to act with Skarsgård – with whom she shares plenty of scenes. Her response was nothing but positive:

Well, honestly, it was just really exciting. I was very excited when I got the job. And then when I heard that Bill Skarsgård was going to be in it, and Justin Long, I was like, “Oh my God.” Jesus Christ, I’ve got to bring my A-game. So, I was just so excited when I met him. I’m a really huge fan of all of his work, and he’s just a dream to work with. He’s a really charismatic, charming guy. So, it’s very easy in those early scenes to kind of slowly be charmed by him. And also, we had just met each other, and then we went into a scenario where two people had just met each other. So, it’s quite easy in that situation to just let it naturally flow, and also naturally, as we are filming it, we are getting to know each other personally, as well as in work. So, it just kind of all worked really well, which, yeah, I’m glad I love those scenes at the beginning of the film

Georgina Campbell

Director Zach Cregger also commented on the pair’s natural chemistry, mentioning a scene in the film where both characters have to interact for a long period of time. According to the filmmaker, much of the scene was improvised, and the good vibes lasted even after the cameras stopped rolling. Hopefully, audiences are able to pick up on the duo’s success when Barbarian hits theaters on September 9th.