Barbarian follows the story of a young tenant who finds out that an apartment that she has booked has mistakenly been double booked by a stranger. But nothing is what it seems! The story is true to its genre and often keeps subverting the audience in one direction before changing its tonality completely. In other words, there is more than what meets the eye here. The screenplay standing at just about a 100 minutes is the perfect length for a horror film. More so, it ensures that the drama is crisp and just does not drag.

The first thing that I did notice about the drama was its spectacular setting that was so inviting for the viewer. With rain around and a female protagonist at the centre of it, the drana did get off to a flyer of a start! Soon a stranger is also introduced and you can make out that something is amyss! But things are so organic and unassuming here. The behavior of the young stranger is exactly how I would have reacted to the situation yet there was a part of me that found him creepy. But that was just the start.

The drama is absolutely thrilling and filled with twists and turns that will keep you invested. It draws the viewer into believing a certain fact before completely flipping the tale on its head in the very next scene. What I also enjoyed was its terrific tonal shift. From an intimidating basement shot in the dark, there is a sudden shift to a highway next to the sea on a sunny day where a completely separate(and unrelated to begin with) tale begins to unfold. I almost did pause the film as I thought I may have accidently started a new film. But it was the same film that beautifully joins the dots!

There are atleast a couple of jumpscare moments but not before a beautiful buildup filled with the right kind of atmosphere that is creepy and intimidating. Even the grand revelation was sudden where the focus never shifted from the tension generated in the current timeframe. Usually we are accustomed to a flashback that saps every bit of the tension from the drama. One small letdown was the final act which was underwhelming and far too simplistic. A little more buildup and a layered narrative would not have hurt. But taking nothing away from the screenplay which is a winner all the way!