Word-of-mouth horror hit “Barbarian” is disappearing from streaming

Anyone trying to market a film these days faces an uphill battle. Aside from the COVID hit in 2020, the number of films coming out each year has plummeted strong, steady growth every year since the 2000sAnd with streaming platforms giving viewers more options than ever about where and when they want to watch films, the audience for each release is dramatically divided, making it increasingly difficult for smaller films to gain traction. Positive, enthusiastic and organic word of mouth remains one of the best ways for any film to reach its audience – but Real word-of-mouth advertising has become rare. And then there is 2022 Barbarian.

The marketing for Zach Cregger’s high-profile horror film was based on secrecy, with a first trailer only gives rough indications of where the story is going – It’s clear that this is a scary movie about Something Bad Happening, but the actual horror subgenre and direction of the plot are left intentionally unclear. This sense of anticipation and uncertainty is something every horror film needs, although few have it, especially the franchise entries where every beat is expected in advance. And Cregger took full advantage of this, building so much tension into different aspects of the narrative that it’s not clear which one will be the trigger until the trap is sprung on the audience.

Georgina Campbell (Birdhouse Barcelona) plays Tess, a woman who visits Detroit for a high-risk job interview. However, when she arrives at her Airbnb, there is already a man living there – Keith (Bill Skarsgård), who claims on another website that he has booked the house for the same period. His story works, and he is obviously aware of Tess’s nervousness about sharing a living space with a strange man. But late at night, in a run-down neighborhood during a blinding rainstorm, with all the local hotels fully booked for a convention, Tess’s options are limited and she is persuaded to stay the night.

That would be all an indie horror director needs for a certain kind of stripped-down, efficient ultra-low-budget thriller – the kind where the tension arises organically from the subtle unknowns of approaching a stranger who could be a predator. a liar, both or neither. In the film’s first act, Cregger draws discomfort from many small details, such as the way Keith looks at Tess at certain moments: he mirrors Norman Bates, who shyly admires Marion Crane Psychoalthough he doesn’t dare express open attraction. Or the way the dim lighting in the house tends to silhouette both in doorways or in front of lamps, turning “standing in a room” into “looming ominously in the shadows.”

Every time Tess hears a strange noise or walks alone to her car or sees a screaming stranger approaching quickly, it feels like a new escalation, the kind of “Ohhhh, here it comes” moment for which Horror fans are alive. But when the audience starts to figure out what Barbarian The point, really, is that it’s still an overwhelming shock – and it was that shock that really got horror fans talking Barbarian as a classic “go in blind and give this film your full attention” experience.

But that means what was done Barbarian What makes it a lasting experience and not just a short-term buzz topic is the way it stays in your mind even after the initial shock wears off. Campbell and Skarsgård’s performances are alluring and complicated, and the dynamic between them is complex enough to invite viewers to alternately empathize with Tess and Keith. There’s a dual awareness in Cregger’s script that asks the audience to think about their perspectives simultaneously: It would be uncomfortable to be a woman navigating the unknowns, stuck in a confined space with a man whose intentions are unclear. But it’s just as uncomfortable to be in the same environment as a man who tries to appear harmless, kind and friendly, and yet watches the other person flinch every time he moves, smiles or makes what he thinks is a friendly gesture might.

And Barbarian goes beyond that and explores the life of a city, taking into account the economic downturns that change the neighborhoods and the lives of the people who live there, and taking in the melancholy of the people who are abandoned when the economy continues to run without them. It’s a subtly rich film that invites after-the-fact discussion and tells in a way that most shock-based horror films don’t.

Barbarianis the box office hit tells an interesting story: In a time when… planned blockbusters may Hit streaming so quickly Because digital rental runs can compete with canceled theatrical releases, Cregger’s film remained in theaters for months. It wasn’t a huge financial hit: it grossed $45 million worldwide, albeit on a budget about a tenth of that. But the number of theaters showing it increased from week to week instead of shrinking, and each new weekend saw another significant increase in viewership rather than the expected slow decline. (Deadline said it was “Holds up pretty spectacularly” compared to the usual weekly drop-off for horror films.)

Barbarian was spurred by a whisper campaign that said You have to see this film to believe it. And You shouldn’t miss this experience. And Every true horror fan must see this film. With no big stars, no known IP behind it, and no obvious major plot hook, the film still generated enough curiosity that a significant audience still found it in theaters six weeks after its release. Then it hit Max and Netflix and was a hit there too.

But in the last few years Barbarian has quietly disappeared from the radar: it left Max, it left Netflix, and it will leave Amazon Video on Halloween. It’s currently still streaming on Hulu, but the initial allure has faded in recent years. With the end of the scary season and BarbarianAs the popularity of subscription streaming services catches up, it’s a good time to learn about the film that PR people still brandish like a shamanic talisman when they want to suggest that the latest project they’re selling is a must-see film that could become a viral hit. “That could be next Barbarian!” is still a pretty convincing promise – but it helps if you’ve already seen the killer horror film whose success they’re trying to hijack.