Barbarian quickly made a splash when it arrived in theaters in September. The film is unexpected in every way, leaving audiences guessing what could happen next. The movie, helmed by Zach Cregger, stars Bill Skarsgård, Georgina Campbell, and Justin Long, as they each navigate the horrors of a house in Detroit with a dark secret.

Barbarian primarily focuses on Campbell’s character as she arrives at an Airbnb that’s seemingly been double booked with Skarsgård. As the house’s mystery begins to unravel, audiences can genuinely be scared as Cregger manages to subvert expectations at every turn. His film has been compared to other “elevated horror” movies such as Hereditary and Get Out, though the director says he hates using the term.

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During an interview with Discussing Film, Cregger discussed Barbarian, whether he considers the movie “elevated horror,” and why he thinks people don’t enjoy the genre when they say that.

“I feel like the term ’elevated horror’ is for people who don’t know much about horror. It’s for people who see horror as some inferior genre. Like, ‘I don’t like horror, but I like elevated horror. I like Hereditary and Get Out.’ By the way, I worship Hereditary and Get Out. But I also worship Evil Dead II because it’s a fantastic movie. I don’t care where we land on the spectrum of horror versus ’elevated horror’ because I just think that term is useless.

Barbarian Doesn’t Shy Away From Gore

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Unlike some “elevated horrors,” Barbarian isn’t afraid to get grisly on screen. The film features some gruesome deaths, and Cregger recognizes the difficulty of including them. He tells Discussing Film it took a few years to get Barbarian on the big screen, as Hollywood isn’t keen on taking big risks when there’s money at stake.

“It took multiple years to get anybody to sign on to Barbarian,” Cregger explains. “You know, it wasn’t just the nastiness - it was the structure. I think people were very thrown and I understand that, like, if my job and livelihood were at stake, I wouldn’t want to take a lot of risks. That’s how Hollywood is, risks are bad.” Cregger continues, saying he is happy someone finally took a chance on Barbarian. “That’s business. So a movie like this is not an easy yes. And I don’t think people are stupid for passing on it. But I believed in it. So I’m just glad that somebody finally agreed with me.”

Barbarian premiered in theaters earlier this year, arriving on Sept. 9. The film performed exceptionally well given its budget, bringing in $43 million against an estimated $4.5 million production cost. Although Barbarian is no longer in theaters, fans can check out the film as it’s currently available to stream on HBO Max.