BARBARIAN Ending Explained | Full Movie Breakdown, Hidden Details, Easter Eggs And Review
all right so now that Barbarian is on HBO Max we gotta talk about this banana sandwich Bonkers horror film that had my jaw on the ground a handful of times and was a roller coaster of uh what what is happening 2022 has been a great year for horror let’s just say that but in this video we’re going to be breaking down the story explain that ending along with touching on some of the themes and messages cleverly tucked away in Barbarian now if you enjoy this video then hit that like button as it helps the channel
and prevents the creature in the basement from snatching you up and also don’t forget to subscribe for breakdowns Recaps and other videos like this every day with that out of the way a huge thank you for clicking this now let’s get into this video foreign so much like the movie we’re going to be breaking this thing down in sections with the movie’s three-act structure being the perfect template the First Act opens on faint screams along with our main character of Tess as it’s quickly established that she has been caught in a frustrating nightmare of being
double booked at an Airbnb with Pennywise the Clown you know Bill Skarsgard who is Keith in this situation the two try to come to a mutual
to feel weird and he wanted her to make her feel safe through conversation though Tess lets her guard down as they find commonalities and and then call it a night however two things seem a bit off as Tess’s locked door is wide open and the basement door slowly closes in the background the next day Tess notices that the house is the only livable one in the entire neighborhood and after her interview a homeless man staggers out of the run-down neighborhood telling her to come out of that house it’s not safe and boy was this man
right because Tess discovers a hidden room after unfortunately locking herself in the basement the worst Casting Couch audition room I have ever seen with a bed frame camcorder and bloody handprint freaked out Tess frantically tells Keith they need to go something isn’t right here only for him to Discount whatever she’s saying and investigate himself this constant disregard of what Tess says combined with a male ego is a theme that pops up more and more as the story progresses here Keith goes into the basement despite Tess’s warning and while the night before Tess also mentions that
if the roles had been reversed where she was in the rental and Keith was actually outside he would have just stopped right into the Airbnb without a second thought that men can blast their way through life while women have to be a bit more cautious Keith has heard screaming for help as Tess cannot stand by discovering yet another door as the underground Labyrinth goes even deeper and maybe it was the way it was shot but Skarsgard crawling on all fours gave me the heebie-jeebies the first time I watched this anyway these tunnels have a metal
gate at the entrance and several empty animal cages sitting about Keith warns tests that someone else is down there but it’s too late as my ex-girlfriend I mean some sort of creature rushes from the darkness and smashes Keith’s face straight into the stone floor without any time to process that head banger of an Act One Finish it’s seemingly all sunshine and red convertibles with a beautiful ocean view and Justin Long’s character AJ singing no no we’re just not gonna talk about that intention that we just saw real okay we’re just gonna keep going he’s singing
Donovan’s Ricky tiki-tavi everybody which is a heavy dose of irony because the song is supposed to be about standing up for yourself and facing problems that seem insurmountable this ties into later events in the film but here it’s the phone call AJ receives about him being me too by a co-star on the pilot that he’s working on through this brief conversation it’s very much established AJ is a scummy guy calling her a lying bee sting and after further conversations and meetings no one wants to deal with him because of this bombshell that has revealed and
is told no matter what do not contact Megan the actress that’s accusing him of sexual misconduct AJ has to liquidate some properties one of which happens to be located in Detroit ah yes cohesive storytelling it’s all connected man but here is is another reference to the Riki tiki-tavi song as the frame is focused on a snake hanging from the rear view mirror as AJ parks in front of this view symbolizing he is a snake no good a sign of the devil if you want to get extreme with things meaning these allegations against him they carry
some weight AJ is a misogynistic narcissist ignoring his parents bragging to his friend about what really happened while de-escalating it like like she was asking for a dude she wanted it having no regard for others hilariously chucking Tess’s laptop calling Megan against the advice he was given and researching the added property value of the Hidden basement rooms like some sort of real estate brochacho rather than being concerned that there is a freaking snuff room in your basement what are you doing get out of that house burn it down sorry AJ is just a complete idiot
as AJ measures his dick or rather creepy basement added property square footage he stumbles Upon A disheveled pinkish room with a small CRT TV playing a new Mother’s baby nursing video if that’s not creepy enough his tape measure is sucked into the Dark Void of the basement hallway and again we see him cowered away from his problems pulling a knife and running away Landing in some caged in pit only to find tests is still alive in the basement a quick switch to a bright pastel neighborhood reminiscent of the one from Edward Scissorhands as we follow
I I gotta say this the transitions from terrifying to Bright happiness are amazing anyway this is Frank living in the same Nightmare House and through context clues of Asia’s Heat of the Moment mentions of the Reagan Administration and then changed for three aspect ratio this is the early to mid 80s much like AJ there is this weird connection of sorts to him in the present events because of the baby supplies at the market specifically the same nursing VHS that is shown earlier Frank’s intentions are further Illustrated as he stalks a woman from the store posing
as a plumber his name is Carlos that he’s not a Carlos to unlock her window for later Upon returning to his Nightmare House his neighbor mentions that the neighborhood is going belly up Frank says he’s not going anywhere hinting at him not changing in his ways as screams from the basement are heard the video the creature woman Frank something happened in the past 40 years to bring us here inferring that Frank was kidnapping and sexually assaulting these women in his basement keeping them in cages and somehow this creature woman is a byproduct developing an infatuation
with being a mother due to the VHS tape later on we do discover that though having completely different Paths of morality Tess and AJ are both caught in the same situation AJ’s ego and ignorance drives him deeper into the Madness though refusing to drink from the hairy nipple I mean how much would you have to be paid to lick that thing a hundred bucks come on Tess Escapes in one of the best and scariest shots of the woman reaching out only to disappear into the darkness again the homeless man Andre helps Tess which he was
trying to warn her about from earlier and that’s not even the worst thing in that house hint hint Tess’s faults are shown even clearer as she has just saved herself from this living nightmare but wants to go back in to save AJ even Andre says she just needs to worry about herself test Flags down police that do not believe her at all thinking that she’s some sort of druggie discount her claims leaving her alone back at the house AJ finds another room deep in the basement that seemingly has someone living in it the final piece
of the puzzle Frank yeah that dude from the 80s never left the house instead living in the basement hint hint the worst thing in the house AJ’s first response is to save the man that the mother creature is going to pay for what she did and the cops are going to be swarming this place don’t you worry until AJ realizes that the man is actually a sick pervert who had been essentially assaulting women for decades filming all of it via VHS tapes AJ’s tone changes dramatically exclaiming what is wrong with you man you you you
stinky mcstink face resulting in Frank killing himself the thing about this scene that is done so perfectly is that AJ and Frank are one in the same both hurting people for their own gain or pleasure not taking into account that they were essentially monsters AJ disgusted by Frank’s videos but it’s him looking in a mirror both are abusers blaming others for the situations that they are in and Frank here doesn’t end his life because he feels guilty about the last four Decades of abuse no no no no no no no he ends it because AJ
threatens the cops will show up and he spins the gears in his mind and thinking that he’ll actually be caught making me cops swarm in this place real soon trust me man Tess unfortunately continues this white knight Persona slamming her car into the lanky pale woman making her way back into the basement to save AJ but this selflessness is a curse to test resulting in AJ shooting her it’s shown they are opposites of the same coin Tess attempts to save the day gets shot nonchalantly giving the old hey it’s butter flesh wound act the quick
shot of the nursing video implies she is of nurturing nature while AJ half apologizes for shooting her and then refuses to go back in to get the car keys in the basement even though Tess just risk her life doing the exact same thing minutes earlier luckily Andre gives them shelter filling in a bit of backstory for the creature woman she’s been living there some 40 years now she was born there what are you talking about I own that house somebody lives there boy you might own that paper but that’s her daddy’s house she is a
copy of a copy of a copy you know a Sweet Home Alabama or the Raw oils inbreeding situation AJ states that he hurts someone and that that matters here you think he’s talking about tests because of the bullet wound from earlier and a change of heart from his scummy Behavior but it’s actually him referring to the allegations against him he almost is a changed person but fixates on the idea of I need to fix it I can fix it nature to his problems though like a buck naked Kool-Aid Man the creature burst through the wall
beating Andre with his own arm chasing Tess and AJ up to the top of a silo bin AJ reverts to his old ways leaving tests behind to fend for herself panicking that there is nowhere to go she’s never going to stop this is AJ realizing that there is no way he can escape the allegations that his co-star said there’s nothing he can do even if he is innocent it’ll tarnish his reputation but he can buy some time using a woman as a means without compassion AJ throws Tess off of the roof with the creature Woman
Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man diving to save MJ in a Redemption fashion seeing the creature save Tess and that Tess is still alive AJ begins to plead with her he he had no choice she was going to kill them both it’s something he had to do you know what you were slipping yeah yeah I did nothing wrong almost blaming her again leaning into his scummy natures and the allegations he’s accused of in his eyes he did nothing wrong just another person in his path to get what he wants shockingly though the creature is still alive crushing in
Justin Long’s eyes so that Mr Jeepers Creepers can’t get his peepers then ripping his head apart AJ be dead the creature tries to carry tests back to the house with tests saying she can’t she’s unable slowly putting the gun to her Temple and pulls the trigger boom credits it ends with The Ronettes Be My Baby which is a cheeky nod to everything at play here the creature solely wanted a baby the whole time with tests being picked as that baby but unlike the rest of the movie Tess finally puts her needs first standing up for
herself and lives to see another day now there are a handful of different themes and symbolism at play from beginning to end of Barbarian if you’re wondering why the Barbarian name to begin with it could be that the Savage woman was in fact a barbarian in her constant state of Rage not belonging to normal society or it could even be a play on The house’s Street of Barberry but instead themes of abuse trauma toxicity morality male ego and the status quo are at play in a rough sense AJ and Tess are mirrors of Frank and
the mother AJ is an abusive narcissistic embodying the male toxicity thinking everything he does is gold well everything that goes wrong in his life is blamed on someone else gaslighting is is that a word we’re still using right now um AJ is is Dennis from Always Sunny this is the best exam sample while not necessarily being threatening from the outside he is rotten to the core and evil spreads out of him the idea of an outside Sheen or brightness can hide something gross below much like the house where we know what takes place inside even
comparing Keith and AJ was set up flawlessly because AJ is introduced in this flamboyant bright cheerful manner I mean why wouldn’t we trust this guy he looks like one wild and crazy guy to hang with until we find out he’s a frat bro uh Chad while Keith is introduced in a creepy manner it’s late during the thunderstorm a little awkward is he trying to sleep with Tess but is soon to found to be trusted unlike the reputation AJ puts out for a lot of men heck Keith might actually be a victim of abuse himself because
of his nightmares and frightful sleep talking on the other hand Tess is constantly giving in to people around her with the quote love and control are the same thing mentioned earlier when sipping wine with Keith subtly hinted at by the constant calls for Marcus in ex-lover who we can infer kind of had control over Tess’s life and even Keith kind of telling her hey it’s too late to go find another place just just stay here more so being ignored by everyone when when she tells Keith about the basement AJ about going along with the mother’s
act and even the police think that she’s completely crazy and in this constant putting others before herself mentality she wound up in this whole mess and got shot but the last five minutes are when the status quo changes instead of AJ getting to live out his days you know keeping the horrors of his past or things that he’s committed a secret he’s actually killed by a byproduct of what he would have created the mother if he would have changed at any point in this film this could have been avoided however it was almost a symbol
of the abused getting back at their abuser well as Tess playing into the song from earlier Ricky Dicky happy no one is going to solve your problems instead you need to learn quote to kill them yourself now not literally you know meaning to kill the mother but instead to stop the constant cycle of giving up on yourself for others happiness she’s changed for the better I mean if she didn’t kill the mother she would have submitted like all of the other times throughout the movie and have been hauled back to the basement dwelling I’m not
the biggest horror fan but barbarian was really something different the plot instantly grabbed me in subverting expectations was probably its strongest attribute like I was waiting and waiting for some cheap jump scare but instead disregarded the easy ones focusing on the tension of the scenes to play out and there are some truly horrifying imagery the Stark transition from maybe the most harrowing stuff to bright colorful happy scenes in an instant confused my brain in the best way possible like wait wait we’re just not going to talk about that dude that got his head smashed in
by that monster woman woman and the flashback scenes were filmed in such a dream-like different manner that made me feel like I was watching an entirely different movie there was a great use of atmosphere and lighting as well because the handful of times that the mother lurched from the darkness or slowly kind of receded back into it were brilliant Barbarian is definitely in my top 10 honestly maybe like top five of the year and this rewatch allowed me to pick up on all of these kind of small things that I missed the first time but
yeah I’d love to hear your thoughts on Barbarian what were some of your favorite parts and is this a top tier horror film of 2022 and I’ll let you know we’re currently running a competition right now giving away three copies of top gun Maverick on the 15th of November and all you have to do to get a chance of winning this is like this video make sure to subscribe with notifications on and drop a comment Down Below on what you thought of Barbarian we picked the comments at random at the end of the month and
the winners of last month’s competition are on screen right now so if that’s you message us on Twitter at heavy spoilers if you want something else to watch be sure to check out some of our other cool videos whether it be our upcoming DC slate breakdown or our Constant House of dragon videos there’s dragons check them out with that out of the way thanks for your constant support I’ve been Jared and I’ve I’ve just deleted my Airbnb app we’ll see in the next one take care and peace
