Barbarian * * *

I'm not even going to apologise for giving you a spoiler, because this scenario is so common in Horror films it doesn't even matter anymore. "There is some bad shit going on in the basement, okay" There!

This time the basement is huge, extending for miles, whilst the house above is as big as a shoe-box, but never mind that ridiculous contradiction. 

On a positive note I like the way it was constructed (the film that is, not the basement).  It has three stories to tell which eventually fold into the one.  Rather than having them run simultaneously it shows us one story before starting on the next.  Each time it was almost like another film had come onto the screen.  

No spoilers okay?

In the first story a young woman turns up at an airbnb.  Set in Detroit the neighbourhood is rough and threatening. (I loved the streetscapes).  She arrives to find the place has already been let out to another person.  The young man who has been given the property is understanding though and invites her to stay.  He is a bit weird but seems okay.  After the first day she finds something very creepy in the basement.  She tells her housemate.  They descend together but only one comes out...

The guy who owns the house is seen driving to the property. Arrogant and proud we find he is in trouble.  He has been accused of sexual assault.  He doesn't realise his property has been leased out until he arrives. "Who are these people in my house!?"  He too goes down into the basement...

We go back to the seventies. The guy who first owned the property is seen buying items for the basement.  He is also seen doing a lot of other weird things - like abducting young women and taking them down into the basement...

Each of the three stories are creepy and well done.  It's the strongest part of the film.  But things fall apart when they fold into one for the final act.  The situation is as silly as the monster in the basement - and wait till you meet it! It's creepy but kind of sad and rather ironic - for the created monster in many ways undermines it's "woman is strong" message. 

Like Men it seems to be shooting for an oversized target. But there is a lot of that these days.  If you can't win points for making a good film, win 'em for characterising a topical issue - and in a way I feel that is high on the agenda here.