Barbarian | Do I Look Like Some Kind of Monster?

On this episode of Clever Ghouls, join the Ghoulies as they discuss Zach Cregger’s 2022 film, Barbarian. The script started out after Cregger read Gavin de Becker's book "The Gift of Fear," which encourages women to trust their intuition when confronted by obviously dangerous men. Barbarian follows Tess who arrives at an Airbnb late at night only to discover there isn’t a key provided. She rings the bell in the hopes of finding some answers to being left out in the rain, when a man answers the door. After entering the house, and then making the decision to stay the night, Tess soon discovers her little home-to-rent is definitely not what it seems. This entire movie takes 500 different twists and turns, and it’s straight FUCKED.

Barbarian is an incredibly disturbing movie that takes a lot of twists and turns that aren’t explicitly laid out in the description or summary of the film. Please take a minute if you haven’t it yet, to head over to doesthedogdie.com to check out a full list of content warnings. This movie is rated R  for some strong violence and gore, disturbing material, language throughout and nudity. It also comes with a pretty extensive list of content warnings so, here we go…Discussions of sexual assault and men being the WORST about it, jump scares, kidnapping, stalking and forced entry into homes, inbreeding, lots of intense body gore included severed limbs and eye mutilation, heavy maternal and breastfeeding themes, captivity, child abuse, torture, guns, suicide, and a car crash.

Resources
Jubilee Video: Male Feminists Vs. Antifeminists

Oppressed People Can Be Oppressors Too

Saturn Devouring His Son by Francisco Goya

This episode also has a bunch of accompanying and related minisodes, so definitely also check those out to get even more content and dig even deeper:

• The Body Never Forgets: Epigenetics & Generational Trauma | Minisode w/  Maegan
• Mommy Dearest: Mothers, Motherhood & Maternal Portrayal in Horror | Minisode w/ Maegan
• Barbarian: An Ode to Practical Effects in Horror | Minisode w/  Blair
• Tilting the Scales with Rage: Gender Imbalance in Horror w/ Maegan 

This episode was organized and edited by Maegan.

The Clever Ghouls podcast, hosted by Maegan and Blair, is a show dedicated to watching, analyzing, and discussing the movies that make us think about them long after we’ve left the theater or turned off the TV. We bring quick wit and unique perspectives from backgrounds like art history, cinematography, psychology, analysis, public education, mysticism, mythos, and more to create a curated, inclusive conversation around the spooky movies we love. Tune in on your favorite podcast hosting platform to listen along, join the conversation, and chime in with your own observations!

Our intro and outro music was created for us by Josh Marshall. For more episodes and other spooky content, find us on your favorite social media platform through our handle: @CleverGhouls. Don’t forget to subscribe and share, and if you really like our content, please leave us a review. Or we’ll haunt you forever. Thanks for listening!