This Terrifying Horror Movie Uses Your Expectations of Bill Skarsgård Against You

The Big Picture

• Bill Skarsgård’s versatility shines in horror as Keith in
  Barbarian
  , a role that keeps viewers on edge.
• Skarsgård expertly portrays Keith’s unsettling charm, manipulating audience expectations in a thrilling manner.
• Barbarian
  artfully uses Skarsgård’s reputation as a villain to subvert horror film conventions, creating a nail-biting atmosphere.

Bill Skarsgård has proved himself to be an intensely versatile actor with a variety of roles in every genre from action to comedy. However, he has cemented himself as one of today’s leading horror actors. Brimming with bad boy gusto in Hemlock Grove, Skarsgård finally started getting recognized for his less noble roles, especially as he enigmatically prowled onto the set of a Stephen King adaptation, Castle Rock. He became a household name when he took on the very tall order of playing one of horror’s most iconic villains, Pennywise in the two It movies. His latest role, The Crow, sees him playing another dark and complicated character (but not one who likes to bite kids’ arms off in a sewer). His perfectly creepy villain status gave director Zach Cregger an ingenious opportunity for his 2022 horror film, Barbarian. Though Skarsgård takes on a small role in the beginning alongside underrated scream-queen Georgina Campbell, his character becomes instrumental in setting up the film’s twisty and horrific tone.

Who Does Bill Skarsgård Play in ‘Barbarian?’

Barbarian sets the scene on a rainy night, with a woman driving in the darkness, searching for the house she booked on Airbnb. Campbell’s Tess finally arrives at her destination only to discover that the key isn’t in the lockbox like the Airbnb host promised. Unable to get a hold of the host via the phone, she waits in her car, unsure of what to do now, until a light switches on inside the house. She returns to the porch and knocks on the door, ready to confront whoever answers, and comes face to face with Keith (Skarsgård). After some cautious back-and-forth and a display of receipts, they finally confirm that the host accidentally double-booked the house, due to it being advertised on two different websites.

Naturally, Tess’ protective instincts are dialed up to one hundred, but with the dodgy neighborhood and storm outside, she agrees to Keith’s offer of sharing the place. Keith is a gentleman and gladly takes the couch, while also agreeing to wash the bedsheets for her. Meanwhile, the two tentatively get to know one another and hit it off romantically, eventually bidding each other goodnight once the sheets are dry. During the night, Tess realizes that the door to her bedroom has opened, and cautiously goes out into the hallway to confront Keith about it, but he groggily wakes up completely taken aback by her accusation.

The next day, Tess attends an interview where she finds out that the area she is staying in is just as shady as she guessed it was. Returning to the Airbnb afterward, she is chased down by a stranger but makes it inside in time. This is also when she ventures down into the basement and discovers creepy sights inside, only to be locked down there by a faulty door. Keith saves her but doesn’t believe what she saw, and thus decides to investigate himself. When he calls her down there but disappears, we are certain he is about to pop out and harm her in some way. However, Barbarian subverts our expectations as Keith becomes the first character to die in the film.

Bill Skarsgård and Georgina Campbell Give Tense Performances in ‘Barbarian’s Opening

This first night masterfully sets up the creepy and twisty premise of Barbarian, and it hinges on Skarsgård’s ability to toe the line between innocent and unsettling. His reputation as a villain actor can only go so far: when we see Skarsgård for the first time, opening that door with a sluggishly confused look on his face, we are instinctively wary. But Skarsgård drives this home by instilling a sort of performative aspect to Keith’s casual demeanor that invokes distrust in us. As Tess requests certain measures to be taken for her safety, like showing the receipts of the Airbnb booking or refusing to drink the tea Keith makes, Keith responds in an overly casual way. He goes out of his way to make her feel comfortable, almost like putting on a show to demonstrate how ordinary and safe he is. Ironically, it makes us even more wary of him.

We are also positioned to view the bizarre situation from Tess’s perspective, whose uncertain and cautious performance encapsulates every woman’s fears. The two politely tip-toe around each other, in a strange dance of Tess navigating her precarious situation and Keith complying with her precautions. Keith’s awareness of her concerns makes him even more unsettling, especially with his comments directly addressing those concerns like how he wouldn’t accept tea or wine from a stranger either. Skarsgård and Campbell slowly replace their tense chemistry with a more romantic one, even leading to an open conversation about women’s safety. It almost seems like the film is adding a meta way to hint at Keith eventually threatening Tess’s safety. He just seems too good to be true.

‘Barbarian’ Pits Keith And Tess Against Each Other

The way this night is filmed also rouses our suspicions against Keith, as Barbarian’s opening is set up like any other horror movie where the victim meets the killer for the first time. During the night, the background music is pared back, leaving only the heavy rain outside to fill in the silences between the voices of the two characters. They speak in muted tones, as polite jargon and wariness constantly coat their conversation. This doesn’t so much to build the tension, instead keeping it at a steady, undulating level that slowly grinds away at our nerves. It feels as if one wrong word or breath could disturb the bond they are desperately, yet cautiously trying to create. Tess needs this bond to feel safe, while Keith tries everything to show Tess he means no harm.

Visually, even the placement of the title scene supports our expectations of whom the titular villain is. When Keith invites Tess inside, the camera points at her from the side, panning across as she steps across the threshold of the house, sweeping into the title scene, which is accompanied by the haunting sound of muffled wailing. Barbarian easily gaslights viewers into believing that it is this fateful meeting that spells out Tess’s doom, and it is — just not in the way we expected. The two characters don’t even appear in the same shot together until they sit at the dinner table. We only get shots pointed towards a character’s face on their own, or over-the-shoulder shots during a conversation. When they begin connecting over their jobs, the camera captures both of them on opposite sides of the table — even when they do appear in a frame together, it subliminally pits the characters against one another. Both visually and acoustically, the first night is designed to evoke an air of deception and caution, making their tentative friendship or romance later feel insincere, at least on Keith’s behalf.

‘Barbarian’ Takes Advantage of Skarsgård’s Villain Reputation

As such, when Tess begins falling for Keith, we are inclined to yell at her to smarten up, especially when he calls for her in the basement. The film relishes our distrustful reaction, exploiting it until the very last moment when Keith is brutally snatched away into the darkness and our expectations are well and truly upended. Barbarian’s casting choice of Skarsgård is the solid foundation that allows the audience to be manipulated, as it effortlessly uses his reputation against us, adorning it with compelling performances and a nail-biting atmosphere. It initially meets all our expectations of a horror film, constructing that opening night to lull us into a knowing complacency as we feel like we’ve already figured the entire movie out. Barbarian becomes the perfect example of manipulating audience expectations, not only by tapping into our knowledge of genre conventions but using Skarsgård beyond just his acting abilities. The masterfully executed opening night also sets up the film’s unpredictable and merciless tone, strapping us in for a thrilling ride as Skarsgård’s usually villainous face is dragged away screaming.

Barbarian is available to rent on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

Rent on Apple TV+