The Barbarian Moment director realized there was an unintentional joke about Stephen King in his film

By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Sep 4, 2022

As Barbaricthe teaser teases, the film begins with Georgina Campbell’s Tess trying to get into her Airbnb before learning that the house has been double-booked by a mysterious character played by Bill Skarsgård. For many horror fans, who know the actor well for portraying Pennywise in the recent THIS movies, there’s an instant instinct not to trust any character Skarsgård plays, especially if you put him in another movie of the genre. Without spoiling the ride Barbaricthere’s an unintentional Stephen King joke about Pennywise in the next horror movie.

CinemaBlend spoke to BarbaricWriter/director Zach Cregger on casting Bill Skarsgård at the pinnacle of horror film and whether it was intentional to poke fun at his iconic role as Pennywise a bit, especially at a time when his character tells Tess , he’s “not a monster. In my theater, horror fans certainly laughed at the line’s delivery. In the words of Cregger:

I actually didn’t think of it as a joke until the first time we played it in front of an audience and everyone laughed, I was like, “Oh yeah, I guess that’s is quite funny”. I mean, Bill was a perfect cast for it because he has such a history with audiences, horror audiences know him, you know, and they expect something from him. So as soon as he opens that door, everyone is like “Oh!!” You know? And that’s exactly what you want.

Although it may sound like Bill Skarsgård is denying he’s a freak in Barbaric is a fun nod to his THIS character, according to Barbaric‘s filmmaker, he and his team didn’t think about it or joke about the line on set. The actor is so associated with the role of Stephen King’s villain that fans of the genre will find themselves not only questioning his character’s intentions, but getting nervous knowing what he is capable of doing to scare an audience. .

Although the joke wasn’t intentional, once Cregger realized it could play as a comedic moment that breaks the film’s tension, he was pleasantly surprised at how “funny” it was. and how Skårsgard’s history with the audience could also work to its advantage in the story itself.

It’s better if you don’t know anything about it Barbaric before watching it. What the preview shows you is just the beginning of the terrors Tess has to face following the Airbnb double-booking. We can tell you that the film also stars Justin Long, who also spoke with CinemaBlend during San Diego Comic-Con following our point of sale host a Barbaric screening for congress attendees.

so far, Barbaric received generally positive reviews from its audience, including Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright, who called it “a breathtaking explosion of a movie” on Twitter. Barbaric hits theaters on September 9 and tickets are on sale now.