Fantastic Fest recently debuted the film Barbarians to the world. The film marks the move from producing to writing and directing for filmmaker Charles Dorfman, and tells an excellently devilish story of a dinner party turned sour. Told in chapters, Barbarian revolves around the birthday dinner party of famed director, Adam (Games of Thrones and Misfits star Iwan Rheon). Adam and his girlfriend Eva (Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace) reside in the first home of a proposed development of dream houses that allows young professionals the opportunity to reconnect with nature. To celebrate his special day, Adam’s friend and property developer, Lucas (Tom Cullen, Black Mirror), along with his girlfriend Chloe (Inès Spiridonov, Alone), come round for dinner. As the meal develops tensions, revelations come to the surface, and emotions rise, an unexpected interruption throws everything into turmoil.
As first feature films go, Barbarians is an excellent example of how to do them well. Dorfman capitalises on his experience in the industry to craft a thriller that feels taut and stifling. The cast are also all at the top of their game here, Rheon is especially unrecognisable compared to his better known alter-ego of Ramsey Bolton. It’s a great little slice of single situation thriller and a perfect partner for Fantastic Fest.
UK audiences shouldn’t despair at having missed out on the screening as Barbarians will screen in London later this month as part of Arrow Video FrightFest’s Halloween Event. Barbarians plays on Friday 29th October and is set to drive the FrightFest fans into a frenzy with its cleverly constructed plot and excellent dialogue. For those that did catch Barbarians at Fantastic Fest, or those that are simply curious about the project, I spoke with writer and director Charles Dorfman to dig a little deeper into its creation.
Barbarians will next screen as part of Arrow Video FrightFest’s Halloween event on Friday 29th October. Tickets can be found here.
