Be careful what rental you book this fall. You could end up like Tess: in a double-booked rental home hiding a secret beneath it. Barbarian, a new horror film from 20th Century Studios, explores what could happen when your Airbnb has a secret door and passageways lurking beneath the surface. Georgina Campbell stars as Tess, a girl just trying to sleep after a long journey. However, Keith, played by Bill Skarsgård, disrupts her plan when he claims he's already booked the property.

The film is written and directed by Zach Cregger, who previously wrote and directed for The Whitest Kids U'Know. He also served as a producer on the series, as well as the Hulu docuseries Sasquatch and Comedy Zen, to name a few. Executive producers on Barbarian include Danny Chan (Fortress), Alex Lebovici (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Natalie Lehmann​​​​​​​ (Deep Water), Yariv Milchan (Deep Water, The Lighthouse)​​​​​​​, Michael Schaefer (Deep Water, The Lighthouse)​​​​​​​, and Skarsgård, with Roy Lee (The Stand, IT, The Exorcist series)​​​​​​​, J.D. Lifshitz (Firestarter)​​​​​​​, Raphael Margules (Firestarter)​​​​​​​, and Arnon Milchan (Deep Water, The Lighthouse) listed as producers.

Though we don't mean to ruin your upcoming rental stay, stick with us as we tell you what there is to know about Barbarian.

Barbarian: The Plot

Bill Skarsgård in Barbarian
20th Century Studios

Tess is trying to complete a remote check-in to the house she rented while doing job interviews in Detroit. It's dark and raining, and when she opens the key box, the key is gone. Frustrated, she knocks on the door and finds someone else is already in the rental. Keith says he has been staying there a month and has had it booked but invites her in so they can figure out why the owners double booked it.

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This is the beginning of a nightmare for Tess. From strange noises to discovering a secret door in the basement of the home, it seems like once you enter the house, you aren't meant to leave. The trailer shows her finding the door and hearing Keith calling for help. As she goes into the secret passage to look for him, things take a turn for the worse. Keith isn't the only person in the home; she runs into others, which is even more startling than finding Keith there since she was supposed to have the rental all to herself.

The secret underground section of the house looks exactly like how you would expect: dark and wet. However, there are also rooms set up with beds and old video cameras. VHS tapes and a strange narrator appear, saying that the "process may be overwhelming" while bits of video can be seen on the television set. What process? What will happen to Tess now that she's gone through the door? The narrator continues, saying with "practice," the experience will get better and that what's happening is "perfectly natural." What is happening below this average suburban home?

While the trailer poses many questions, one of the most significant that comes to mind centers on Keith. Is Keith in on what's happening at this house, or is he a victim just like Tess?

Barbarian: The Cast

Campbell in Barbarian
20th Century Studios

Georgia Campbell is Tess. Audiences may recognize her from Suspicion, where she portrays Natalie Thompson, or the Black Mirror episode "Hang the DJ." Bill Skarsgård is Keith, the mysterious man already in the rental home. Many may know him from his role as Pennywise in the new IT movies, while others may recognize his face from Atomic Blonde or The Devil All the Time.

Related: Non-Horror Movies That Should Be Horror Movies

Additional cast members include Justin Long (New Girl, Giri/Haji) as Cale, who you can just barely catch a glimpse of in the trailer, Matthew Patrick Davis (American Dad!, Henry Danger) as The Mother, Richard Brake (Brave New World, The Royals) as Frank, Kurt Braunohler​​​​​​​ (Bob's Burgers, Mr. Mayor) as Doug, Jaymes Butler (Snowden) as Andre, Kate Bosworth​​​​​​​ (Along for the Ride, The I-Land) as Melisa, Zach Cregger (Wrecked) as Everett, Will Greenberg (Wrecked, Perfect Harmony) as Robert, Kate Nichols (Dads) as Catherine, Sophie Sörensen as Bonnie Zane, J.R. Esposito (Pandora)​​​​​​​ as Jeff, and Sara Paxton (How to Get Away with Murder, The Last House on the Left) as a video narrator and the named character Megan.

Release Date

Announced initially with an August 31, 2022, release date, the film has been pushed back to September 9, 2022. The film makes its premiere on August 29. 2022, at Arrow Video FrightFest.

Everything Else We Know

Barbarian 2022
20th Century Studios

With the rise of people sharing their horror stories with Airbnb and other home rental platforms on social media, it makes sense it would be captured in a film. Unlike other horror movies coming out in the coming months, Barbarian is feeding on a fear people have right now. One that, depending on your experience renting homes, feels natural. With rental owners posting their properties across several sites, the chance your home is double-booked is a very real possibility that you'd have to deal with. It is pretty unlikely that your vacation rental has a secret in its basement, though.

While you wait, check out the other horror films that should be on your radar this year.