Early on when WWE or World Wrestling Entertainment said they would be getting into the movie business a lot of people probably looked at the move with a very cynical eye. The feeling that all they were going to do was make bad action movies starring their WWE Superstars was surely proved correct early on. So it seems that as it goes on WWE Studios is trying to stretch a bit outside of their usual subject matter with the movie Barricade, a horror put out right in time for the Halloween season. Pretty surprising to see them produce a movie that has no action or have a professional wrestler in it at all. Instead we get a fairly quiet horror movie.
Barricade is the story of Terrance Shade and his two children going to spend a Christmas vacation in a cabin in the woods. It’s been a year since the death of Leah Shade, the children’s mother and Terrance’s wife. Once getting there both he and the kids start to get sick and they start noticing weird happenings in and around the cabin. Eric McCormack plays Terrance with a nice sincerity as a father trying to take care of his children and be completely befuddled with what may or may not be going on here. The chemistry with him and two child actors Conner Dwelly and Ryan Grantham is really good on screen; they never seem too fake or awkward as a family together.
Barricade at times seems to not always know what it wants to be, it shifts tone and feeling from psychological type horror to poltergeist like horror pretty quickly. That can leave you a bit confused as to what the intent of the filmmakers was. The scope of the movie doesn’t seem too big as the look of it feels like a basic cable movie. There are points in the movie where the editing does a more than effective job of showing you Terrance’s confused view of the world and then there are others that will leave you completely bored with what you’re seeing.
One of the good things with Barricade is that it’s a horror movie that isn’t dependent on excessive gore or a having some young starlet in danger. This is a movie that is pretty safe to show your kids but that’s also something that might not be for everyone if they are looking for something more slasher, monster, or found footage in tone they will be very much disappointed.
All in all Barricade is a pretty decent and well-made psychological horror movie out right now. The filmmakers surprisingly made a watchable movie that can on quick glace could feel a bit like a retread of movies or stories you’ve seen before. But what they and the actors accomplished is an entertaining yarn about a dad trying to protect his children. Barricade was a pretty surprising release from WWE Studios and is actually worth a watch.
One of the good things with Barricade is that it’s a horror movie that isn’t dependent on excessive gore or a having some young starlet in danger. This is a movie that is pretty safe to show your kids but that’s also something that might not be for everyone if they are looking for something more slasher, monster, or found footage in tone they will be very much disappointed.
All in all Barricade is a pretty decent and well-made psychological horror movie out right now. The filmmakers surprisingly made a watchable movie that can on quick glace could feel a bit like a retread of movies or stories you’ve seen before. But what they and the actors accomplished is an entertaining yarn about a dad trying to protect his children. Barricade was a pretty surprising release from WWE Studios and is actually worth a watch.
