Do you like the old school grindhouse style of films like Planet Terror or Hobo With a Shotgun? Well then you’ll probably like The Barn. It’s really quite that simple. It’s a total homage to the exploitation cinema in that style, and quite frankly, being an independent film it captures it a little more than some of those bigger budget films. For better and for worse. Rather than using high tech equipment and then digitally adding the grainy look, a lot of the style in The Barn was captured by actually using that older equipment just because that’s what they could afford, and that’s pretty cool. On the other hand, there’s some times where its budget shows that are a little more dubious. The effects are all done practically, and I love this, but this also means that during some scenes they seem to blow their load on the effects all at once for practical purposes and some of the monsters really don’t look very good. On the other hand, this low budget look is part of the charm, in the same way that the original Evil Dead is still charming. Really the only amateur aspect that I can’t justify in some way is the pacing, which can be a little off. It’s not terrible per se, just not great, with some awkward moments and effects at tension that don’t quite work. There are some moments where it starts to drag a bit, but despite this I was never completely bored by the movie, and there would usually be something fun around the corner. In terms of sheer entertainment value I would say I like Planet Terror or even some of the actual exploitation films of the 70s and 80s a little better than The Barn, but I still admire the hell out of The Barn for capturing that grindhouse feel to an almost eerie degree. Being set on Halloween and oozing with Halloween spirit, it’s a great movie to put on in October. If you’re into this sort of thing, you’ll enjoy it. I personally am, so I really liked it.
