What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedBarbarian
Zach Cregger · Film · 2022
If you loved Barbarian, start with The Tenant (Freida McFadden, 2025) — a book on the same thread. Below: 1 book, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Barbarian across media.
If the unpredictable descent into claustrophobic dread in Barbarian kept you hooked, these stories masterfully weaponize your sense of safety and vulnerability.
Books on the same thread
The Tenant
Freida McFadden · Book · 2025
Explores: unreliable narrator, home invasion, hidden agendas.
Much like the double-booked rental in Barbarian, this story uses a domestic setting to exploit your fear of strangers, perfectly capturing the same unsettling tension of shared, hostile spaces.
Series on the same thread
American Horror Story
Ryan Murphy · Series · 2011
Shares a thread with Barbarian: Trauma.
The way Barbarian blends social commentary with visceral, house-based horror is mirrored here, as this series constantly shifts power dynamics to keep you trapped in a state of constant instability.
FROM
John Griffin · Series · 2022
Explores: Trapped in a mysterious town, Monsters in the woods, Survival horror.
If the trapped, survivalist atmosphere of Barbarian gripped you, you will appreciate how this show forces its characters to navigate a nightmare where their environment is actively hunting them down.
The Terror
David Kajganich · Series · 2018
Explores: Survival, Isolation, Madness.
Barbarian excels at isolating its characters in a hostile location, and this series doubles down on that feeling by trapping people in an unforgiving landscape where madness and survival collide.
Yellowjackets
Ashley Lyle · Series · 2021
Shares a thread with Barbarian: Trauma.
Just as trauma and survival drive the narrative in Barbarian, this series explores the moral decay of people forced into extreme situations where their only goal is to stay alive.
Podcasts on the same thread
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts · Podcast · 2026
Explores: mental health awareness, female friendship, coping mechanisms.
If the conversational tone and focus on female-centric true crime themes in Barbarian resonated with you, this podcast provides that same eerie, community-driven exploration of real-world danger and survival.
Darknet Diaries
Podcast
Explores: hacking, data breaches, cybersecurity.
Barbarian highlights how easily digital and social safety can be compromised, and this podcast digs into the dark reality of those vulnerabilities with chilling, true-to-life stories of digital intrusion.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is Barbarian based on a book?
Barbarian is not an adaptation of a book or any other source material. The 2022 film was written and directed by Zach Cregger as an original story centered on a woman who discovers her Airbnb has been mistakenly double-booked with a strange man.
What is the premise of Barbarian?
The plot of Barbarian follows a young woman who arrives at her Airbnb late at night for a job interview. She discovers the rental has been double-booked by a strange man and chooses to stay the night despite the circumstances.
Who directed the movie Barbarian?
Barbarian was written and directed by Zach Cregger. Released in 2022, the film explores the unsettling experience of a woman who finds a stranger already staying in her rental home upon her late-night arrival for an interview.
What happens in the opening of Barbarian?
In Barbarian, a young woman travels to a new town for a job interview and arrives at her Airbnb late at night. She finds that the property has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already occupying the house.