Fantastic Fest had no shortage of offbeat genre films. It’s a festival that thrives on the unusual, just like me. Luckily, Bad Haircut has plenty of weirdness to offer viewers. This new feature, directed by Kyle Misak, follows Billy (Spencer Harrison Levin) on a journey to get a new haircut. Unfortunately, his new barber, Mick (Frankie Ray), might have more up his sleeve than point cuts and shampoo. While the comedy only hits 50% of the time, Spencer Harrison Levin and Frankie Ray give 110% to their roles. These performances sell the plot and make it easy for viewers to suspend their disbelief, which is essential to truly having a good time. Bad Haircut is a bizarro psychological thriller that will surely find its audience once it’s out in the wild.
The market isn’t cornered when it comes to killer barbers. Films like The Stylist and Sweeney Todd provide salon chairs of doom, but there’s plenty of room in the genre for killer cuts. There is something about watching a straight blade slide up someone’s skin. The suspense of waiting for the blade to open up a client’s neck for business or to simply leave them clean-shaven drives my shoulder blades to my temples. Plus, the salon is full of unique weapons: chemicals, scissors, blades, styling irons, and more. I was disappointed that most of those fun options were neglected. However, the film makes use of cages and acid, which was completely unexpected. Bad Hair thrives on surprising turns.
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For example, I didn’t expect the film to start at a college party. We move through the party following Harper (Michael Bonini) as he interacts with the guests. He’s popular and clearly has access to resources. This is a stark difference from Billy, who is awkward and uncomfortable, especially around women. After an embarrassing incident at the party, Sonny encourages Billy to change up his style, starting with a haircut. We are led to the barber shop of doom by way of the protagonist’s makeover. It’s an interesting segue into the danger
This film’s villain is another surprise. Frankie Ray’s performance as Mick gives the antagonist a unique feel. He seems incredibly laid back and eccentric. We meet him with a returning client in his chair, which creates the facade that he’s harmless. His shop is dingy, but the haircuts are $7, so Sonny (Beau Minniear) and Dee (R.J. Beaubrun) recommended him. Unfortunately, he immediately makes Billy (and me) uncomfortable as soon as he greets the group of friends at the barber shop. Once Billy sits in the chair, Mick invades his space.
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Not long after, Billy’s friends abandoned him at the shop to buy shoes. Mick takes this opportunity to be as weird as possible without being actively threatening, which makes Billy debate back and forth about whether he should leave. The dance break should have been the final straw, but Billy stayed for tacos. While I would have left after seeing Dee’s haircut, the red flags didn’t seem so bad to Billy. The thought of leaving crossed his mind, but he doesn’t act on these kinds of impulses until later in the movie. It seemed like Mick was mainly violating boundaries until a “client” showed up at the shop.
After the visitor, the film sprints in the opposite direction of my expectations. Although I had limited information about the film before viewing it, I had an idea of what a killer barber movie might be like. I assumed that Mick was going to be a blade-wielding serial killer who killed clients for sport. Instead, his character was an unstable and unpredictable killer trying to catch a date. Billy’s danger felt more circumstantial. If no one had come to the shop, he probably would have gotten the cut and been on his way. He was almost out of the shop after that incident, but he accidentally finds out too much information. The wrinkle in the story transforms the film further.
Bad Hair changes from the battle of the boundaries, to team body disposal, to captivity. Mick’s behavior becomes increasingly concerning, from kidnapping to attacking his own partner. I use the term partner loosely because Wimp (Martin Klebba) doesn’t have much to do outside of following Mick’s orders and getting kicked around. The film spends most of its time focusing on the interactions between Billy and Mick, but neglects the other characters.
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Sonny and Dee spend much of the film in a different location, none the wiser of the situation unfolding at the barber shop. We flash back to them a couple of times through the film to remind us that they’re alive and shoe shopping. Dee feels like a Black sidekick who offers up a few lines of comedy that ultimately fall flat. I was happy his friends joined the cause in the last 25 minutes of the movie; it was a small redemption for leaving Billy in the shop alone. Sam (Nora Freetly) spends much of the film waiting to be saved. She does fight back once she gets a chance, but it doesn’t make up for having to watch Mick keep Sam, who is clearly much younger, captive.
The darker moments of Bad Hair work, although much of the comedy does not. The last 10 minutes of the movie scored the movie an additional half-star for the ending. Since the film spends most of the time with Billy, it was easy to root for him. He deserved his ending, and I appreciate the actions Sonny and Dee take to be better friends. I also liked that after his haircut, Billy did not transform into Harper from the beginning of the film. He was able to socialize at the party, but by being himself. It feels like a coming-of-age film for young adults. Overall, Bad Hair is worth watching if the comedy works for you.
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