What makes a good slasher film? A creepy villain? A memorable, haunting soundtrack? A sense of unease that sits in the pit of your stomach for most of the runtime? The Stylist has all these, but I still wouldn’t call it a “good” slasher film. Nor would I call it a “bad” one either. Instead, I would say that The Stylist commits the greatest cardinal sin of cinema: failure to reach its potential.
Claire, the titular stylist, is a reserved but talented hairdresser. Although she is introverted, her clients feel safe opening up to her. Claire, on the other hand, feels free to open their skulls, or at least relieve women of their scalps. These scenes are not as graphic as say, Bone Tomahawk, it is more the sound effects that will make you squeamish.
A cross between Sweeney Todd and Buffalo Bill (all the way down to the basement mise-en-scene and little dog), Claire is an experienced serial killer, though the details of her past and motives are left ambiguous. When one of her few acquaintances, Olivia, asks her to style her hair for her wedding, Claire initially declines. Eventually, the social Olivia breaks through Claire’s walls. But when Olivia’s own barriers go up, Claire struggles with even the minor form of social rejection.
A strong foundation for a slice and dice flick, but The Stylist is plagued by pacing and a lack of subtlety. It was initially a fifteen-minute short film, and the feature-length version runs for an hour forty-five. The film itself could have used a trim. It is not as if the movie has any major plot twists and there are far too many moments of artificial tension needed to be cut.
This is a shame, because the technical craftsmanship is flawless. From the editing, shot composition, costume and production design, and audio atmosphere, The Stylist could have been a cult classic. Najarra Townsend’s performance as Claire is the only standout amongst the cast, but she successfully carries the films on her prim shoulders just as well as she wears the hairdos of her victims. Again, such shots are not grotesque but do be warned that there is a scene of a sexual nature that horrified me more than any of the scalping did. Optional.