The Barber (2002)
In the small town of Revelstoke, Alaska, local barber Dexter is surprised to learn that the body of Lucy Waters has been discovered. Having killed this woman, days ago, he hoped her body wouldn't be found until spring. Through the eyes of a serial killer, we discover the chilling layer of a weary town whose only concern is another long, dark winter.
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You won't be disappointed!
Pretty Good
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
When I first watched this movie, I had no idea that there were actually a series of disappearances up in Alaska that locals believed were the work of a serial killer but were unsolved. I am a huge Malcom McDowell fan since "If" and I watched it purely for that reason. I also work in a court system, and I know all too well that some cases never get solved. So, I found the plot satisfying albeit with a disturbing ending, the acting well done and the camera work masterful. The suspense comes not so much from guessing who the killer is as that is pretty much revealed early in the film, but from the cat and mouse game played by the killer with the authorities.However, in light of the release of The Fourth Kind and the press about it, NOW I find myself wondering if this were an earlier attempt based loosely on the same cases that The Fourth Kind is based on...At any rate, all in all, a good use of my time watching this film.
Surprisingly much better than it sounds, the film is atmospheric and stylishly directed, and the screenplay has good ideas and dialogue. The film still has the markings of a routine thriller, and towards the end in particular it starts to lose itself. But it is a modest production, which does not try to be any better than it is, and it is rather fascinating to watch. McDowell quite effectively narrates and plays the leading role, and the music used in the film is very fitting in general - though the classical music used feels like a forced allusion to 'A Clockwork Orange'. Overall, it is not a masterpiece of cinema, but it is definitely better than the average thriller out there, and it certainly has more power to engage than most Hollywood productions today.
I bought the DVD of this movie for five bucks at Fred Meyer. Honestly, I thought it was going to suck. I only bought it because it stars Malcolm McDowell, and I'd watch that man read the phone book.Big surprise! The Barber is delightful! It's filled with dark humor, wit, and some really terrific visual jokes. Oh yeah, and grisly murders, too.Malcolm McDowell is fantastic, as usual. He alternately downplays the character and chews the scenery. The rest of the cast is good as well. The chief of police is excellent as he slowly comes unhinged. The dim but sweet Jules was another of my favorites.Sure, there are technical problems. It's a low-budget flick, and they could have used a continuity editor. But so what? The movie is great fun. Watch it on a dark, cold night. And I'm not just saying this because Malcolm McDowell makes my horns pointy.
I kept waiting for this film to go somewhere, but it just didn't. There were too many Dumb and Dumber wannabes in it stinking up the action. It was good when McDowell on on screen and lousy the rest of the time. Unfortunately, McDowell wasn't on screen enough. The rest of the cast was very, very amateurish. What a profound disappointment.