The Stylist

It takes a deft hand to turn a story of violent obsession into something equally disturbing, beautiful, and truly heartbreaking. Jill Gevargizian is a writer/director to keep an eye on and Najarra Townsend gives a performance that is chilling and brave, yet absolutely tragic and darkly touching. Also, as a proud Kansas Citian, it was awesome to see my city lovingly featured!!

Several reviewers already pointed out the connection and similarities between this film and one of the most infamous and controversial horror films of the late 70s/early 80s exploitation era. And I wholeheartedly agree! "The Stylist" is a modern reworking of William Lustig's class-sick "Maniac", as well as of the 2012-remake starring Elijah Wood. Of course, this film looks entirely different. The titular psychopath is a woman with a blossoming professional career, a fancy social status, and an elegant physical appearance. Najarra Townsend's character Claire is the complete opposite of the uncanny and trashy killer that Joe Spinell depicted in "Maniac". The film itself also looks a lot more polished. But, in essence, the stories are the same. Both Claire in "The Stylist" and Frank Zito in "Maniac" are lonely, socially incompetent, and clumsy outcasts looking for friendship and acceptance.

"The Stylist" is a really good and compelling thriller, beneficing maximally from its extremely powerful (and spine-chilling) opening sequence. The rest of the film thrives on the great intro, but also has an efficient and slow-brooding atmosphere that gradually unfolds. The opening made it quite clear that the seemingly sweet and caring hairdresser Claire is, in fact, a dangerously disturbed murderess, so when she's becoming close friends with soon-to-be-married Olivia, you are nervously waiting for her to go totally bonkers again. There isn't a lot of action, but the horror-moments are shockingly effective. The scalping moments are uncomfortable to look at, also thanks to the eerily realistic sound effects, and the footage of Claire inconspicuously stalking her unwary targets are genuinely suspenseful. Many people referred to the climax as being a bit of a letdown, and claimed they were hoping for a more spectacular ending, but I - for one - think it's a 100% appropriate conclusion. Recommended!

Borrowing from some of the best character study horror films from the 60's and 70's, The Stylist seamlessly updates these tropes for the new age with lots of style and higher production values than expected for such a low budget film.

A lonely hairstylist takes to drugging some of her clients, scalping them, and storing said scalps in a creepy shrine underneath her house where she can put them on and pretend to be different people. She tries to shape up and stop doing this when a bride-to-be client books her for her wedding and the stylist believes this might be a true friendship in the making.

For most of its runtime, The Stylist plays like a modern mashup of Maniac, Repulsion, and May and it's anchored by a lovely performance by Najarra Townsend, who wisely underplays her character's mania. Most actresses would swing from the rafters and chew the scenery with a character like this, but she keeps her very grounded and true to life.

Townsend's performance helps fill in a lot of the script's flaws, because, as much as The Stylist seems to want us to relate for its lead character, it doesn't do an awful lot to endear her to us. We never figure out what made her start killing and collecting scalps and we never find out why she's so fixated on this particular bride-to-be. This does weaken the film and throw things off balance, because Townsend is playing the character as if she's in a nuanced character drama, but the film gives her even less development and motivation than some of the Friday the 13th sequels gave Jason.

At least The Stylist knows how to end a movie as it offers up one of the most memorable final horror film images of the past decade and the film itself is beautifully directed by Jill Gevargizian who has an excellent eye.

The end really save it from a negative score, but can't be positive either.

Interesting concept, a couple of good scenes, but most of the film is really predictable and boring. Some editing, less slow-mos, and there is no reason for this one to be over 80 minutes.

Najarra Townsend plays a hairstylist who alternates between sweet and psychotic in a film that's reminiscent of Franck Khalfoun's Maniac and Nicolas Winding Refn's The Neon Demon. Jill Gevargizian's audio-visual choices in the film really stand out - be it neon-esque colorscape or the prominently bassy soundtrack. Townsend, in the titular role, does most of the heavy lifting with a chillingly effective performance. The film gets a bit drab and overlong in its middle portions (especially that nightclub scene) but picks up again towards the end, even if the climax is something that you can foresee from a mile away. It may be an easy film to write off given the predictability aspect alone, however, the aesthetics deserve a double thumbs-up. The script deliberately doesn't focus on how well the hairstylist covers up her grisly murders; it delves more into her inner conflicts instead. All said and done, The Stylist is a film that offers different levels of satisfaction for different viewers.