The Stylist

I happened to stumble upon the 2020 horror drama "The Stylist" by sheer random luck in 2021. And I was immediately intrigued by the movie's cover. And reading the synopsis definitely made me more interested in watching the movie, as it sounded like this could potentially be something in the likes of the 2002 horror movie "May" starring Angela Bettis.

So of course I sat down to watch "The Stylist" given my fascination for all things horror, and also because it was a movie that I hadn't already seen.

"The Stylist" definitely was watchable and it was an interesting storyline. However, there was just something profound missing from the formula that was cooked up by writers Jill Gevargizian, Eric Havens and Eric Stolze. I can't really put my finger on it and say this is what was missing, but I just feel that the movie was missing a certain ingredient to make it an outstanding movie.

Now don't get me wrong here, because I am not saying that "The Stylist" is a bad movie or anything, because this was an entertaining movie and a watchable movie. It just failed to go that extra mile and become an extraordinary movie.

The storyline was pretty interesting, albeit it was suffering from being overly predictable. And that was something that definitely was holding the movie back a notch. But there are some pretty nice aspects to the storyline, and I really enjoyed the character gallery in the movie. Especially the movie's main character - the stylist Claire (played by Najarra Townsend). That character was really fleshed out nice, no pun intended.

"The Stylist" had a good ensemble of actresses and actors to portray the various characters and roles in the movie. And I was really impressed with the performance put on by lead actress Najarra Townsend in the role of Claire. Her performance was just right on the dot, and she really gave life to her character and made it a very realistic and believable character. In fact, her performance alone, makes it more than well worth sitting down to watching the movie.

However, the pacing of the storyline was serving as a cumbersome weight around the movie, holding it back. Why? Well, because it was rather monotonous and slow paced. Too little happened to make me feel fully engorged in the movie at all times. And it was a shame, because the storyline had so much potential, and Najarra Townsend really blew me away with her performance.

I will say that "The Stylist" is worth taking the time to sit down and watch if you have the time.

My rating of director Jill Gevargizian's 2020 movie "The Stylist" lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars. The movie would have rated much higher, if it had been better paced and more contents added to the storyline.

A decent enough film, with solid acting and great cinematography.

It just lacked oomph!

Left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

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!

Generic lead psycho without rhyme or reason murders pretty much anybody she meets. No motive, no specific reason for selection, just random unexplained psychotic breakdowns. Could've been a winner but the writing is terrible and it's jam packed of long repetitive scenes that do nothing to move the story or reveal anything deeper about the main character. Maniac, Sweeney Todd and even Lucky McKee's May do everything done here way better. Ultimately a unoriginal, paint by numbers story with a excruciatingly long and predictable finish. More like a photo shoot for bloody bride monthly than a worthwhile narrative.

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.