Bad Hair

'Bad Hair' is directed by Justin Simien and takes in 1989, as an ambitious young woman gets a weave in order to succeed in an image-based music television network. The network, now under new management, sees a bright future for the woman if she adheres to the culture. Her flourishing career may come at a great cost when she realizes her hair may have a mind of its own. This dark comedy horror film looks at African heritage, culture suppression, and workplace toxic culture with a fun slasher twist that I had a lot of fun watching!

First the acting by Elle Lorraine is fantastic. She carries the weight of the film and does it with grace. The moments where they are showing her weave being put in are some of the most disturbing and cringe inducing scenes I witnessed at the festival. The give you PTSD by randomly inserting the horror throughout the film and keeps the audience on their toes and not sure what to expect. The supporting performances are all very strong and they are all having fun in the movie.

The film is incredibly smart in its content, and maybe doesn't realize it's potential toward the end of the film. I loved when the film explored the mystery of the weave, where it came from, what it can do. But that is kinda stopped short and a random "slasher chase sequence" takes you out of the story and is a false ending. If they had shrunk that scene down and gave us the true ending sooner I think this would be the strongest horror film of the year.

Overall, 'Bad Hair' is a fun watch, with good storytelling and great horrific cinematography. There are strong performances and a unique ending, even if the lead up is more generic.

This is a fun one. Love that it's set in the 80s. This movie is a cross between Little Shop of Horror and Jennifer's Body. It's campy and fun and sadly reminds me too much of the first and last time I got a sew in.

This is a satirical horror film set in the 80's. And it deals with the pressures that black women faced ( are facing) when it comes to the music/video/film industry - setting the bar much higher to look a certain way to be accepted as " beautiful" . And in this case, it is hair weaving to get that particular straight hair look.

We follow Anna played by Elle Loraine, an aspiring executive assistant on a music video show made for black audiences called Culture. Her world is turned upside down when her mentor is removed from the show and is replaced with an ex-model named Zora, played by Vanessa Williams. Zora insists that Anna would be better off if she looked a certain way, suggesting she go to her hairstylist for the new weave ... and ... things don't go well for a whole bunch of people ...

The cinematography was interesting, there were four scenes in particular where the use of colors, shadows and silhouettes was perfect. The 80's was captured brilliantly - as someone who lived through all that it was spot on without being too intrusive. Sometimes period pieces get in their own way - not so with this film. It is a comedy and meant to be campy and there were a few laugh out loud moments for me including one from Vanessa Willaims.

My only complaint was that the run time was a bit long - while the ending was funny in some parts, the final fight went on too long and could have used some "shearing".

Bad Hair stars Elle Loraine as Anna Bludso. It's 1989 and Anna works at a music - television studio. She gets a weave to improve her image and try to get a promotion. Anna goes to an exclusive salon, Virgie's, to get a weave put it. She gets her weave sewn in and from there strange things start to happen.

Supporting cast include Vanessa Williams, Kelly Rowland, Usher, Jay Pharaoh, Blair Underwood and James Van Der Beek. Anna's hair sends her into a nightmare and us responsible for deaths. The film gets the 1989 vibe on point with everything from the clothes to the music and so on. The movie was enjoyable with it's impressive cast, decent story and plot. The special effects were lacking in some parts but I can overlook that because it's a minor nag. This movie is marked as horror but has comedic elements to it and that lightens the mood and doesn't make this movie that scary at all.

Bottom Line:. 80's MTV nostalgia on deck with this horror - comedy film. Big name music stars help the film shine a little. The acting is enjoyable, but not great. I enjoyed the 80's theme more than the main plot of the film.

Definitely a must-see for anyone who enjoys horror with a comedic twist.

Don't be fooled by the context (African-American TV show in 1980's LA, and an African-American centric plot).

This is way beyond "hood films", as I've seen some other reviewer call it (I've never heard that one before, but I instantly knew what this guy meant). Case in point: I'm a effing middle-age white european guy miles away from LA and I had a hell of a lot of fun watching this! Not only that, I was watching this and all the while saying to myself "This is so good!".

I've read comments about the story, about the cast... The cast is very good, and the story, although not new, is a very refreshing take on all the tropes it feeds off of. But still, nobody mentions that this was perfectly directed and edited.

In my library, this gets a place next to Ghostbusters. Well, maybe on the shelf below it, but anyway.. this is a great movie nobody will regret watching.