Deeply unsettling and somewhat transgressive is how I’d describe this movie. It plays in the same themes and ideas of other films in a sub-genre I call the domestic thriller or horror. Movies where the average everyday people in your life become dangerous. The unstable roommate, the crazy cop, the obsessive ex-lover, the dangerous neighbor, etc. But The Stylist turns it around… the crazy, obsessive person becomes the protagonist and we see the messed-up story through her eyes instead.

The film stars Najarra Townsend is an introverted, awkward but talented hair stylist. She doesn’t have any friends and seems to live day-by-day at the whim of her unstable moods. The only thing that relieves her stress seems to be scalping some of her clients… and wearing her trophies at home in front of a mirror. When a friendly client needs her for her wedding, she hesitantly agrees and then becomes obsessed with her new friend.

I had no idea where this movie was going. It’s really messed-up on multiple levels. It is gross and its is disturbing… it generates a deeply unnerving mood where we both feel sympathy and abhorrence for the lead character. Yes, I felt real compassion and empathy for our friendly neighborhood psycho… it’s a great character and a great portrayal that reminded me of Norman Bates in Psycho.

I didn’t know how the movie was going to end. And it ultimately ended in a horribly logical way. But I wasn’t happy with that… I wanted a different ending and that might be a criticism but I also see it for what it is. I didn’t want this movie to end like the psychological horror film that it is. In some respects, I’m disappointed. In other respects, it was inevitable.

I really liked this film as a portrait for a dangerously unstable woman… and her would-be best friend. The acting is fantastic from Najarra Townsend, the mood is unsettling, and the violence limited but abrupt, horrific, and not at all fun. This isn’t a happy movie but it is a good one.

Score: 86