Medusa Deluxe

The feature-length debut of director Thomas Hardiman, Medusa Deluxe is a murder mystery set in a hairdressing competition. The victim: Mosca, a hairdresser found dead – and scalped – in the middle of his latest job. The suspects: his fellow hairdressers, the models, former business partners and lovers. The stylist’s death causes tension thick enough to cut with a pair of scissors, as accusations are levelled, emotional rifts are created and the ugly side of the fashion world rears its hideous head.

Something that stands out about Medusa Deluxe is its distinctive cinematography and sound design, with the camera work and audio mixing coming together to create a unique and engaging audio-visual landscape. The movie is filmed in a faux single-take style, with no visible cuts (ironic for a film about hairdressing), creating an atmosphere of constant fear and tension, with the camera restlessly pursuing its cast around like a horror-film slasher.

This effect is bolstered by the claustrophobic focus on the heads – and particularly the hair – of characters, which adds to the tense atmosphere, limits the visual information for audience members looking for clues and forces viewers to be more aware of each character’s style and what it says about their personalities. The feature’s soundtrack works well with this unique filming style, with unsettling motifs that call to mind twisting snakes, emphasising the maze-like backstage setting and subtly hinting at metaphorical snakes in the grass.

Medusa Deluxe also has solid writing, demonstrating an enthusiasm for murder mysteries and the intricacies of hairdressing. The script does a great job at deconstructing the common tropes of the genre without losing its core identity, subverting expectations in a way that still manages to deliver compelling, funny character interactions and satisfying payoffs. The writing is also enhanced by strong performances across the board, with the cast perfectly facilitating the script’s shifts in tone and delivering emotive character work.

Medusa Deluxe is a passion piece in the purest sense of the phrase: every aspect of its production was clearly a result of Hardiman’s excitement about pushing the boundaries of cinema and exploring an under-represented part of the beauty industry, and a creative team that shared in this excitement, to captivating effect. Its uncompromising, experimental style might be off-putting for anyone looking for a more straightforward whodunnit, but for viewers willing to take a chance on something weird, there’s a lot to love here.

Umar Ali

Medusa Deluxe is released in select cinemas on 9^th June 2023.

Watch the trailer for Medusa Deluxe here: