Much style, some substance

This accomplished arthouse chiller puts women front and centre both behind and in front of the cameras – even if it deliberately fails the Bechdel Test – but doesn’t quite convince

The Stylist

Dir Jill Gervargizian, US 2020 On Arrow Channel now

This is a beautiful and at times shocking arthouse horror with an atmosphere all its own – but it has a somewhat perplexing premise and story.

The central character is Claire (Najarra Townsend), a quiet and rather awkward young woman who works as a hair stylist. She is able to make pleasant conversation with her clients but otherwise seems to lead a solitary existence. She apparently has no relatives or friends and no partner; the only hint of a meaningful relationship is with a woman who works at the coffee place who has a crush on her. It’s clear that Claire has little happiness in her life.

I don’t want to say too much about how Claire’s story progresses from here, because what she gets up to provides most of the incident in the film, and certainly the horror elements. Suffice it to say that, almost despite herself, she forms a friendship with her client Olivia (Brea Grant), a young woman soon to be married. Claire

It’s refreshing to watch a film with virtually no male speaking parts

reluctantly becomes involved in the preparations for the wedding and, as she gets closer to Olivia, comes to crave the life her new friend has.

It’s refreshing to watch a film which has virtually no male speaking parts worthy of mention. This is such a rarity in cinema that when an example does come along it shines out like a beacon. The opposite scenario is obviously much more common, particularly – and understandably – in war films. One of my favourite movies of all time is The Great Escape, and I think I’m right in saying that it doesn’t have any female speaking parts; indeed, there aren’t any women credited in the cast at all.

While it’s true that much of the talk is about men, thereby failing the superficial Bechdel Test (whether a piece of fiction features two or more women discussing something other than men), it is often about how disposable they are. Olivia wonders about whether she really wants to marry her boyfriend, and if by doing so she’s just conforming to what society expects. Claire’s first client – a married woman who travels a lot for work – talks about picking up young men for casual sex when she’s away from home. Claire doesn’t talk about men at all.

The Stylist does function as a standard horror film: as in most, the victims are all women; the murder scenes are almost fetishised; there are moments of fake jeopardy; and there really is something nasty in the basement. Despite that, it somehow doesn’t feel like a horror film, perhaps because it takes place in hair salons, nightclubs, coffee shops, and nice bright homes – or maybe because everyone is nice, friendly, warm, and helpful. There are no obnoxious teens here. There aren’t any clanking chains or rusty tools, and there’s no terrible heavy metal or industrial music on the soundtrack.

There are problems though. First of all, it’s an absurd, inexplicable premise for a story – you’ll see what I mean. There is no backstory for Claire, so we never discover the basic motivation for her actions. The ease with which she goes about her business is also baffling; for a woman who looks like she couldn’t fight her way out of a paper bag, Claire does seem remarkably handy. There are no police, no fear in the neighbourhood, no real acknowledgement that crimes are being committed with abandon. Maybe director Gevargizian is simply not interested in details such as this: after all, she is most concerned with depicting a damaged psyche. But Claire’s damaged psyche is apparent because of its separation from the normal world, so there has to be some effort to make that normal world as normal as possible. At times you’re left scratching your head, thinking: “Why isn’t anyone reacting to this?”

Nevertheless, this is a good film. Visually, it’s very appealing, and great care has clearly been taken with the lighting and costumes. Najarra Townsend is outstanding as Claire; she’s an unusual actress and as such has rather got bogged down in genre movies, but she’s a genuine talent.

Daniel King

★★★ ★★

Archenemy

Dir Adam Egypt Mortimer, US 2020 On Digital Platforms and DVD

The follow-up to Adam Egypt Mortimer’s well-received 2019 horror film Daniel Isn’t Real, this is a superhero/sci-fi feature, but with a similar theme of entities crossing between two worlds. Hamster (Skylan Brooks) is a bright teenager trying to break into journalism who snags a trial at a community arts project. He’s asked to write a story with some local colour to it and hears about a ragged old alcoholic hobo called Max Fist (Joe Manganiello) who wanders aimlessly around the neighbourhood telling anyone who’ll listen that he’s a warrior from another world stranded on Earth.

Meanwhile, Hamster’s sister Indigo (a bright turn from the promising Zolee Griggs) works for the local drug baron, hoping to stash away enough money to send her brother to college. When she fails one of her errands, two hitmen are sent to find her. Max shows up and saves the two siblings in an awesome display of strength. He now believes it is his destiny to protect the two

from falling into the hands of Cleo, the mastermind behind the entire drugs network. Cleo, he believes, is his – wait for it – archenemy from his own world; it was his defeating her that saved his people but caused him to fall to Earth.

It sounds a little complicated, but it really isn’t; this is essentially a simple is he/is he not tale. Is Max a deluded loser seeking a meaning to life or is he really what remains of a broken superhero? The film actually does a really good job of hiding the truth pretty much until the big finish, so it’s certainly intriguing. It’s also oddly endearing. The imperilled Hamster and Indigo – who are orphans – being rescued by a brave warrior is straight out of a fairy tale, and Max’s story about being lost and a long way from home but finding a quest to give him purpose is similarly the stuff of legends, whether it’s true or not.

You’d be wrong, though, in thinking that this is a teen fantasy film. For one thing, it is at times incredibly violent, with a number of brutal and shocking deaths. Now I know there are filmgoers who love that sort of bone-crunching action, and it can be undeniably thrilling to watch, but in Archenemy

it doesn’t quite gel with the essentially rather old-fashioned plot. Also, the drug dealer scenes are gritty, sleazy and unpleasant; as they should be, you might say, but – again – sometimes it feels like you’re watching two different films simultaneously: a heartwarming story about two orphans, and an urban action movie like The Punisher.

That said, it is all imaginatively handled. The scenes where Max reminisces/dreams about other worlds are animated, which plays up the possibilities of him being either a comic book-style superhero or merely a fantasist. Director Mortimer also draws some strong performances from his cast: as well as the aforementioned Griggs, Joe Manganiello has rarely been better, and Glenn Howerton, an actor new to me, makes an impression as Indigo’s boss.

Overall, I’m not sure this is quite as good as Daniel Isn’t Real, but it is a solid and well-made piece of entertainment and a great way to spend an hour and a half.

Daniel King

★★★ ★★