The suspense mystery drama The Barber comes to home entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray. The taut suspense filled serial killer film gets very diabolical and twisted to the final suspected ending. The fascination and “what if” factors of the story’s main theme saves the crime thriller until it slowly reveals the predictable elements. If you like crime stories that play with you mind, this psychopathic chiller should work for you.
Police investigator Tom McCormack commits suicide after botching his case involving heinous suspected serial killer Francis Alan Visser (Scott Glenn). Now twenty years later we find Visser living in the small town of Kenosha as a barber under the name of Gene van Wingerdt. Arriving in town John (Chris Coy) a young man sees Gene at a diner and confronts him as he’s leaving. He accuses him of being Visser and just before he can stab the serial killer gets chased and arrested by Sheriff Hardaway (Stephen Tobolowsky).
Surprisingly Gene doesn’t press charges and the Sheriff has to release the man. That evening Gene meets John coming out of the police station and drives him to a secluded spot. There Gene finds out that John wants to follow in his footsteps and become an even better serial killer.
First time director Basel Owies weaves his tale in dark settings, using creative lighting to give the film a creepy feeling at night. It works well with the storyline’s serial killer who finds his new pupil aiming for the night life and a chance to prove to Gene that he’s worthy. Owies does a good job of molding his disturbing characters, especially Scott Glenn’s evil killer who buries his victims alive. He introduces a female detective Audrey Bennet (Kristin Hager) who solicits tricks in the seedy part of town so she can arrest them. When she arrives in Kenosha looking for John, things have already escalated to a new level of crime.
The performances by the ensemble cast are all top notch and their characters fit the script. Scott Glenn does his usual best treating the audience to a very sinister guy who can’t stop killing. As the local barber he knows everyone in town and his cover works well. Glenn steps it up a bit when Chris Coy’s character comes to town and you can see in Gene’s eyes that he has the itch to kill again.
BONUS FEATURES: The extras are made up of mostly deleted scenes, most of which probably could have been left in the film.
“Alternate Ending” I think they didn’t use this one because it would have been the predictable one.
“Deleted Scenes” are ‘Carving’, ‘Gun in the Mouth’, ‘Not my First Rodeo’, and ‘The Watch’
“Extended Scenes” are ‘Audrey on the Job’ and ‘Made me Run’
The Barber has been R by the MPAA for violence, language and some sexual material.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good film for a stormy night, a hot toddy and a friend. (B-)
[mks_progressbar name=”Movie Rating” level=”100%” value=”85″ height=”20″ color=”#dd9933″ style=”rounded”]
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Scott Glenn, Chris Coy, Kristen Hager, Stephen Tobolowsky, Max Arciniega, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lexi Sakowitz, Lydia Hearst, Tim Hearst, Tim Dezam, Valorie Hubbard, Jessica Lu.
Director: Basel Owies
MPAA Rating: R for violence, language and some sexual material
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Running Time: 1 hr. 30 min
Original Theatrical Release Date: March 27, 2015
Video Release Date: April 28, 2015
Language: English
Reviewed Format: DVD (also available in Blu-ray)
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: 16×9 Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: CC
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: ARC Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
