Medusa Deluxe review: A macabre murder mystery centred on pills to treat hair loss

3/5

STORY: The brutal murder of a well-known hairstylist in the middle of a dazzling grooming event exposes two things - the unhealthy competition within the community and the dark side of dabbling in smuggled grooming products. 

REVIEW: A claustrophobia-triggering backdrop, outrageous language and some evidently evil intentions are your clues to this hair-raising whodunit, spotlighting the mysterious death of a well-loved coiffeur after a glitzy event. Medusa Deluxe is a 101-minute BBC film, written and directed by Thomas Hardiman. As the plot focuses on what led to Mosca (John Alan Roberts) being mercilessly scaled backstage during a hairdressing competition, it’s also the story about unhealthy rivalry within a flamboyant community, where people’s “passion for hair verges on obsession”. 

The movie begins with models navigating dimly lit narrow alleys of a confined space, where in one of the green rooms you meet a foul-mouthed stylist, named Cleve (Clare Perkins), who is about to detangle and rearrange nervous Angie’s (Lilit Lesser) huge bouffant. Although Cleve is engaged in a conversation with another stylist in the room - Divine (Kayla Meikle) - things erupt into a heated argument the moment Divine drops hints that given Cleve’s violent nature, she might be the one who’s behind the murder. This sends an already jittery Angie leaving the room in a jiffy.

Moments later, you meet some of the other models in the building - Inez (Kae Alexander), Etsy (Debris Stevenson) and Timba (Anita-Joy Uwajeh). Shocked and confused about the brutal murder of their hairstylist, they all are racking their brains trying to decipher who the culprit could be, just as the cops are interrogating people on one of the floors.

René (Darrell D’Silva), who is at the helm of the competition, also seems to be among the most affected people by the sudden death of the stylist, with whom he shared a personal relationship. P.S. You cannot miss René’s Elvis quiff! Flummoxed and speechless, he meets a security guy - named Gac (Heider Ali) - at the locker room, who was earlier seen wiping blood stains from his own locker. Although the narrative is dotted with hints, some quite evidently pointing toward the killer, there’s still no clear indication as to what the motive behind the extreme step could be. Meanwhile, the exchanges between René and a fiery character named Kendra (Harriet Webb) are quite amusing as they are quirky. The plot takes an interesting twist when Angel (Luke Pasqualino) and Patricio (Nicholas Karimi) enter the scene, with the former clearly in love with the dead stylist.

From conversations about hitting a competitor with a glass conditioner bottle to suspicions over fixing the competition prize, the storyline is punctuated by elements and themes that are intriguing and funny at the same time. While puffy wigs, hairsprays and coloured streaks appear to be the plot devices that steer the murder mystery, debates over supply of questionable hair treatments for “balding mankind” into the local markets form a crucial aspect of this blood-curdling drama about the grooming industry.

Robbie Ryan’s trippy camerawork, as his lens follows the different characters stepping in and out of dressing rooms, is in tandem with the dark themes of the narrative that seem to draw inspiration from the “vicious” character in Greek mythology, called Medusa. A desperate need to throw light on the ugly facets of the styling industry that often seem to be blinded by the floodlights of the auditorium is an unmissable element that drives the plot of Medusa Deluxe. That said, it isn’t a nail-biting murder mystery either. Despite the plot never leaving the crime scene, it’s quite surprising that there isn’t even one scene with the police force or homicide detectives. Knotty relationships, low self-esteem, depression and messed up emotions run high in Thomas’ British directorial debut. But despite all that, the movie isn’t telling you something that you already don’t know about.

VERDICT: Watch Medusa Deluxe for the sparkling performances by almost every member of the ensemble cast. Even baby Pablo does an incredible job, as his dad Angel mourns the death of his better half. The most spectacular scene though is the moment Angie’s tall ship-shaped bouffant catches fire, as she takes a fag break on the terrace.