Sundance 2020: Bad Hair Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

When it comes to recent horror films about killer objects that come to life, the killer red dress from In Fabric comes to mind but why end there? The best horror films, regardless of subgenre, are grounded by some sort of social commentary in order to avoid falling completely off the rails. Bad Hair was no different. As much as it was a horror, it was a hilarious comedy grounded by a message about the unfair standards of the late 1980s music television industry. One of the best parts of the film was its use of its 1980s setting, specifically 1989. From the overall look, to the soundtrack, and even the way it was shot, this sense of authenticity took the film to another level and made it even more fun to watch.

With a title like Bad Hair, it would be pretty easy to guess what happens here. The film follows an ambitious executive assistant at a music television station named Anna (Lorraine). Having aspirations to further her career, she would always bet met with the same roadblocks. Her looks were simply not right to ever get to appear on television. With a new boss named Zora (Williams), Anna finally decided to do something and get herself a weave (1989 was the year weaves came into prominence). From there, things were looking up but clearly this was not going to last as her weave would have much different intentions (that should be clear to anyone at this point).

Though the actual story behind the evil weave was utterly ridiculous, that’s besides to point. The film suffers from a slow start which is accentuated by its near 2 hour running time. It could have stood to lose 10-15 minutes but that’s only a minor complaint. In the end, the best part of Bad Hair was Lorraine’s superb lead performance as Anna. Her likability and relatability made Anna a compelling character to watch and easy to connect with as she navigated through all the insanity. Meanwhile, the film features some gruesome moments and some legitimate jump scares, however, it’s not overly scary.

At the end of the day, Bad Hair will certainly not be for everyone but viewers who turn off their brains will be treated to some fun camp.

*still courtesy of Sundance*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.