User Reviews

This is a spoiler of certain aspects of the plot. At the risk of repeating another's observations, numerous technical flaws plagued this movie to the point that it was just not possible to suspend belief. In the opening scene, the two hunters kill the mountain in broad daylight and discover the first body; yet in the the rest of the movie "daytime" is in perpetual darkness. If this is indeed far northern Alaska in the "dead of winter" why are they running around in cowboy hats, no parkas, no gloves? We dress warmer than that in Missouri and it seldom gets into single digits. A town of 200 would not likely have its own police force because it would not have enough tax base to support one. It would likely be served by a county sheriff or state police -- and it certainly would not have a medical examiner. The FBI would not be called in on the case -- no jurisdiction. The character gets shot in the back at close range with the shotgun, which causes his shirt to tear in the front. Yet when he is shown on the autopsy table, his chest is wound-free. A shotgun blast that close would have made hamburger of his chest.

The Barber sounded interesting enough...it sounded straight from the pages of a Stephen King novel except it takes the setting and location of a far north Alaskan village where everyone knows everyone. Dark, harsh, betrayal abounds but some minor and yet major things drag down this indie film which many seem to praise. It isn't your run of the mill Horror film which is definitely a good thing any time you can break that mold and still be entertaining. The Sound editing is atrocious...it's like watching a bad Japanese Godzilla film, the sound is that out of sync which normally is acceptable in a low budget picture but it's so bad it becomes almost unbearable. The story and direction is the high point of the film both kudos to director/co-writer Michael Bafaro. Unfortunately the real story in this can't be told in the restriction of the hour and a half the film is given. You can't fully get the feel for each character especially The Barber himself. The setting is not quite used to the advantage of the story although they attempt it but constantly verbally reminding us of the darkness they have six months of the year. There desperately needs to be more back story and more of a connection between these characters who live so closely together in such dire circumstances...the way Stephen King always brings about in his small town horrors. Instead the movie is bogged down with blatant profanity, and unimaginative communication between the characters.

Malcolm McDowell takes the lead as the secretly psychotic Dexter Miles. He's adequate but in the hands of a much better actor the role could have flourished. We never get a real feel for his deep psychosis or a background or reason for his sheer insanity. Despite meager attempts by a voice over to understand him we don't get inside his mind. His performance is like the film...low budget. He's a low budget actor who doesn't really impress but is just adequate. Jeremy Ratchford on the other hand gives the really impressive performance of the whole film as Chief Vance Corgan. He's dark, and moody, and emotionally disturbed by things in his past. He's chalked up as being over the hill, a few loose bricks, not really smart but in fact he shows the slightest glimpse of being a brilliant cop, and the only one who really sees things no one else does. Ratchford deserves great credit as being the stand out performance in the film. Garwin Sanford drags the cast down as the foolish and vapid FBI agent Crawley. His performance is a joke and he treats it as such. He's not believable as an agent and is at least twice as inadequate as Chief Corgan in his crime detection. John B. Destry is also worth mentioned as he does a pretty decent job as one of the victim's husband. A little deranged and he plays crazy better than McDowell who gets top billing. I have to say none of the rest of the cast is really worth mentioned. No one else does a stand out job and a lot of the town folk behave more like it's a joke than a real film. The cast is just not serious enough for this film.

In the hands of a more powerful film maker, a much more brilliant cast, and a deeper story this could have been a real treat to behold although it was nominated for several independent awards. Perhaps I am being too harsh on it but I really loved the premise and the story and direction and I wanted more so badly that it's too bad there wasn't. For entertainment purposes it was fun to watch, a decent thriller with little to no actual violence or gore. Unless you're a real die hard Horror fan or love low budget flicks there really isn't any reason to see this one. On the other hand it won't kill you, it's not bad at all...just an average little film. 7/10

This movie was to be a horror movie, however just in beginning this film give some laughs. The initial sequence with two drunk friends is funny. I know this movie should be a horror movie, but i have some fun watch this movie. The Malcom McDowell performance is good, Jeremy Ratford make a reasonable performance with Chief Vance and Garwing Sanford well, his performance is weak and his character looks like a stupid one.

************** Minor Spoilers *****************************************

There is found, a body in a small town in north Alaska, population 253 souls. When this happens, some other dies start to happen. Chief Vance and FBI agent try to uncover who is the man that is behind of this murders. One comment, in the beginning of this movie is clear that who is kill those people, yes the Barber, Malcom McDowell character, but i believe that isn't a big surprise.

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But in my opinion the End of this movie is everything ruins, could be much better. I cast 6 for this movie but, i think that deserve 5.5.

In a film that undoubtedly sees Malcolm McDowell, one of the last greats of his generation, actor before star; performer before clown of the masses; person before media phenomenon; hailing from British stages and famously known for his remarkable performances in "Caligula" and "Time After Time" (1979) by Nicholas Meyer, it is he who carries the weight of this movie.

He brings an unexpected freshness to the film. A rare and even charming portrayal of a "refined" serial killer, who will do everything in his power to get away with his crimes unscathed, yet with a very subtle hint of remorse that becomes self-evident from the narrator's perspective, who is his character. In this sense, it might remind us of other roles he has played, like in "A Clockwork Orange" directed by the legendary Kubrick, where many shades and nuances of personality are interwoven into one character, coloured by a rich chromatism of emotions and moral contradictions.

We're not dealing with the classic, bone-chilling figure of the killer, born from pure terror, as we might see in the tormented and tragic figure of Norman Bates by Anthony Perkins. McDowell endows his character with a sharp, mocking edge... intentionally seeking (as the narrator of his own story) the empathy of the viewer's more "mischievous" side. Something masterfully achieved in his role as "Caligula," a figure quite unpopular at certain points in history. The "murderous" emperor, who, however, paradoxically becomes an icon of sexual freedom. An actor who always, or almost always, has managed to imprint this multifaceted character. His powerful magnetism, charisma, and distinctive physiognomy, marked by his popping, mocking, and whimsical gaze, do not constitute a monopolising emergence, nor do they rise with the spurious divisms seen in some performances by other actors, such as Joaquin Phoenix, who border on bizarre histrionics. McDowell remains steadfast, on his own level; and if other elements of the production do not shine brighter, it is not because he overshadows them; they are simply incapable of matching his stature.

For a work that could perfectly be executed in a theatrical format, the art direction by Shelley Bolton recreates a set in Alaska, as cold and dark as the soul of the protagonist. The ambiance that envelops the events, gloomy, harsh, and relentless, is a metaphor for the interior psyche of Dexter Miles, but from the perspective of inner comfort.

Relative, since one feels less safe imagining oneself next to the barber, in his house or in his own business, than in the actual frozen outdoors. This suggests and invites the intuition of more darkness, coldness, and harshness than the exterior scenes themselves.

The climatic conditions of the season in which the action unfolds are essential, along with the always confined spaces defined by cinematographer Adam Sliwinski in his framing, marking in his colour palette that sharp contrast resulting from the ambiance. Placing the characters and the events they experience practically beside danger. As if a few people were left locked in a room with a hungry lion among them.

While this definition of coordinates diffuses the characters' experience to the position of the viewer, it is one of the main elements that condition, define, and justify the direction of the events that will take place there. A sort of rat maze, whose functionality and relatively good design are evident from the moment an external element to this corrupted ecosystem, federal agent Crawley (Garwin Sanford), who comes to investigate the murders, gets trapped within the structure, transforming and evolving according to those suffocating parameters set by the set.

The Christmas season adds the finishing touch, to heighten to the extreme the perception of the homicidal antisocial coldness; not even the celebration of such endearing holidays can mitigate the merciless reality of the crimes. Nor can the abundant winter snow conceal them.

The climax, the peak of the tragedy is that the depicted atmosphere justifies the unleashing of the miseries that occur in the remote and isolated wilderness of Revelstoke.

What's innovative, different, creative, unique, idiosyncratic... is that in this melting pot, evil is woven, not through effects or displays of gothic aesthetics. The horror of the crime is not explicit in the character, style, or content; on the contrary, it remains slyly hidden like a greedy predator, under a layer of kindness, sympathy, and simplicity which inevitably, and against the actor's wishes (not just the main one; make no mistake, all will end up being victims of themselves), drives the engine of these dynamics.

Peter Allen bets everything on a single narrative card: to envelop this sickly essence of the protagonist, he uses "excerpts" from classical pieces. A portrait of the "refined psychopath," reminiscent of those scenes where Dr. Lecter is literally grilling pieces of a victim's brain on the "grill" while listening to piano music. As well as carols, arranged by Allen himself, to accentuate the contradiction between the Christmas spirit and what is happening.

The original extradiegetic music could have greatly enhanced the emotional impact of the narrative experience and its thesis, but it is reduced to almost nothing.

Due to overconfidence in McDowell's talent and resume, or simply because there was a lack of coffee on the film set, Michael Bafaro appears behind the camera as a sort of lethargic sluggard, who even seems too lazy to say "cut"... It's understandable that McDowell's presence and professionalism would amaze, captivate, and even intimidate... but it's hard to believe to the point of the inane direction. Likewise, just as actors like Garwin Sanford perform well, others like Jeremy Ratchford, not only appearing overshadowed in a more secondary role but also doomed by the fate reserved for them by the script, underestimate the need for their equally essential participation. Not to mention that the role of actress Brenda James (Sally) becomes, not just a cliché, but a grotesque caricature, in every sense, of a female figure.

The film is rich in values: the image of a fox sneaking into the coop of a handful of naive chickens that trust their necks to a barber who is constantly embroiled in a debate similar (though much simplified) to the reflective debate we might distil from Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment." The scheme Dexter Miles sets up in a peaceful village in Alaska is about to become his own deadly trap. With this, he must work to find a way to divert all attention (he could easily be pointed out as the "outsider"), and manipulate events, objects, and people to focus the collective gaze and desires for retribution, to make matters worse, on the figure of the town sheriff.

The fact that we intuit or know from the start who the "bad guy" is, is in itself the premise. It doesn't matter, because what's interesting is how he manages to dazzle us with his slippery skills.

The coup de grâce is not the intention to maintain doubt about the identity and/or motivations of the killer. In that case, we would be talking about a simple "slasher"; if there is terror, or at least something that sends shivers down the spine or gives goosebumps, it is witnessing, in the first person, from practically the same perspective as the main character, his ability to know, master, and pull the strings to sow panic and then get away scot-free. And not on tiptoe, but elegantly, using cunning to remain unnoticed, eliminate any trace of his past misdeeds, even at the cost of more corpses, right up until the curtain falls, and leave opportunistically without leaving footprints in the snow (quite a feat, by the way). Not without concluding his "work," by pinning the deaths on his scapegoat, making use of the distrust and ambition of some, and the ignorance of others. This is very well symbolized in the introductory scene, where two village fools shoot down a lynx. The image of this animal falling at the beginning, innocent otherwise, whose only fault is being prey to the human predator, is unmistakably anticipatory of that at the opposite end of the film, the lifeless and naked body of Sheriff Corgan on the cold, metallic table of the coroner.

"The Barber" is an exercise in suspense. A diabolical game in which even the viewer might crack a smile seeing the colleague get away with it; mission accomplished, one of the main objectives of the narrative arc. And seeing that it leaves everyone flabbergasted, provoking an unhealthy satisfaction.

"The Barber" seems to question and subvert the traditional system of moral values. The narrative creates a space where the lines between good and evil blur, and where the villain, more charismatic and cunning than the characters representing law and order, attracts as much or more interest and empathy than the traditional heroes.

The character of Dexter makes the viewer, through empathy and identification, brazenly cross the lines in a fantastical exercise of breaking the taboo.

And it's not so much a victory or triumph of the film itself, but of McDowell himself. Not only in "The Barber" but in most of the films he has been involved in.

I watched this film having purchased it for the princely sum of £1.99 from my local Blockbuster. I picked it up purely because it looked like it might be a decent horror to pass the evening with. I couldn't have been more wrong.

The film is shocking. Badly acted, terrible script, dated visually, especially for such a recent film; overall, a pretty poor effort.

The film centres around the discovery of the body of a girl who had been missing for several days. At first it's unclear whether the girl is the daughter or wife of a local redneck. It emerges she is both his wife and a local prostitute. It took me about 15 minutes to work out this was the case as it wasn't clear at all. One by one various other people in the small town get killed and all along you know it's the local barber 'Dex' who's doing it. That removes all possible elements of mystery and suspense.

A bizarrely wooden McDowell plays the lead and the supporting cast do little to get the viewer interested in the film. In fact I can honestly say that I didn't care a single bit about any of the characters who were killed by Dex. What is interesting though, is how much McDowell seems to borrow from Anthony Hopkins' Dr. Lecter; his intonation, eerie stares and stiff bearing are all borrowed. Unfortunately, he does a terrible job and just comes across as a little bit unhinged, but in no way lives up to the great performance he mimics.

What also mystifies me is the certificate. An 18? Why? There was one scene of a half naked corpse, there was one little bit of blood and some relatively bad language, though nothing I've not heard in a 15. From what the back of the DVD cover promised I was expecting a riot of blood, violence and overall a visceral experience.

What I go instead was a camp, poorly realised attempt to rekindle some of the embers of past great serial killer films.

I suppose one element of the film I liked was that it was always dark. If the blurb of the film was to be believed, it was going to lead into some pretty good madness scenes or people not being able to take it. A sort of inverse version of 'Insomnia' if you will. Alas, this was not the case and the only indication we got of the darkness having any kind of effect was an FBI agent who made a couple of passing comments about it.

The best advice I can give to anyone who fancies watching this is to avoid it and get Silence of the Lambs instead.

The cover photo of this DVD does just about everything to convince you that it's another entry into the slasher genre (ie: Scream, Urban Legend, The Dentist, et al.), but the first few minutes of the movie quickly dispel this notion. Unlike most of these types of movies, we're introduced almost instantly to the murderer and his cover. Through the wonders of voice-over narration, we get some quick insight into this guy's feelings on life and society. But not too much...

While it's really no big deal, the man's history and motivation for the killings is never revealed. The movie starts out looking like a psychological thriller, but quickly becomes a by-the-numbers serial killer flick as the local cops and Feds are put through their paces, performing autopsies, arrests, and the inevitable territorial disputes. But, thank God, the killer doesn't spout off one-liners. In fact, the murders themselves are not witnessed.

The fact that everyone in this film's small town is stupid, deceitful, or just plain trash should make citizens of Alaska very happy. Some excuse is made as to how the six month periods of darkness dull the senses or something, but we know that's not the case. No, somebody involved in this movie has a serious problem with Alaskans.

Anyway, the movie stays pretty low key until the end, when things finally reach a boiling point. The ending should be most unexpected. And while the last monologue offers up plenty of ham and cheese, I have to say I was really hoping Dex would be caught. That's a lot more than I've ever felt for Hannibal Lecter.

Malcolm McDowell is Dexter, your typical elderly small town Alaskan barber who is put out a bit when his latest murder victim is discovered before the spring thaw. Revelstoke, Alaska has two hundred and fifty people, and almost complete darkness in the winter. A seasonal disorder afflicts the population, who self-medicate with booze and sleeping with Lucy (Jen Martinez), the "popular" girl, in the back of her taxi cab. Lucy disappears, and two drunken morons, Levi (Philip Granger) and Buffalo (C. Ernst Harth), discover her body out on the tundra. Local police chief Corgan (Jeremy Ratchford) is immediately called in, and immediately over his head, with a murder investigation. Cool FBI agent Crawley (Garwin Sanford) is then called in, and begins investigating the murders, as another local girl, Sally (Brenda James) turns up dead. Crawley begins letting the town get to him- he's drinking and dallying with the police secretary Jewels (Erin Wright). Corgan is suspended, and he begins his own investigation of the murders. And who sits in the middle of all of this, clipping hair and keeping quiet? Dexter, the barber, who is in fact the killer. This is no spoiler, Dexter freely admits to the killing spree in his narration.

The film's suspense comes from Dexter trying not to get caught, but also trying to keep his homicidal rage under control- it has a tendency to rise through his calm demeanor once in a while. The entire film is a cat and mouse game between the cops and Dexter, and the cat has no idea who the mouse is. There are no onscreen murders, just crime photo aftermaths, and this heightens the tension. McDowell is always good, and does a great job here. Ratchford plays Corgan as kinda dumb, but kinda smart, too; he never turns him into a backwoods idiot. Garwin Sanford as Crawley is all anger and business until he starts living like local townspeople, and begins to slide. The rest of the supporting cast are full of stereotypes, as all Alaskan women are loose and lonely, and all the men are drunk and lonely. Bafaro shot this in Revelstoke, British Columbia, so the snowy setting is authentic. There is just one daytime scene, the rest are night, and the cinematography is great. The script does take a few too many conveniences at the clever finale. This should have ended five minutes before it did. If you are looking for something along the lines of Corbin Bernsen's goofy "The Dentist" series, look elsewhere. "The Barber" is not a typical slasher film, even has a couple of laughs, and is strongly anchored by some good acting.

This is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Unfortunately it is not even bad in a funny way, just plain bad. But interestingly it was so bad that I felt compelled to try and find out why exactly I found it so displeasing.

The setting -- little Alaskan village swallowed by long dark winter -- is very moody, and would give nice background to a movie. Also, rather nameless Jeremy Ratchford serves a surprisingly solid performance as the artless police chief. However, both of these achievements are completely wasted in this nadir of Malcolm McDowell's eventful career.

As there are definitely no deeper levels to this movie, I presume that this is supposed to be a study of absolute evil, journey into the dark side of human mind, portrait of a psychopath... Which could still be put together in various competent ways, despite being quite a tired idea. One could make a decent horror flick, for example -- but there are no horror elements in this film; no gore-fest, nothing shocking, no scenes that would fill you with fear or suspense.

One could also weave a thrilling whodunit, with vivid characters and clever plot twists -- but there are no believable characters, there is no-one you would like or care a bit for, nor is there much logic to any of the characters' actions (or anything else, for that matter; in fact most things in this movie are wildly illogical, if you somehow manage to pay attention and still keep on watching).

With the inconceivable storyline and silly, sketchy characters one could still accomplish a refreshingly different looney-on-the-loose movie by adding either black humour or sheer slapstick to the mix. Alas, there are no jokes, no humour of any color, not even good one-liners here.

What you do have is recklessly overacting Malcolm McDowell, wooden Garwin Sanford who seems to think he is in a comedy, and a whole set of goofily portrayed Alaskan variety hillbillies. This added to a completely pointless script and more logic mismatches and continuity problems than in Plan 9 From Outer Space amounts pretty much to nothing.

...SPOILERS AHEAD... The only thing this movie has going for itself is the way the story is told, how the viewer is led to believe s/he knows the truth from the very beginning. Now I must admit that I am not too fond of films with umpteen plot twists in the end, and having no plot twist is kind of a plot twist in itself, only in this case it does feel like an anticlimax instead of a touch of genius. The only amusement there is to get from this movie is pondering "can this really be all there is to this movie?" Sadly, the answer is yes.

The Barber set in a small town in Alaska called Revelstoke so far North it's not even on some maps, with a population of 253 local barber Dexter Miles (Malcolm McDowell) is one. While on a hunting trip two locals Levi (Philip Granger) & Buffalo (C. Ernst Harth) make a horrific discover, the dead body of a local woman named Lucy (Jennifer Martinez) who had been choked to death & dumped. The suspicion immediately turns to her boyfriend but that goes nowhere when FBI Agent Crawley (Garwin Sanford) turns up & informs Sheriff Corgan (Jeremy Ratchford) that he too has been founded murdered. The hunt is on for a serial killer as the finger of suspicion points to several people but it's the kind old barber Dexter who hides the darkest secret...

Directed by Micael Bafaro I am not sure who The Barber was meant to appeal to, as a serial killer thriller it's lame & as a straight slasher horror film it's useless & I have to say I thought it was just plain crap. First of all The Barber is set in a town where for a month there is no sunlight just like in 30 Days of Night (2007) only The Barber never does anything with the concept other than seem like it takes place entirely at night, some may think it's an interesting backdrop but like I said nothing, but nothing is done with the idea & that to me is a waste of potential. Secondly there's no ambiguity here at all, we know from the start that the Barber is the killer so nothing unravels or plays out against expectation & I it ends up feeling like a precession as we, the audience, wait to see if the kind old serial killer gets away with it or not. Thirdly none of the kills happen on screen, we never see Dexter act evil at all at any time & it's hard to think of him as anything else other than an old bloke, the script never really goes into his psyche & while previous murders he committed in other towns are briefly mentioned the character development is virtually zero. Also the ending is rather confused with various file swapping & reading going on, for me Dexter just gets away with it too easily.

None of the murders happen on screen, apart from someone getting shot at the end The Barber is totally bloodless & has no violence or gore. Besides a very dark & gloomy look throughout there's not much style here, I just thought it was competent but little else. Moving along fairly slowly I suppose if you can buy into the setting, the character's & the none event of a murder mystery I suppose you might like The Barber but those with little patience should look elsewhere.

With a supposed budget of about $1,000,000 this was actually shot in a town called Revelstoke although in reality it's in British Columbia in Canada. The acting isn't bad, McDowell is a true pro so he's always watchable if nothing else & some of his monologues are alright.

The Barber is a slow moving predictable film in which virtually nothing happens, no twists or turns & the endless darkness gimmick is wasted. Persoanlly The Barber nearly put me to sleep & that just about says it all.

When I first watched this movie, I had no idea that there were actually a series of disappearances up in Alaska that locals believed were the work of a serial killer but were unsolved. I am a huge Malcom McDowell fan since "If" and I watched it purely for that reason. I also work in a court system, and I know all too well that some cases never get solved. So, I found the plot satisfying albeit with a disturbing ending, the acting well done and the camera work masterful. The suspense comes not so much from guessing who the killer is as that is pretty much revealed early in the film, but from the cat and mouse game played by the killer with the authorities.

However, in light of the release of The Fourth Kind and the press about it, NOW I find myself wondering if this were an earlier attempt based loosely on the same cases that The Fourth Kind is based on...

At any rate, all in all, a good use of my time watching this film.