Bad Hair
Reviews
Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots
While audiences are thankfully seeing more female-driven horror films in the movie world, black female horror is even more of an anomaly. That’s why writer / director Justin Simien‘s “Bad Hair” is so damn interesting. The story of one woman’s ambition and her (literal) killer weave is an absurd yet astute satire of popular culture with a meaningful message. This is one you’ll be talking about long after the final credits roll. Set in Los Angeles circa 1989, Anna (Elle Lorraine) prefers the au naturel look after a traumatic childhood hair accident left her with a burned scalp. She’s a hardworking assistant on a music video show for the Culture television network, but struggles to get a promotion due to the way she looks. When Anna’s supportive boss is fired and a former supermodel (Vanessa Williams) is brought in as a replacement, Anna is scared of being let go and decides to do something about her appearance. She gets a gorgeous new weave and learns her flowing locks may just be the key to success that she was missing — until her hair gets a taste for blood. The hair-raising (snort!) story is cleverly based on fictitious slave myths and superstitions that weave in (pun intended) the idea of mystical African folklore in relation to what the horror of everyday life feels like (including the pain some endure in pursuit of beauty) for black women in America. “Bad Hair” is a nontraditional horror film that’s presented in a traditional way. There are jump scares and a silly finale, but Simien blends humor with horror in this campy thriller. It’s also a pensive style of social horror that will likely be more meaningful to women as well as people of color. The film tackles the absurdity in everyday life and in particular, the system of oppression that preys on African-American women the most. The women in the film are tricked into becoming their own oppressors, all in the name of fitting in with what society defines as beautiful. This movie is super smart, brutally honest, sometimes scathing, and highly uncomfortable, but it’s also really funny.
Movie Recommendation
The Red Book Ritual2022-09-12Three friends decide to play The Red Book game. What they don't know is that in the house evil is waiting to be released. A long time ago a witch died as part of a satanic ritual. Every question they ask, they get closer and closer to her. The book will reveal the answers to all your questions… but what if your host is an evil entity with a thirst for blood?More...
Ride the Eagle2021-07-30When Leif’s estranged mother, Honey dies she leaves him a ‘conditional inheritance’. He has to complete her elaborate to-do list before he gets her cabin in Yosemite. Leif steps into Honey’s wild world as the mother he never really knew tries to make amends from beyond the grave.More...
Doom Asylum1988-03-02A demented former lawyer uses autopsy equipment to kill off the teenagers who trespass on the long-abandoned asylum he inhabits. Filmed on location in an actual abandoned asylum.More...
13 Ghosts1960-05-16The reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his sprawling mansion to his nephew Cyrus and his family. They will need to search the house to find the doctor's fortune, but along with the property itself, they have also inherited the occultist's collection of thirteen ghosts.More...
Redbad2018-06-28In the year of 754 AD, during a time of epic battles and bloodshed, the legend of the pagan warrior king, Rebad, is born, but so is a new weapon against his people: Christianity. Redbad must ultimately unite a Viking army powerful enough to defeat the seemingly invincible Franks.More...
Superintelligence2020-12-11When an all-powerful Superintelligence chooses to study the most average person on Earth, Carol Peters, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. As the A.I. decides to enslave, save or destroy humanity, it’s up to Carol to prove that people are worth saving.More...
The Fly1958-07-16Industrialist François Delambre is called late at night by his sister-in-law, Helene, who tells him that she has just killed her husband. Reluctant at first, she eventually explains to the police that he invented a matter transportation apparatus and, while experimenting on himself, a fly entered the chamber.More...
Sorority Row2009-09-09When five sorority girls inadvertently cause the murder of one of their sisters in a prank gone wrong, they agree to keep the matter to themselves and never speak of it again, so they can get on with their lives. This proves easier said than done, when after graduation a mysterious killer goes after the five of them and anyone who knows their secret.More...
Fire Island2022-06-02A group of queer best friends gather in the Fire Island Pines for their annual week of love and laughter. However, desires, dramas, drink and drugs push their bonds to the limits.More...
Books of Blood2020-10-07A journey into uncharted and forbidden territory through three tales tangled in space and time.More...
Cadaver2020-10-22In the aftermath of a nuclear disaster, a starving family find hope in a charismatic hotel owner. Lured by the prospect of a free dinner, they discover that the evening's entertainment blurs the lines between performance and reality. Will they wind up the spectators or the spectacle?More...
Ginger Snaps2001-03-13The story of two outcast sisters, Ginger and Brigitte, in the mindless suburban town of Bailey Downs. On the night of Ginger's first period, she is savagely attacked by a wild creature. Ginger's wounds miraculously heal but something is not quite right. Now Brigitte must save her sister and save herself.More...
The Desperate Hour2022-02-17A woman desperately races to save her child after police place her hometown on lockdown due to an active shooter incident.More...
Women Talking2022-12-23A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.More...
Marry Me, Dude2017-10-25Yassine asks his best friend Fred to marry him in order to avoid deportation...More...
His House2020-01-27After making a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, a young refugee couple struggle to adjust to their new life in a small English town that has an unspeakable evil lurking beneath the surface.More...
Possession1981-05-27A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.More...
Till Death2021-07-02After a romantic evening at their secluded lake house, a woman wakes up handcuffed to her dead husband. Trapped and isolated in the dead of winter, she must fight off hired killers to escape her late spouse's twisted plan.More...
Pig2021-07-16A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregon wilderness must visit Portland to find the mysterious person who stole his beloved foraging pig.More...
Totally Killer2023-09-28When the infamous "Sweet Sixteen Killer" returns 35 years after his first murder spree to claim another victim, 17-year-old Jamie accidentally travels back in time to 1987, determined to stop the killer before he can start.More...