Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

I enjoy Malcolm McDowell and think he's one hell of an actor. That being said, I was reluctant to rent this movie. I find that I either really like McDowell films or hate them, and based on the description on the jacket, I expected to hate it. I was pleasently surprised. The Barber Shop is an interesting tale of the events in a small town near the North Pole during the winter as told by a serial killer. It allows some good insight into the killer's mind and relationships with other people. IMHO, well worth the watch.

At the very kickoff of this peculiar tale of serial murder, the viewer is promptly told who the culprit of a gory string of serial murders is: The demon barber of Revelstoke Alaska, Malcolm Mcdowell. This guts most of the suspense out of the story, which leaves the primary focal point an FBI vs local police rivalry as the chief point of tension and conflict to sustain the viewer's interest. It was a well-acted, decently scripted drama with a decidedly unsatisfying finish (with Mcdowell hitching a ride into the darkness with the FBI agent who bungled the case)set in the all-day perma-blackness of winter-time Alaska--the polar opposite of the venue depicted in Insomnia. It is an odd, strange film set in a off-beat location that will leave the viewing asking "why?" and wondering "how?"