Medusa Deluxe review – limp competitive hairdressing whodunnit

A macabre murder mystery set in the world of competitive hairdressing: it’s such a fun premise, like something that John Waters might have tackled in the mid-80s. But while Medusa Deluxe starts promisingly, with a bracingly toxic rant of bitter professional rivalry from thwarted stylist Cleve (Clare Perkins), it soon deflates, like a badly backcombed beehive. What could have been a luridly camp romp from first-time writer-director Thomas Hardiman descends into listless speculation and clumsily manufactured intrigue.

Some, but not all of the film’s shortcomings can be blamed on the decision to shoot the whole picture in a single continuous take. When the pace flags – and it frequently does – the film-makers are unable to inject a burst of energy through the editing. Mainly, though, the problem lies with a screenplay that fails to create suspense, or even to persuade us to care who killed a brilliant but unpopular hair stylist. Still, credit to the hair and costume design team for a collection of extravagantly silly creations.