In various renditions of Greek mythology, the serpentine Gorgonite Medusa could turn unsuspecting people who caught her gaze to stone. Her history, that of being cursed by the wisdom goddess Athena after fornicating with sea god Poseidon, most often depicts her as a monstrous creature with snakes for hair. In Thomas Hardiman’s audacious whodunnit debut, MEDUSA DELUXE, it’s the hair that is cursed, and a trio of viperous contestants each embody a facet of the Gorgonite sister mythology.
At a regional hair-dressing competition in the north of England – filmed in Preston, specifically – a murder has occurred. But not just a simple stabbing, shooting, or poisoning that would be too ‘tropey’ for a mystery like this, nor has a person been turned to stone like the myth. Instead, the victim, Mosca (John Robert Daniel), has been scalped, referencing the Native American war practice that prevented a person from going to their version of heaven. The scalps collected became trophies and spoils of war. Through the next 100 minutes, relationships dissolve and collapse as the contestants’ obsession with a hairdressing trophy leads this movie down a route that is less interested in the mystery and more interested in digging down to the dramatic follicles of resentment within each one.
This review was posted on June 9th 2023. Full review linked below.
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