User reviews

Something is happening in the small Alaskan town where a woman is found dead in the snow. Right after she is discovered, the FBI gets into the case because it ties up with other killings in the Northwest. The town is about to celebrate Christmas, but it won't be a happy time for anyone because suddenly other young women are killed, as well.

Michael Bafaro's, "The Barber", shows some interesting aspects as a mystery movie. Although our attention is immediately drawn toward the most obvious person, something that the local police enforcers, or even the FBI overlook. In fact the film seems to be telling us the assassin is getting away with murder, because the one responsible eludes being trapped.

The film is watchable because of the work of Malcom McDowell in the film. He is an interesting actor to watch at work. Mr. McDowell is always a welcome addition to any film, as he proves in this one. Jeremy Ratchford is also an asset playing the police chief. The FBI agent discovers something murky in his past that might implicate him in the murders.

The bleak winter of that remote town in Alaska is captured in the film with good results by Mr. Bafaro and his crew. While this film doesn't break new ground, it will keep the viewer involved in the story.

Surprisingly much better than it sounds, the film is atmospheric and stylishly directed, and the screenplay has good ideas and dialogue. The film still has the markings of a routine thriller, and towards the end in particular it starts to lose itself. But it is a modest production, which does not try to be any better than it is, and it is rather fascinating to watch. McDowell quite effectively narrates and plays the leading role, and the music used in the film is very fitting in general - though the classical music used feels like a forced allusion to 'A Clockwork Orange'. Overall, it is not a masterpiece of cinema, but it is definitely better than the average thriller out there, and it certainly has more power to engage than most Hollywood productions today.

(SOME SPOILERS) Serial killer on the loose in the north country using the six month winter darkness as a cover for his unspeakable crimes.

With two drunken hunters Levi & Buffalo, Philip Granger & Ernst Harth, stumbling on the frozen body of Lucy Waters,Jennifer Martinez, it becomes evident later at the towns coroners office that she's been murdered. The chief of police of the little northern Alaskan town of Revelstoke Vance Corgan, Jeremy Ratchford, is then put on the case.

We almost seem to know who the killer is by seeing the towns barber Dexter Miles, Malcolm McDowell, talking to his customer about killing someone that you love and how difficult it is to do it face to face, like Lucy was murdered by strangulation, then with a gun at a safe distance away. Our suspicions about Miles being the killer is later confirmed when he spends the next evening at the home of the waitress Sally, Brenda James, of Revelstoke's rowdy Liquor Pig bar, Sally's later found murdered the exact same way that Lucy was.

Miles begins to become suspicious to the police finding him out when FBI Agent Crawley, Sarwin Sanford, and later his fellow agent Sedwick, Vince Murdocco, comes on the scene knowing that they, the FBI, are tracking Miles' previous murders on the Pacific West Coast, that number about 50. These murderers are very similar to the killings Miles is involved with up here in Alaska.

With the prime suspect in Lucy's murder, Hawkins, found murdered himself in a hotel room in North Pole Alaska almost every male in Revelstoke, including Chief Corgan, is a potential suspect in her murder. Lucy had sexual relations with almost every man in town and they all had reasons to kill her to keep her from outing them .At the same time the FBI seemed to have overlooked the fact that Lucy was found to have been raped but the rapist, according to the postmortem report, was sterile which eliminated almost everyone of Lucy's lovers but Dexter Miles!

The film "The Barber" has Miles one step ahead of the police during the entire movie using the cover of night to get away with his crimes. Miles seems so sure of himself that he makes no effort to distance himself from the killings like admitting that he was in the small town of North Pole the day that Hawkins was last seen alive there. Miles also doesn't seem to care that he was seen with the victims at Revelstoke just hours before they were found murdered.

Setting up Chief Corgan, by somehow planting DNA evidence, to implicate him in the deaths of Lucy Sally and later his secretary at the police station Jewels, Erin Wright, Miles has it all wrapped for the FBI to arrest the towns police chief who the FBI agent had thrown off the case because, of what they considered, his incompetence. Miles makes one major mistake he leaves a fingerprint on a beer mug that he gave Corgan as a Christmas present that matches one of his at the Jewels murder scene.

Too gimmickry for my taste with Miles always a step ahead, or having fate or luck on his side, of the police and FBI to the point that the film comes across as if it wan't him to get away with murder. The movie tries to show it's audience how a psychopath, like Miles, has superhuman intelligence and unbelievable luck to prove it's point.

Yes psycho killers are smart cunning and devious besides being extremely dangerous. A psycho killer can be someone that his friends and acquaintances my know very well, like a Dexter Miles, but will never suspect him in a million years but in reality most Psycho killers, unlike Dexter Miles, end up getting caught.

I bought the DVD of this movie for five bucks at Fred Meyer. Honestly, I thought it was going to suck. I only bought it because it stars Malcolm McDowell, and I'd watch that man read the phone book.

Big surprise! The Barber is delightful! It's filled with dark humor, wit, and some really terrific visual jokes. Oh yeah, and grisly murders, too.

Malcolm McDowell is fantastic, as usual. He alternately downplays the character and chews the scenery. The rest of the cast is good as well. The chief of police is excellent as he slowly comes unhinged. The dim but sweet Jules was another of my favorites.

Sure, there are technical problems. It's a low-budget flick, and they could have used a continuity editor. But so what? The movie is great fun. Watch it on a dark, cold night.

And I'm not just saying this because Malcolm McDowell makes my horns pointy.

"The Barber" is an entertaining film about a serial killer hiding out in small town Alaska. The fact that almost everyone there can barely write their own name makes them easy prey for Malcolm McDowell, the town barber. Some good character development, and sharp humor help immensely. The bleak Alaskan winter provides an appropriately dreary backdrop for the strangling of several females. Friction develops between the local sheriff and an FBI agent sent to investigate. Most of the story is told from the killers viewpoint, and the ending is both unexpected and out of the ordinary. I liked it and recommend "The Barber" - MERK

I've saw this movie once and now Im trying to get it to have a copy of it. I found this movie very slow but at times good. Im from the town where this movies was shot but missed watching the shooting of it by a few months.Its based in the fictional town of Revelstoke Alaska but in fact Revelstoke is in Eastern British Columbia Canada.Almost in between Vancouver BC and Calgary Alberta. Every place where the scenes were filmed I knew exactly where it was. Also a lot of the extras that shown I knew them. After watching the movie I was talking to the "locals" who were in the movie only to realize their scenes were edited out. More info on the town and the movie like probably guess most of the scenes were filmed at night. Yes it does snow a lot in fact this past winter we received over 14 feet of snow for the whole winter. Where "the barber" had his shop is located in an antique store that is on Mckenzie Ave. As Revelstoke is what is called a old railway town so we tend old buildings. Never less I want to movie more for where its filmed than for the actual storyline like i had said before the storyline is slow.

When I originally sought to rent this movie I thought I was in store for a suspenseful horror type movie. I thought I would be guessing who the killer is as the body count grows. After all I discovered this movie on the "horror" shelf. What i actually discovered was a movie with nothing to offer, the most boring, pointless, worst movie, i ever seen.

The movie begins with a body being discovered by two drunks in the woods of a city in Alaska on the final night of daylight. You already know that the barber did it. AFter this there is no movie left. The barber gets mad because he didnt think the body would be found until spring and begins to go on a "rampage". During this rampage about 5 people are killed and there is NONE, ZERO suspense, or blood involving the murders. The movie drags on as an FBI agent and the local police cheif try to figure out who the killer is. The thing is the audience already knows and there is no fun in watching the movie. There is no script, no clever detective tricks, no suspence, no drama, etc.

I beg you, do not see this movie even if it looks tempting on the "horror" shelf. The thing is there is no category to put this movie with. I guess they put it in the horror section because the horror is actually wasting and hour and 34 minutes of your life when you could be doing something more useful like watching paint dry or observing grass grow.

I bought this DVD cos it starred Malcolm McDowell, a well respected actor - I watched the DVD trailer to fill me in on the plot - I needn't have bothered - there wasn't one!

Malcolm must have fallen on hard times to even associate his name with this movie - it appears to have won some awards, however they were Canadian and not exactly Oscars The plot was actually pretty transparent and you could almost see the next alleged "twist" waiting in the wings to enter Stage Left The whole thing was very disappointing and there were a few comedy stereotypes to amuse you - I don't think they were intended to be amusing but the performances were more contrived and wooden than Pinnochio This struck me as a very very poor version of the Hannibal Lecter series but was spoilt even more by poor old Malcolm having to read out his thoughts to set scenes etc - this is a cop-out for poor low-budget filmmakers I suppose I should have realised this was an awful film as it was in the sale bin at my superstore for the huge price of 99p !!

Everyone looks for the perfect film and thinks if they do not find it there is nothing worth while. That is why I really enjoy...if not love this film! I need not say anything about Malcolm since his acting and career speaks for itself, but also consider that the films he chooses are not necessarily main stream, but possess some merit(considering his 147 IMDb acting entries).

This film made me think of an Insomnia (foreign or domestic) meets David Lynch (Twin Peaks of course), or the other way around depending on which influenced you first. I can't but wonder if all those things criticized about this film were intentional. The quirky nature of each character, for example, due to effects of S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder - http://www.nmha.org/infoctr/factsheets/27.cfm), provide the canvas for the film to unfold onto.

This is the one of few reviews I have written, even though I personally own over 1500 films (not that it really means anything or that I have seen them all)! I just felt that someone needed to speak up for the misunderstood. If you spent the time to actually read my comments I thank you for your time, whether you enjoy this film or not. If you have not seen the film, I would like to say it would be worth your while, but this is the kind of film you have to experience for yourself and see how it suits you.

I kept waiting for this film to go somewhere, but it just didn't. There were too many Dumb and Dumber wannabes in it stinking up the action. It was good when McDowell on on screen and lousy the rest of the time. Unfortunately, McDowell wasn't on screen enough. The rest of the cast was very, very amateurish. What a profound disappointment.

this is a hard movie to watch.mainly because it is so slow.if you are expecting action,you won't find it here.what you will find is a character study of sorts.the characters propel movie more than anything else.it's a murder mystery/drama that takes place in Alaska in the dead of winter,when it is cold and dark for 24 hours a day.Malcolm McDowell plays the barber,but he is more than a barber.he puts in a good performance here,and the supporting actors are also good.aside from that,there isn't a lot worth watching the movie for.instead of having an ending of any sort,it just ends.i was just hoping that if nothing else,some loose ends would be tied up.i might have rated the movie bit higher in that case.as it is,i give The Barber a 4/10.as an aside,this movie is similar in spirit to Fargo(though i thought Fargo was a better movie),so if you liked that movie,you might want to check out this movie,or vice versa.

This movie has so much going for it. I've seen it several times and still can't get enough. There's a cougar, eccentric townfolk, hunters and the barber everyone knows. The Barber has some great humour, surprises and suspense all performed by a talented cast brought to life through a very smart script.

Buffalo and Levi, like Lemmon and Matthau on crack, make me laugh out loud every time. Philip Granger's Levi is deliciously lecherous and C. Ernst Harth's Buffalo is his simple yet sincere sidekick. John Destry's Cecil, the long suffering widower is a man very familiar with the edge of sanity. The troubled Chief Corgan is superbly portrayed by Jeremy Ratchford with Paul Jarrett as his sidekick, Everett. Malcolm McDowell, perfectly cast as Dexter Miles, is at his creepy best, I've always loved his voice so the fact that he narrates this movie is a real treat for me.

The story begins on the last day of daylight in Revelstoke, Alaska, finding the townsfolk preparing themselves for the dark season. Jim's Chat & Chew is the local gathering spot in the day hours with the Liquor Pig being the favorite haunt at night, somewhere in the middle, the residents of this quiet town cross paths with the barber, some getting more than they bargain for.

The lighting, scenery and atmosphere combined with the music fits so very perfectly with the story and the cast to make this a very watchable movie. Highly recommended.

I rented this thinking it was probably another low budget horror film. As it turned out i was pleasantly surprised by how above average it actually is. The thing i liked most were the Quirky characters, there was some great acting in this movie from start to finish.

You are left wondering whether or not The Barber was really the killer during the course of the movie. You will find out near the end of the film, and i won't ruin it by mentioning if it was or wasn't him.

Rent the movie, you just may like it also...if nothing else, it is a CUT above the rest!

Every now and again a film slips in and catches you totally unaware. Such a film is THE BARBER starring Malcolm McDowell and offering a smashing performance by Jeremy Ratchford. Plot is simple: small town in Alaska, colorful townfolk, a supposedly inept sheriff....and oh yes, a serial killer. Mix them all together and get ready for one of the most delightful surprises to come along on DVD this year. I have seen some of this Christmas's "blockbuster" films in the theaters, and the unpretentious THE BARBER stands with the best of them and far above most. Make a pot of popcorn, grab a cup of coffee and prepare to be delightfully surprised.....................

By Trevor Stevens (The Anti Critic) 01-03-2003

OVERVIEW:

Hair today, dead tomorrow, life goes on. In a remote town in the far north of the world lies a town where citizens die out of blue, but to hell if they die without great hair thanks to the barber known as Dexter Miles (Malcolm McDowell). In a town where everybody sleeps with the same woman, hunters kill in the off season, and the chief of police is about as smart as the village idiot one would never suspect a serial killer to waste his time messing with these people since their existence alone is as depressing as the 24 hour darkness they live in.

Suffice to say, bodies of the few and pretty women of the town start showing up and the chief's answer is to get p***ed about his fax machine. The locals know the answer to this of course, it's called S.A.D. which stands for Seasonal Affection Disorder and blame the darkness for making people crazy. Maybe they should change it to Stupid A$$ Drunks. With all of this going on who would ever think it would be the one man who wields a blade as a living?

PROS:

Wonderful serial killer flick with a smooth mix of dark comedy and thriller fare. Malcolm McDowell was the only known star in this and the main role as the satirical mass murdering barber was made for him and no one else. He also narrates through most of it and with his voice that only helps.

The town is covered in darkness throughout the entirety of it's runtime and it only brings out joy from me. Living in darkness would be wonderful, minus a barber that imbibes in killing of customers of course. This brings a wonderful morose mood to the movie and FOR ONCE the serial killer isn't some lame one dimensional single tracked fiend set out on getting himself caught no matter what. Malcolm's character is written very well and in a scene where he says "Come here I have a nice sink to do you in" makes me crack up everytime cause when you see it you'll know why, it just works on so many levels. Not to mention his comments throughout the film are just observations on people's preconceptions of psychopaths and are not only great satire, but also make since and can even dare I say, be informative.

Slick production and some nice Canadian supporting actors make this a sure fire hit that people will surely pass off as a cheap horror movie. Nothing horror about it really, if you love dark comedy it's perfect.

CONS

The only thing wrong with this movie is that I couldn't stop laughing long enough to see some scenes. Wonderful flick.

Eventhough it is damn funny throughout, I digress to say that the comedy in this is dark and you have to have the right sense of humor to enjoy that. It mostly tries to be a thriller so don't feel bad if you don't laugh....maybe i'm just "special"

The Barber is a surprise: a seemingly innocuous townsman in the small town of Revelstoke, Alaska, supposedly, turns out to be a serial killer, and makes semi-humorous comments about the behavior of the psychopath during his voice-over. The depressive atmosphere is heightened by the 24 hour dark period in which the action takes place. The piece veers between comedy and murderous repulsiveness. Background music is varied, but in keeping with the title, is sometimes the Barber of Seville. I found the film to be well-acted, with Malcolm McDowell playing a role a bit familiar from the first film I ever saw of his, A Clockwork Orange. McDowell's acting is superb and the other lead actors performed artfully. The story is a dark one, but McDowell's voice-over comments about the psychopath's typicality as a common type in modern society is right on. A disturbing, yet well sketched portrayal.