Director Jill Gevargizian has directed numerous shorts but she has finally been given the opportunity to direct her first full feature film. A first feature is a notable experience. It provides a director the opportunity to present something on hand when looking for more work with the studios. And for movie fans it gives them the chance to see if this is a director worth following in the future. My thoughts? Look for more movies to come from Gevargizian.
THE STYLIST is the story of Claire (Najarra Townsend), a hairstylist in a small beauty shop whose works is amazing to those who seek her help. Claire is not just a stylist though. She’s also a serial killer. When the mood and opportunity strikes, Claire kills a last minute customer and then removes their scalp to wear at home.
The movie revolves around Claire but not in a tell all about a new psycho type film. We aren’t presented with a backstory involving abusive parents or a teenager tormented by her peers. Instead we are watching and learning about her in the present. An attractive woman who feels unattractive. A somewhat social outcast of her own making, awkward around others and lonely to the extreme.
Into her life comes Olivia (Brea Grant). A past customer Olivia is about to get married. Before a party she needs her hair done and pleads with Claire to take care of her need. Claire finally agrees and afterwards Brea invites her to her bachelorette party and into her life. This prompts Claire to determine she’s going to change her ways. No more killings, no more scalpings, she’s going to live a normal life.
But Claire doesn’t quite fit in. Brea may not notice but her friends treat Claire as the awkward outcast she imagines herself to be. Claire once again finds herself treated differently by others. While she may long for the friendship or even the lifestyle of her newfound friend Brea, the odds of that happening are slim to none.
What follows is a slow return to madness. Torn by her desire to kill again and to attempt to work towards normalcy Claire is caught in the middle with no one to help her make the decision. Just how that will end up affecting her life and that of Brea is left to be seen.
The good and the bad. The bad is the story feels more like a short story and something that will 104 minutes to tell. There are slow moments in the film that drag it down that might have been cut. The good is that the story is original and Gevargizian handles everything from camera placement to directing her actors perfectly. Visually the movie is a treat for the eyes.
The standout performance is that of Townsend in the lead role. Honestly the rest felt like they could have been cast by other actors if need be. But Townsend encapsulates the sympathies needed for the character of Claire to make her at one moment horrific and at the next one we care about and want to help.
The movie falls a little short of being something I’d watch again but it was done well enough that as I said I’ll be watching for future films from Gevargizian. For that matter I’ll be looking for more from Townsend as well. Both have made their mark with this film that more than anything deserves to be noticed.
Arrow is releasing this film with their usual more than you’d ever
expect extras. These include a
reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sara
Deck, a double-sided
fold-out poster, an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film
by Emma Westwood and a gallery of exclusive location scouting photographs, an audio commentary by co-writer/producer/director
Jill Gevargizian and actress/producer Najarra Townsend, an exclusive Blu-ray introduction by
Jill Gevargizian, “The Invisible Woman”, an exclusive visual essay by author
and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, exploring the themes of women’s labor and
female killers in The Stylist and horror cinema, “The Stylist – Behind the Scenes”, a series of eight
behind-the-scenes featurettes on different aspects of the film’s production,
featuring interviews with the cast and crew, a location scouting featurette, outtakes, the original Kickstarter video, the original 2016 The Stylist short film directed by Jill
Gevargizian and starring Najarra Townsend, that inspired the main feature,
“Pity”, a 2016 short film directed by The Stylist’s editor, John Pata, and
executive produced by Jill Gevargizian, with an optional introduction by Pata, the teaser trailer, the theatrical trailer, image galleries and a CD
containing the original The Stylist Soundtrack. Once more they show why Arrow
is one of the top distributors around.
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