To me, this movie is perfection.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The Barber sounded interesting enough...it sounded straight from the pages of a Stephen King novel except it takes the setting and location of a far north Alaskan village where everyone knows everyone. Dark, harsh, betrayal abounds but some minor and yet major things drag down this indie film which many seem to praise. It isn't your run of the mill Horror film which is definitely a good thing any time you can break that mold and still be entertaining. The Sound editing is atrocious...it's like watching a bad Japanese Godzilla film, the sound is that out of sync which normally is acceptable in a low budget picture but it's so bad it becomes almost unbearable. The story and direction is the high point of the film both kudos to director/co-writer Michael Bafaro. Unfortunately the real story in this can't be told in the restriction of the hour and a half the film is given. You can't fully get the feel for each character especially The Barber himself. The setting is not quite used to the advantage of the story although they attempt it but constantly verbally reminding us of the darkness they have six months of the year. There desperately needs to be more back story and more of a connection between these characters who live so closely together in such dire circumstances...the way Stephen King always brings about in his small town horrors. Instead the movie is bogged down with blatant profanity, and unimaginative communication between the characters.Malcolm McDowell takes the lead as the secretly psychotic Dexter Miles. He's adequate but in the hands of a much better actor the role could have flourished. We never get a real feel for his deep psychosis or a background or reason for his sheer insanity. Despite meager attempts by a voice over to understand him we don't get inside his mind. His performance is like the film...low budget. He's a low budget actor who doesn't really impress but is just adequate. Jeremy Ratchford on the other hand gives the really impressive performance of the whole film as Chief Vance Corgan. He's dark, and moody, and emotionally disturbed by things in his past. He's chalked up as being over the hill, a few loose bricks, not really smart but in fact he shows the slightest glimpse of being a brilliant cop, and the only one who really sees things no one else does. Ratchford deserves great credit as being the stand out performance in the film. Garwin Sanford drags the cast down as the foolish and vapid FBI agent Crawley. His performance is a joke and he treats it as such. He's not believable as an agent and is at least twice as inadequate as Chief Corgan in his crime detection. John B. Destry is also worth mentioned as he does a pretty decent job as one of the victim's husband. A little deranged and he plays crazy better than McDowell who gets top billing. I have to say none of the rest of the cast is really worth mentioned. No one else does a stand out job and a lot of the town folk behave more like it's a joke than a real film. The cast is just not serious enough for this film.In the hands of a more powerful film maker, a much more brilliant cast, and a deeper story this could have been a real treat to behold although it was nominated for several independent awards. Perhaps I am being too harsh on it but I really loved the premise and the story and direction and I wanted more so badly that it's too bad there wasn't. For entertainment purposes it was fun to watch, a decent thriller with little to no actual violence or gore. Unless you're a real die hard Horror fan or love low budget flicks there really isn't any reason to see this one. On the other hand it won't kill you, it's not bad at all...just an average little film. 7/10

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.

This is a spoiler of certain aspects of the plot. At the risk of repeating another's observations, numerous technical flaws plagued this movie to the point that it was just not possible to suspend belief. In the opening scene, the two hunters kill the mountain in broad daylight and discover the first body; yet in the the rest of the movie "daytime" is in perpetual darkness. If this is indeed far northern Alaska in the "dead of winter" why are they running around in cowboy hats, no parkas, no gloves? We dress warmer than that in Missouri and it seldom gets into single digits. A town of 200 would not likely have its own police force because it would not have enough tax base to support one. It would likely be served by a county sheriff or state police -- and it certainly would not have a medical examiner. The FBI would not be called in on the case -- no jurisdiction. The character gets shot in the back at close range with the shotgun, which causes his shirt to tear in the front. Yet when he is shown on the autopsy table, his chest is wound-free. A shotgun blast that close would have made hamburger of his chest.

The Barber is a surprise: a seemingly innocuous townsman in the small town of Ravelstoke, 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.