60
Metascore
23 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 90SlashfilmBen PearsonSlashfilmBen PearsonPart Brian De Palma flick, part Invasion of the Body Snatchers, part Dracula, and part Stepford Wives, Bad Hair filters its influences through Simien’s hyper-specific passions and unique sensibilities to become a singular horror comedy from a singular filmmaker.
- 80VarietyAmy NicholsonVarietyAmy NicholsonCostume designer Ceci’s ensembles and Scott Kuzio’s production design are spot-on. Just as impressive is Simien’s steady handle on his serio-comic tone, at once sly, resonant, and horrific.
- 75The PlaylistGregory EllwoodThe PlaylistGregory EllwoodSimien’s strengths come to the forefront once again and that’s what makes it so difficult to pinpoint why the final product doesn’t exactly gel together as it should.
- 70TheWrapMonica CastilloTheWrapMonica CastilloThe movie is front-loaded with exposition, but once the action gets going and the narrative pieces fall into place, “Bad Hair” is a creepy movie with thoughtful political twists and thrilling supernatural turns.
- 67The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe impression is of a provocative logline that Simien never quite figured out how to expand into a satisfying movie; once you get the thrust of the story, it’s mostly repetitions on a theme.
- 67Entertainment WeeklyDavid CanfieldEntertainment WeeklyDavid CanfieldYou sense Simien’s pushing into uncharted territory. Yet his distinctive gifts as a director are increasingly relegated to the margins, propelling a narrative that works better in theory than execution.
- 60The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThere's definitely a tighter, more disciplined movie trapped in here begging for a more rigorous edit. Like a head full of split ends, it needs trimming.
- 50IndieWireEric KohnIndieWireEric KohnBad Hair has plenty to say — about the plight of black women in particular and blackness in popular culture in general — but his movie can’t settle on laughing off the conflict or regarding it with dread. Instead, it settles on lingering in the knotted chaos, hoping that the message still burns.
- Bad Hair has some nice directorial details. It also has lots that lack sufficient motivation, and Philip J. Bartell’s editing often borders on the hyperactive. As far as nutty ideas go, this one could have used some conditioning.
- 40Screen DailyAnthony KaufmanScreen DailyAnthony KaufmanThough it’s all a bit ridiculous—and Simien, in certain instances, acknowledges the humour in his horror—the film is anchored by Elle Lorraine’s breakout performance.