The Barber is a thriller set in a small American community during the middle of a dark winter. A young woman's body is found in a lake. Malcolm McDowell stars as the barber of the small town. Via his narration it becomes pretty clear straight away that he is the killer of the girl, and that not only is he a killer, but he is a serial killer.
The style reminded me kinda of 'Fallen' - another thriller narrated by a serial killer. And the whole perspective of the film was also familiar to that. I mean that a lot of the film is mostly told from the investigating cops perspective, with Malcolm sharing about 50% of the film time on his story. Despite it being known by the viewer that Malcolm is the killer, it is still thrilling to watch as the cops piece together clues as the body count rises.
The main theme music is very Burton-esqe, and fits the permanently dark snowy setting well. Malcolm is great as the barber, though I can't help feeling that even if the viewer had not been told who the killer was, it would have been obvious because Malcolm's character is so obviously the murderer! From the way he looks, to the way he talks to the townsfolk, it's kinda obvious!
The film was surprisingly good, I think it's the first film I've seen Malcolm in since 'A Clockwork Orange' so I amused myself by pretending in my head he was the same character, but grown up from that film.
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