--- title: "Medusa Deluxe" year: 2023 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/medusa-deluxe" fi1m_id: "medusa-deluxe" imdb_id: "tt14773478" tmdb_id: 935903 wikidata_id: "Q116214218" fi1m_score: 64 critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 10 published: "2026-09-10" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:06.098683+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Medusa Deluxe (2023) Directed by Thomas Hardiman · 1h 41m · MPA R · Comedy, Mystery, Thriller, Drama ## Identity Medusa Deluxe - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/medusa-deluxe - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** medusa-deluxe - **IMDb ID:** tt14773478 - **TMDB ID:** 935903 - **Wikidata ID:** Q116214218 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14773478/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/935903, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q116214218 **Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 68 from 10 reviews *In a sentence:* Someone has been scalped backstage and the main worry is whether the show can still go on > Thomas Hardiman’s debut is a whodunnit staged as one unbroken shot around a hairdressing contest, and the shot is the achievement. It is funny, Clare Perkins is superb, and the murder is the least interesting thing in the building. ## Synopsis A regional hairdressing competition is under way when one of the contestants, Mosca, is found dead backstage, and the word going round is that he was scalped. Everyone else is kept in the building: the other stylists, their models, the organiser Rene (Darrell D’Silva) and a security guard, Gac (Heider Ali), who is trying to work out who came and went. Cleve (Clare Perkins) is loud in her innocence, Devine (Kayla Meikle) and Kendra (Harriet Webb) have theories, the models Timba (Anita-Joy Uwajeh) and Etsy (Debris Stevenson) have a long night to fill, and Mosca’s partner Angel (Luke Pasqualino) arrives with a baby. Thomas Hardiman’s first film follows them all in what appears to be a single continuous shot. ## Review Thomas Hardiman’s first film begins after the murder. Mosca, one of the competitors in a regional hairdressing contest, has been found dead backstage, and the word going round is that he was scalped. Everyone else is still in the building: the other stylists, their models, the organiser and the security guard. Hardiman follows them for 101 minutes in what looks like one continuous shot, down corridors, into dressing rooms, outside and back. *Medusa Deluxe* is a real technical feat and a good deal of fun, and as a murder mystery it barely functions, which it seems to know. Robbie Ryan, who shot *The Favourite*, operates the camera like a nosy guest. It follows one stylist until she passes another, then changes its mind and goes with the new one, so the film hands itself from character to character the way gossip does. Fouad Gaber’s editing is invisible in the strict sense: whatever joins there are, we did not find them, and the film is happier if you do not look. Gary Williamson’s venue is strip-lit corridors, dressing rooms lit by rows of bulbs and a stairwell nobody wants to use. It is the least glamorous building imaginable and the hair inside it is the most. The hair is the reason to see it. The models carry structures rather than styles, most of them taller than the women underneath, and Cynthia Lawrence-John dresses them to match, in costumes built for a stage rather than a body. Whenever the film stops talking and lets the camera take in a finished head, it is briefly beautiful. It does not stop talking often. Clare Perkins is the best thing in it. Cleve is a stylist who has been in the trade long enough to consider herself owed something, and Perkins delivers her lines in a rising, unstoppable stream, rounding on anyone who gives her an opening. She has a speech early on about the labour that goes into a single head of hair, hours of it, unpaid and unnoticed, and Perkins makes it a grievance, a boast and a confession at once. We laughed harder than we had at anything for weeks, and the reason was her timing: she reaches the end of a sentence, breathes, and starts the next before anyone can reply. Kayla Meikle’s Devine is her sparring partner and her equal for volume. Harriet Webb’s Kendra is the one who watches everyone else and says less, and Debris Stevenson gives Etsy, a model, a bored watchfulness that is funnier than most of the written jokes. Darrell D’Silva plays Rene, the organiser, as a man for whom a corpse is chiefly a scheduling problem. Heider Ali’s Gac, the security guard, is the nearest thing to a detective, and he is as baffled as we are. Luke Pasqualino arrives as Mosca’s partner Angel, holding a baby, and is the only person in the building who appears to be grieving. Here is the trouble. A whodunnit needs us to want to know, and about an hour in we realised we no longer did. Hardiman’s script hands out suspicion in turn, a jealous rival here, a rumour about a fling there, but nobody is ever in danger, nothing is at stake beyond a regional trophy, and the film’s own interest in the culprit is thin. The camera keeps moving because the format demands it, and there are stretches in the middle, walks along corridors while somebody explains something we already knew, where the movement is all there is. We were not bored, quite. We were waiting, and the film was walking. One-shot films usually use the device for tension: a night that cannot be stopped, a shift going wrong. Hardiman uses it for talk, and for the pleasure of watching people who know each other too well trade insults in confined spaces. That is a legitimate choice and a rarer one. It also makes the murder a pretext, and a pretext will not hold 101 minutes on its own. Most critics have landed close to where we have: impressed by the shot, warm about the cast, unconvinced by the case. See it if you like the sound of a room full of hairdressers being rude to each other for an hour and a half, because that is what it is, done with real skill. Do not see it for the mystery. It carries a 15, and at home the corridors feel less like padding and Perkins is exactly as loud. *Fi1m score 64, published 10 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics agree on what Medusa Deluxe does well and where it falls short, and the two lists barely overlap. The praise goes almost entirely to the staging: a murder mystery played out backstage at a hairdressing competition in a single continuous take, with roving camerawork that several reviews name as the main reason to watch. The ensemble is warmly received, Clare Perkins in particular, and the hair and costume design draw approving notes even from the doubters. The reservations cluster around the script. Review after review says the mystery loses tension as it goes, that the characters stay thin, and that the ending arrives quietly. The spread is fairly narrow, with most reviews landing between three stars and a B-plus. The clear dissent is RogerEbert.com, which finds the film dull as a whodunnit despite the technical display, and The Guardian is nearly as cool, faulting a suspense-free screenplay that the long take cannot rescue. ## Straight answers **Is Medusa Deluxe worth watching?** *Medusa Deluxe* is worth watching for anyone who wants to spend an hour and a half with a room full of hairdressers being rude to each other, and we scored it 64. The single continuous shot is a real feat and Clare Perkins is superb as Cleve. Do not come for the murder mystery, which stops mattering about an hour in. **How long is Medusa Deluxe, and what is it rated?** *Medusa Deluxe* runs 1h 41m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and mystery film. **Where can I watch Medusa Deluxe in the US?** *Medusa Deluxe* is streaming on Tubi in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Medusa Deluxe, and is it suitable for children?** *Medusa Deluxe* carries a UK 15 certificate, and its violence is a single offstage killing: a contestant is found dead and said to have been scalped, which the film talks about rather than shows. It is not frightening so much as loud, with adult language and squabbling throughout. It is not for children, and the 15 is about the talk rather than blood. **How does Medusa Deluxe compare to Victoria?** *Medusa Deluxe* and [*Victoria*](https://film.one/film/victoria) are both built as one unbroken shot, but Hardiman uses his for gossip and insults in confined spaces while Sebastian Schipper uses his for a night that cannot be stopped. *Victoria* is the tenser and more committed of the two, though its first hour rambles and its ending is familiar. Choose *Medusa Deluxe* for comedy and hair, *Victoria* for suspense. **What should I watch after Medusa Deluxe?** After *Medusa Deluxe*, try [*Boiling Point*](https://film.one/film/boiling-point) (2021, Fi1m 77): One take, one kitchen, one terrible shift; the format used for panic rather than gossip. Then [*Victoria*](https://film.one/film/victoria) (2015, Fi1m 76): Berlin at night in a single shot, with the tension Hardiman declines to chase; and [*Rope*](https://film.one/film/rope) (1948, Fi1m 76): Hitchcock hides the cuts in a flat and the murder in plain sight. ### Reviews we read (18) - **IndieWire**, Marisa Mirabal (B+): The critic calls it an arresting and visually stunning achievement that breaks storytelling frameworks. The lavish competitive hairstyling setting and murder mystery elements are highlighted positively. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/medusa-deluxe-review-1234768005/) - **Empire**, John Nugent (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it a unique, ambitious and visually bold debut that swings for the fences with genre flair in a murder-mystery set at a hairdressing competition. They single out the long-take camerawork and the film’s focus on working-class women of colour. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/medusa-deluxe/) - **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson (3/4): The critic appreciates the artifice and frivolous surface-level fun of the single-shot murder mystery in a hairdressing competition but faults it for being too careful and not fully committing to superficiality. The roving cinematography mirroring the subject is noted as both strength and weakness. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/medusa-deluxe-review-thomas-hardiman/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Lovia Gyarkye (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the film mesmerizing as a formal feat in continuous take but imperfect as it fails to stick the landing in its mystery. Stellar performances, especially Clare Perkins, and clever camera work are singled out for praise amid the cutthroat hairstyling world. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/medusa-deluxe-review-1235560928/) - **Variety**, Guy Lodge (65/100, inferred): The one-shot hairdressing murder mystery is flashy and arch but the storytelling lacks the same swagger as the visuals. It delights in its unusual suspects and gossip-fueled setup more than procedural elements. [Read](https://variety.com/2022/film/reviews/medusa-deluxe-review-1235335450/) - **Little White Lies**, Cheyenne Bart-Stewart (3/3/3): The film offers engaging visual storytelling and a fresh perspective on the murder mystery genre but ultimately feels like style over substance with faltering characterisation and plot. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/medusa-deluxe) - **Radio Times**, Patrick Cremona (3/5): This technically impressive debut features strong performances and vivid production design but has a script that is a little flat with some narrative strands needing more development. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-zog4d5/medusa-deluxe/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Christy Lemire (35/100, inferred): The film is technically dazzling with its long-take style but narratively dull and boring as a murder mystery. The characters lack depth and the story fails to engage despite the unusual hairdressing competition setting. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/medusa-deluxe-movie-review-2023) - **Screen Daily**: Hardiman’s brashly confident debut is a darkly comic meta-whodunnit with extravagant one-take staging and strong performances, though its dense exposition and theatrical approach may limit wider appeal. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/medusa-deluxe-locarno-review/5173218.article) - **Sight and Sound**: The critic finds the plot thin and unconvincing beneath its flamboyant one-take style, calling the film a follicular folly despite its visual razzle-dazzle and giddy fun elements. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/medusa-deluxe-lather-overdone) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The critic finds the promising murder-mystery premise in the competitive hairdressing world undermined by a suspense-free screenplay and a single continuous take that fails to inject energy when the pace flags. The hair and costume design receive praise for their extravagantly silly creations. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jun/11/medusa-deluxe-review-limp-competitive-hairdressing-whodunnit) - **The New York Times**, Jeannette Catsoulis (Critic's Pick): The debut is an invigoratingly bold and proudly indelicate pleasure with inventive structure and a continuous-take style. It singles out the hairdressing world and ensemble performances for their playful energy amid the murder mystery. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/movies/medusa-deluxe-review.html) - **The Times**, Kevin Maher (★★★☆☆): The one-shot murder mystery set backstage at a hairdressing competition is praised for its rapid-fire dialogue and adrenaline among the spooked characters. The mystery eventually dissipates, with the film relying on roaming camerawork and high-camp performances in an otherwise impressive debut. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/medusa-deluxe-review-a-hairstylist-scalped-in-a-one-shot-murder-mystery-rbwh2xllp) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (B): The critic finds the debut feature ambitious in its single-take structure and wild characters but notes the mystery lacks tension and can confuse. Style and the over-the-top ensemble ultimately make it worthwhile. [Read](https://collider.com/medusa-deluxe-review-a24/) - **The Playlist**, Christian Gallichio (B-): Calls it a bold energetic debut with great vibes and camerawork but criticizes shallow characters and skeletal narrative, feeling incomplete. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/medusa-deluxe-review-energetic-hairdresser-murder-mystery-mainly-coasts-on-vibes-20230810/) - **Eye for Film**, Amber Wilkinson: Praises the audacious choreography, dialogue, and risk-taking in the single-take style, noting strong cast and jazzy energy from the score. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/medusa-deluxe-2022-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) - **Film Stories**, Lauren Miles: The critic praises the innovative single-take whodunnit structure and sharp dialogue but notes it lacks tension and delivers a quiet ending. Praises the cast performances, especially Perkins and Pasqualino. [Read](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/medusa-deluxe-review-an-innovative-murder-mystery/) - **Paste**, Anna McKibbin (7.8): The film is praised as a thrilling reinvention of the one-shot thriller with fluid direction and a strong cast that balances humor and violence. Hardiman's debut is called a miraculous, glamorous achievement that feels like the next haunted-house film. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/thomas-hardiman/medusa-deluxe-review) ## Details - **Director:** Thomas Hardiman - **Director:** Thomas Hardiman - **Screenplay:** Thomas Hardiman - **Cinematography:** Robbie Ryan - **Editor:** Fouad Gaber - **Production design:** Gary Williamson - **Costume design:** Cynthia Lawrence-John - **Producer:** Michael Elliott, Lee Groombridge, Louise Palmkvist Hansen - **Cast:** Anita-Joy Uwajeh as Timba; Clare Perkins as Cleve; Darrell D'Silva as Rene; Debris Stevenson as Etsy; Harriet Webb as Kendra; Heider Ali as Gac; Kae Alexander as Inez; Kayla Meikle as Devine - **Runtime:** 1h 41m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 11 August 2023 - **Genres:** Comedy, Mystery, Thriller, Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83CBtOjXZRQ ## Where to watch in the US - Tubi: free - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, sd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-10.* Also available in: AR, AT, BE, BR, CH, CL, CO, DE, FR, GB, ID, IE, IN, IT, MX, MY, NL, PA, PH, PT, SE, SG, TH, TR, US, VN. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Boiling Point* (2021), Fi1m 77: One take, one kitchen, one terrible shift; the format used for panic rather than gossip — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/boiling-point.md) - *Victoria* (2015), Fi1m 76: Berlin at night in a single shot, with the tension Hardiman declines to chase — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/victoria.md) - *Rope* (1948), Fi1m 76: Hitchcock hides the cuts in a flat and the murder in plain sight — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/rope.md) - *Gosford Park* (2001), Fi1m 85: A murder nobody upstairs minds much, and the servants do the talking — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/gosford-park.md) - *Shampoo* (1975): A hairdresser, his clients and one night when everyone learns too much --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/medusa-deluxe