Medusa Deluxe (2023)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Calls it a bold energetic debut with great vibes and camerawork but criticizes shallow characters and skeletal narrative, feeling incomplete.

Praises the audacious choreography, dialogue, and risk-taking in the single-take style, noting strong cast and jazzy energy from the score.

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.

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.