‘Bad Haircut’ Movie Review [Fantastic Fest 2025]: An Offbeat Barber Thriller-Comedy That Can't Hold Its Shape

Photo from Fantastic Fest

From Jeff Nelson

Confidence is everything. Writer-director Kyle Misak’s Bad Haircut is a thriller laced with dark comedy and a well-intentioned message about being unafraid to express oneself. It’s loaded with personality, but it runs itself into a brick wall.

Kind-hearted, yet woefully awkward college student Billy (Spencer Harrison Levin) is the type of man to crave chocolate milk over alcohol at a party. Relentlessly teased by jock Harper (Michael Bonini) in front of women, Billy is ready to give up on dating. Friends Sonny (Beau Minniear) and Dee (R.J. Beaubrun) want to raise his spirits, so they decide to give him a makeover. The first thing to go is the Bob Ross haircut.

Meet Mick (Frankie Ray) — an eccentric barber who only charges $7 per cut and refuses tips. He creates nicknames for his clients based on celebrities, such as Brad — yes, as in Brad Pitt — for Billy. When Sonny and Dee leave to secure in-style clothes for their friend, Mick has his new customer all to himself. Billy has a bad gut feeling, which only worsens when he meets the intimidating barber assistant, Wimp (Martin Klebba), and a mystery man (Eric Linden) causes quite the commotion. 

Billy might be the protagonist, but Mick is the star. Bad Haircut works best when we don’t know where his unhinged nature is going to take the story. The flamboyant barber breaks into song and dance, and stops mid-cut for other ridiculous side distractions. It’s entertaining to see Billy squirm under Mick’s threatening scissors, which could end his life at any point. However, it loses steam once we realize where it’s headed. Misak isn’t able to pull the movie out of a slump that eventually overstays its welcome in a ridiculous third act that wanders too far from the initial premise.

Misak does show promise as a director, with his ability to intertwine whimsy and tension to create scenes that feel unpredictable. The tongue-in-cheek performances help to sell the vibrant strangeness. Levin is convincing as the awkward Billy, but Ray steals the show as Mick. He’s fully committed to the bit, unafraid to get weird in this wild performance.

You don’t need to be the strongest to overcome adversity, or the most attractive to find love — finding the confidence to project your best self is the definition of winning. Bad Haircut is more wholesome than it lets on, but it struggles to expand its bonkers concept into a feature-length movie. Occasionally funny and plenty peculiar, this comedic thriller wears itself thin.

Rating: 2.5/5

Bad Haircut played at Fantastic Fest 2025 on September 19.

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