Twenty years ago, there were a series of missing women in the Chicago area. They have been found buried alive and a man named Frances Allen Visser is a person of interest. After being in custody, Visser is released due to insufficient evidence from the arresting officer, Detective Thomas McCormack. Because he couldn’t make his case, a distraught Detective McCormack ends up taking his life, leaving his son to be an orphan.
Fast forward to the present and Visser has changed his name to Eugene Van Wingert and he is the local barber in a small town outside of Chicago. A strange kid rolls into town and pulls a knife on Visser, stabbing him a little. He is confronting Visser, saying that he knows who he is and wants him to teach him to be a better killer. Before the kid can push the knife in any further, the chief of police stops him and arrests him. Visser/Wingert keeps trying to explain that he is the wrong guy, but the kid is convinced he is the right man.
THE BARBER is Basel Owies’ first feature length film and it stars Scott Glenn and Chris Coy. It plays out like a good, old-fashioned thriller with twist and turns. Scott Glenn has been in a ton of movies, but he is best known for SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and most recently Netflix’s DAREDEVIL. He is a very versatile actor who has the ability to command his scenes even if he is the timid one on the screen. Chris Coy plays off of Glenn’s character well and they have good onscreen chemistry. I liked the film for the most part and it was different from what I was expecting. The pacing never hit a lull and had an interesting story.
The movie is transferred in a 1080p AVC encode that is a step up from an indie film. The overall hue is a shade beige that keeps the skin tones warm and even. The details are highly visible and are incredibly crisp. The coloring is bright, but never hits a “bold” look that most digitally-filmed movies have. Some of the lower lit scenes have a little bit of contrast issues, but these were minimal.
The audio track is a lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 that sounds very clean. Most of the audio is dialogue-based and focused in the center channel. This means that the treble has a good presence, but there wasn’t much use of the bass. The only times were when there was music playing in the bar or during the hotel room scene. The ambient sound is strong in some of the car scenes and around the town.
The extras are a little light, but the ones that are on the release make sense. What I was really hoping for was an interview with the actors.
Bonus Features:
-Alternate Ending: This ending is slightly different from the original one, but I see why the filmmakers went with the one they chose.
-Deleted Scenes
-Extended Scenes
-Trailer
Disc Details
1 Blu-ray Disc
Running Time
90 mins
Edition Ratings
Not Rated
Region Coding
Region A
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles
English SDH
THE BARBER is a clever movie that kept me riveted. Again, Scott Glenn and Chris Coy do a great job in their interactions. The Blu-ray itself has excellent video and sound. There isn’t too much in the way of extras, but the choices the filmmakers made in the scenes they did cut were spot-on. If you’re into thriller/serial killer/drama movies, this is one to pick up without question.
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