Horror likes to warn of us many societal ills. Last year, Peter Strickland made the horror-comedy “In Fabric,” about a hexed killer dress that curses everyone who wears it. This year, Justin Simien, the filmmaker behind the film and series version of “Dear White People” sends-up the image obsession in black culture with straight hair in the horror satire, “Bad Hair.”
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“Kinky” natural hair vs. straightened hair has always been a matter of contention in the Black and Afro-Latinx communities. Chris Rock made the documentary “Good Hair,” which tried to put a positive spin of embracing natural hair and Mariana Rondón explored the same topic in “Pelo Malo” (“Bad Hair”), a South American take on the straight vs. kinky hair debate.
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“Bad Hair” debuted at Sundance earlier this year and stars Elle Lorraine, Kelly Rowland, Vanessa Williams, Jay Pharoah, Lena Waithe, Blair Underwood, and Laverne Cox. And it’s essentially about a killer weave with a mind of its own. “[The weave] is doing very well for her career by day, but there is a hidden toll to pay at night,” Simien told EW in January. about the cost of the lead character experiences in order to appear more appealing to white America. “It’s a psychological social thriller that is a commentary on the American experience and the kind of quiet little deaths we all have to endure to advance and be seen by mainstream society.”
Simien is no stranger to Sundance or exploring (and often affectionately lampooning) the concerns of Black culture (and Caucasian culture’s often hilariously tone-deaf response). He broke out in 2014 with the Sundance comedy “Dear White People,” spun that off into a creatively successful, not-redundant Netflix series of the same name. Here’s the official synopsis:
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In this horror satire set in 1989, BAD HAIR follows an ambitious young woman (Elle Lorraine) who gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career comes at a great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own. The film stars Elle Lorraine, Vanessa Williams, Lena Waithe, Laverne Cox, Jay Pharoah, Kelly Rowland, Blair Underwood, James Van Der Beek and Usher Raymond. BAD HAIR is written and directed by Justin Simien. Simien also serves as a producer alongside Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, and Eddie Vaisman. Executive Producers include Leonid Lebedev, Oren Moverman, and Alex G. Scott. The film is produced by Sight Unseen in association with Culture Machi
Sometimes we have to go back to our roots, the clever tag line reads. “Bad Hair” arrives on October 23 on Hulu. Watch the first official trailer below.