This is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Unfortunately it is not even bad in a funny way, just plain bad. But interestingly it was so bad that I felt compelled to try and find out why exactly I found it so displeasing.The setting -- little Alaskan village swallowed by long dark winter -- is very moody, and would give nice background to a movie. Also, rather nameless Jeremy Ratchford serves a surprisingly solid performance as the artless police chief. However, both of these achievements are completely wasted in this nadir of Malcolm McDowell's eventful career.As there are definitely no deeper levels to this movie, I presume that this is supposed to be a study of absolute evil, journey into the dark side of human mind, portrait of a psychopath... Which could still be put together in various competent ways, despite being quite a tired idea. One could make a decent horror flick, for example -- but there are no horror elements in this film; no gore-fest, nothing shocking, no scenes that would fill you with fear or suspense. One could also weave a thrilling whodunit, with vivid characters and clever plot twists -- but there are no believable characters, there is no-one you would like or care a bit for, nor is there much logic to any of the characters' actions (or anything else, for that matter; in fact most things in this movie are wildly illogical, if you somehow manage to pay attention and still keep on watching).With the inconceivable storyline and silly, sketchy characters one could still accomplish a refreshingly different looney-on-the-loose movie by adding either black humour or sheer slapstick to the mix. Alas, there are no jokes, no humour of any color, not even good one-liners here.What you do have is recklessly overacting Malcolm McDowell, wooden Garwin Sanford who seems to think he is in a comedy, and a whole set of goofily portrayed Alaskan variety hillbillies. This added to a completely pointless script and more logic mismatches and continuity problems than in Plan 9 From Outer Space amounts pretty much to nothing....SPOILERS AHEAD... The only thing this movie has going for itself is the way the story is told, how the viewer is led to believe s/he knows the truth from the very beginning. Now I must admit that I am not too fond of films with umpteen plot twists in the end, and having no plot twist is kind of a plot twist in itself, only in this case it does feel like an anticlimax instead of a touch of genius. The only amusement there is to get from this movie is pondering "can this really be all there is to this movie?" Sadly, the answer is yes.

I bought the DVD of this movie for five bucks at Fred Meyer. Honestly, I thought it was going to suck. I only bought it because it stars Malcolm McDowell, and I'd watch that man read the phone book.Big surprise! The Barber is delightful! It's filled with dark humor, wit, and some really terrific visual jokes. Oh yeah, and grisly murders, too.Malcolm McDowell is fantastic, as usual. He alternately downplays the character and chews the scenery. The rest of the cast is good as well. The chief of police is excellent as he slowly comes unhinged. The dim but sweet Jules was another of my favorites.Sure, there are technical problems. It's a low-budget flick, and they could have used a continuity editor. But so what? The movie is great fun. Watch it on a dark, cold night. And I'm not just saying this because Malcolm McDowell makes my horns pointy.

This is a spoiler of certain aspects of the plot. At the risk of repeating another's observations, numerous technical flaws plagued this movie to the point that it was just not possible to suspend belief. In the opening scene, the two hunters kill the mountain in broad daylight and discover the first body; yet in the the rest of the movie "daytime" is in perpetual darkness. If this is indeed far northern Alaska in the "dead of winter" why are they running around in cowboy hats, no parkas, no gloves? We dress warmer than that in Missouri and it seldom gets into single digits. A town of 200 would not likely have its own police force because it would not have enough tax base to support one. It would likely be served by a county sheriff or state police -- and it certainly would not have a medical examiner. The FBI would not be called in on the case -- no jurisdiction. The character gets shot in the back at close range with the shotgun, which causes his shirt to tear in the front. Yet when he is shown on the autopsy table, his chest is wound-free. A shotgun blast that close would have made hamburger of his chest.

The Barber is a surprise: a seemingly innocuous townsman in the small town of Ravelstoke, Alaska, supposedly, turns out to be a serial killer, and makes semi-humorous comments about the behavior of the psychopath during his voice-over. The depressive atmosphere is heightened by the 24 hour dark period in which the action takes place. The piece veers between comedy and murderous repulsiveness. Background music is varied, but in keeping with the title, is sometimes the Barber of Seville. I found the film to be well-acted, with Malcolm McDowell playing a role a bit familiar from the first film I ever saw of his, A Clockwork Orange.