MEDUSA DELUXE

MEDUSA DELUXE

Directed by Tom Hardiman
UK | 2022 | 101 min | murder mystery | English

MEDUSA DELUXE is a murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing competition. Extravagance and excess collide, as the death of one of their own sows seeds of division in a community whose passion for hair verges on obsession.

Credits 

Director: Tom Hardiman
Screenplay: Tom Hardiman
Cinematography: Robbie Ryan
Production Designer: Gary Williamson
Hair Stylist & Wig Artist: Eugene Souleiman
Music: Koreless
Costume Designer: Cynthia Lawrence-John
Executive Producer: Eva Yates, Lizzie Francke

CastAnita-Joy Uwajeh, Clare Perkins, Darrell D’Silva, Debris Stevenson, Harriet Webb, Heider Ali, Kae Alexander, Kayla Meikle, Lilit Lesser, Luke Pasqualino, Nicholas Karimi

Production Company: EMU Films Production
With support of: BFI (Awarding National Lottery Funding) and BBC Film
In association with: Time Based Arts

  • Tom Hardiman
    Tom Hardiman

Festivals & Awards

  • Locarno Film Festival – Piazza Grande
  • Fantastic Fest – Next Wave Competition
  • Athens IFF
  • Fantasy Filmfest Munich
  • SLASH Film Festival
  • London Film Festival
  • Goa International Film Festival 
  • Stockholm International Film Festival 
  • Cairo IFF – MENA premiere / Midnight Screening

press quotes

“Debut director Thomas Hardiman’s single-shot murder mystery is a dazzling high-energy catwalk show of spiky comedy, fluid camerawork and fabulous hair.”
Stephen Dalton, The Film Verdict

“One-Shot Hairdressing Murder Mystery Is an Elaborate, Backcombed Tease”
“Hardiman, whose penchant for salty dialogue and ostentatious staging distinguishes him from many recent British freshmen”
Guy Lodge, Variety

“Hardiman, drawing wittily on his own love of coiffure, has elaborated one of the most extravagant one-offs in recent cinema”
Jonathan Romney, ScreenDaily

Tom Hardiman

Tom’s work as writer/director began with a series of short films, including RADICAL HARDCORE, a love story about the history of British carpet making. Released via Dazed & Confused, it was selected as part of Lynne Ramsay’s Electric Shorts series, going on to win the BFI’s Network Pick Series. Following this, with the BFI’s support, Tom recently completed work on the short PITCH BLACK PANACEA. A live action-animation hybrid that charts the progress of two patients undergoing a peculiar corrective treatment fortheir lazy eyes.MEDUSA DELUXE is Tom’s feature debut, it was shot during the covid lockdown in the North of England. Before moving into directing, Tom worked in Film & TV in various roles ranging from Art Director to Assistant and Line Producer.

FILMOGRAPHY
2022 Medusa Deluxe (Feature)
2019 Pitch Black Panacea (Short)
2016 Radical Hardcore (Short)