Hairdressers are killed in the trailer for Medusa Deluxe

MUBI, the global distributor, streaming service and production company, has released the new artwork and trailer for writer/director Thomas Hardiman’s debut feature, the bold, camp and unique murder mystery Medusa Deluxe, which will open theatrically in the UK and Ireland on 9 June 2023 and will stream exclusively on MUBI from 4 August.

Shining a light on the obsessive world of hairdressing, this extravagant whodunnit features an array of electric performances from its dynamic cast which includes Clare Perkins (Secrets & Lies, Censor, Eastenders), Kae Alexander (Fleabag, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil), Harriet Webb (I May Destroy You, Big Boys), Darrell D’Silva (Informer), and Luke Pasqualino (Skins, Snowpiercer, Shantaram).

After a stylist is found dead, the remaining competitors try to uncover the killer over the course of an evening, Rivalry and mistrust build as the remaining group of determined contestants suspect that someone may be trying to rig the competition, by gruesomely picking off its entrants.

Medusa Deluxe features cinematography by Academy-Award® nominee Robbie Ryan (The Favourite, American Honey), whose restless, uncannily stable camera drifts from scene to scene, through a maze of backstage rooms, waiting areas, theatre spaces and car parks. The dazzling and cutting-edge hair designs are from renowned stylist Eugene Souleiman and hair and make-up designer Scarlett O’Connell, whose work won the film Best Make-up and Hair Design at the British Independent Film Awards 2022. The electronic score is by Koreless. Nominated for Debut Director and Best Production Design at the British Independent Film Awards last year, this vivacious and absurdly comic ensemble drama will keep audiences in suspense until the end.

The film is produced by Michael Elliott, Louise Palmkvist Hansen and Lee Groombridge and is an EMU Films production. The film was developed and financed by the BFI, awarding National Lottery Funding, and BBC Film, and financed in association with Time Based Arts. Executive Producers are Eva Yates for BBC Film, Lizzie Francke for BFI, and Jim Mooney and Walli Ullah for EMU.

Medusa Deluxe hits UK & Ireland cinemas on 9th June. It plays on MUBI from 4th August 2023.