Bad Hair, on Hulu
IMDb; Neon; Rotten Tomatoes; Wikipedia

This came out in October 2020, but I didn't watch it until October 2024. (Actually, it had a limited theatrical release earlier in 2020, but I think it's still considered a web film.) It's a horror comedy, though I think it wasn't until at least halfway through the movie before the horror started. Until then, I'd call it more of a dramedy. I liked it well enough, but the horror aspect is kind of silly (hence the comedy). I'm glad I finally got around to watching it, but it's not something I'd feel the need to ever watch again.

It starts with a scene set sometime in the 1970s, with a Black girl named Anna Bludso trying to relax her hair, with the help of her older cousin, Linda. But she has a bad reaction to the cream, which leaves her with a scar on the back of her head. Flash forward to 1989, and Anna now works as an assistant to Edna, the head of programming for a TV station called Culture. Edna decides to leave to start her own company rather than accept the changes the station's owner, Grant Madison (James Van Der Beek), wants to make. She's replaced by a former model named Zora (Vanessa Williams), who likes Anna's ideas, and gives her a chance to become an associate producer for a new show (though Anna really wants to be a host). But to fit in, she'll have to get a weave from a hair stylist named Virgie (Laverne Cox). Meanwhile, her uncle Amos (Blair Underwood) lends her a book of slave lore, including a story about a "Moss Haired Girl", which eventually turns out to be based in fact. Anna's hair has a mind of its own, and wants blood, so it starts killing people, much to Anna's horror. Things eventually get even crazier, in ways that I don't want to spoil.

Well, this isn't the first time I've seen a story about hair with a mind of its own, but it's still a fairly unique spin on such things. As ridiculous as the premise seems, I could certainly understand Anna's fear and desperation, so I think the horror aspect of the story works well. And all the cultural aspects of the story also seem to work fairly well, though I say that as an outsider. And... I don't really know what else to say. I've left out some important characters, but I think I've given away as much as I'd like to. It's not a great movie, but it's certainly fun.