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Tough Love Doled Out to Heroin Addict Going Cold Turkey
Hairkutt
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Have
you ever watched a heroin addict trying to kick the habit? Would you
like to? If so, then you might be interested in Hairkutt, a sobering
documentary which delivers an anti-drug message many times more powerful
than any Public Service Announcement.
In the
winter of 2002, several life-long friends of Bryant “Hairkutt” Johnson,
got fed up with watching him remain a slave to his 15-year, $100 a day
habit. So, they decided to stage an intervention. First, they rented a
cabin in the mountains in rural Tennessee, far away from the streets of
St. Louis where Hairkutt scored his smack. Then, after securing their
pal’s written permission, they let him enjoy a final hit before setting
out on the ten hour trip.
Once
there, they spread plastic on the floor from wall to wall, tied
restraints to the bed and waited for the first signs of withdrawal to
kick in. Although they’d read about what to expect, they weren’t really
ready for The Exorcist-like scene that ensued.
For
over the next five days Hairkutt would vomit and defecate himself
practically into non-existence while incessantly cursing and threatening
to call the cops when not demanding that his body be fed the narcotics
it craved. But the resolute quartet attending to him would not be
deterred from their mission, denying him drugs, and constantly cleaning
up the foul-smelling mess emanating from deep in his bowels.
However when the black bile he was throwing up started turning bloody,
they did rush him to the nearest hospital. He was soon released with a
clean bill of health, and Hairkutt had seemingly successfully gone cold
turkey.
The
entire five-day ordeal was filmed by Curtiss Elliott, and makes for
riveting viewing, provided you have a stomach for bodily function fare.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t exactly have a happy ending, since
Hairkutt promptly returned to drugs upon his return home. Still, this
chilling documentary ought to serve as all the warning anyone might need
never to try heroin even once.
Unrated
Running time: 77 minutes
Studio: Reel Life Films
DVD Extras: Additional scenes and uncut detox footage.
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Lloyd Kam Williams
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 Lloyd
Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who
writes for 100+ publications around the U.S. and Canada. He is a member of
the African-American Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics
Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee, and Rotten Tomatoes. In
addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from
Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam
lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.
IMDiversity.com is committed to presenting diverse points of view.
However, the viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of
the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or
employees at IMD.
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