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DRUGS ON FILM
DIY detox
BY DEIRDRE FULTON
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His original goal was to help a friend kick a $100-a-day heroin habit, and at that, Curtis Elliot failed. But Hairkutt, the resulting documentary that illustrates the horrors of detoxification, succeeds at communicating a resonant anti-drug message, one that Elliott believes makes up for his own defeat. "It was real disappointing," the 39-year-old St. Louis native admits of finding out that Bryant Johnson, a/k/a Hairkutt, used heroin the day after returning from a weeklong stint without the drug. "But I’m going to tell you, that’s the real story with heroin abuse. Relapse is so common. It’s a real-life story. It would have been such a great movie [if Hairkutt had kicked the habit]. But you know what? It’s real — it’s the real story on what happened." Hairkutt is so real that at times it can be painful to watch. When Elliott and two friends bring Hairkutt to a secluded cabin in the Tennessee woods, they’re unprepared for the physical trauma of detox, which ravages Hairkutt’s body as it seeks rebalance. On the second day, a night-vision camera shows Hairkutt lying in bed, writhing, vomiting, mumbling, and sweating. He doesn’t eat for days. Elliot’s shaky, amateur footage screens like a home movie from hell. "I really believe I can help some of these young kids make a good decision and not use drugs," says Elliott. "Because they’ll see what their friends aren’t telling them." Hairkutt screens November 4–10 at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square. Call 617.625.4088 for more information. Learn more at www.itstoughtogetoffdrugs.com.
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