Ladies and Ghouls it's time for the 2nd annual Film Enigma MONSTER MANIA! I will be blogging about horror and horror films for 31 days in a row in honor of my favorite month. There is a lot of horror out there, so let's dive right into it.
Day 1 will be about a newer film that I actually just saw less than 24 hours ago. That film is Kevin Smith's bizarre new horror comedy “TUSK”. The film was written and directed by Kevin Smith and was apparently based on an episode of his podcast. The film stars Justin Long, Michael Parks, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez, and Johnny Depp. The trailer of the film indicated a goofy concept with a rather scary tone, but unfortunately the film doesn't deliver as a horror film or as a horror comedy, it's really just a mixed bag.
Justin Long stars as Wallace Bryton a snobby conceded pod-caster who hosts a show with his best friend Teddy (Haley Joel). The show seems to revolve around demeaning others and discussing viral videos, which reminds you of all those annoying shock jock shows you probably hear on your local radio every morning. As part of the show, Wallace plans to travel to Canada to interview a guy from one of the viral videos with the intentions of belittling him. Despite his friend Teddy's discouragement, Wallace is dead set on making the trip. When Wallace arrives however the guy from the video had actually committed suicide, possibly as a result of the ridicule he received from being a viral celebrity. Wallace shows zero remorse and solidifies the fact that he is a pretty bad human being. Since Wallace is now in Canada, he is determined to find an interview, which leads him to an older gentleman named Howard Howe (Michael Parks) who apparently has many stories to tell.
Wallace locates the man and begins to talk with him about his very adventurous life. This is actually where the film shines the most. I felt the stories and moments between Long and Parks were very compelling and interesting. I could have listened to Parks talk all day long. He was definitely the highlight of the film, and brings a lot of gravitas to his role. Soon after this, the plot of the film is revealed and Wallace begins to realize he is part of a master plan that Howe has. That plan is to transform a man into...a walrus.
The tone of the film is very eerie and somewhat scary up until this point. You really feel like you are watching something truly warped and twisted, despite the dick jokes being thrown in every 5 minutes. Unfortunately this tone does not last, and after the first 30 minutes or so, the film decides to flip into full clown mode. As Wallace's girlfriend and best friend Teddy search for their missing pal, they partner up with a retired detective played by Johnny Depp. At first glance, that sounds awesome right? Wrong. Depp plays one of the most awkward, stupid characters you will ever see. The detective seems to be channeling “The Pink Panther” throughout the movie, which becomes frustrating when the film is going through serious moments. The character also constantly makes poop jokes, which fell flat with the audience.
After “the big reveal” the film becomes nothing more than a series of dick and fart jokes, riddled with ridiculous imagery. You can see a lot of influence from films like “Human Centipede”, but I feel like “Human Centipede” stuck to one tone, whereas “TUSK” is all over the place. Another issue I had was that the film plays up the idea of being a horror comedy, but the comedy is not smart and not funny. Films like “Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” and “Cabin In the Woods” are great examples of how this kind of concept can work, but “TUSK” really falls flat especially in comparison of films like that. This was not Smith's first try at horror, if you remember the film “Red State” which also had some tone issues. I feel like both that film, and this film had the same issue. That issue being a great idea, a great build up, and a terrible third act. There is even an audio clip that plays during the end credits that is Kevin Smith basically telling the audience how stupid the idea is, and how ridiculous it is that it could be a film, which felt like a giant slap to the face. As if to say “Haha I got your money now, you saw a movie about a walrus man, idiot!”
I would say overall this film is entertaining and sometimes beautiful, but uneven and full of lame jokes. The saving grace of the film would be the powerful acting of Michael Parks, and the gorgeous eye candy Genesis Rodriguez. I would say if they put it on Netflix, give it a shot. If not, this one is passable.
