TUSK (8 or 6 out of 10)* – Directed by Kevin Smith; written by Kevin Smith; starring Michael Parks, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez and Guy LaPointe; rated R; in wide release September 19, 2014; running time: 102 minutes.
It should be noted before you get to the meat of this review for “Tusk” that I am a fan of Kevin Smith’s Smodco Podcast Network. I am also one of the lucky few who saw an early preview of the first thirty minutes of the film back in June at the Deathray Comics podcast theater in Logan, Utah. My review of that first act was glowing and hopeful. It was, up to that point, the best work in film I had ever seen from Kevin Smith. *So, this review has two ratings. One for Smodco fans and the other for the everyday viewer.
If you’re a fan of Kevin Smith and his podcast’s you’re in for a unique treat. “Tusk” is filled with a plethora of Easter eggs for fans of his podcast’s. If you’re someone wondering what this walrus film is all about, or only knows of Kevin Smith as the guy who was once kicked off an airplane, I think you’ll have a slightly different movie going experience than Smodco fans that shouldn’t be any less enjoyable. In either situation you find yourself, you’re in for a wild and deeply disturbing ride.
you’re in for a wild and deeply disturbing ride.
The idea that had fans like me supporting Kevin Smith’s whimsy on Twitter with the hashtag #WalrusYes was birthed in episode #259 of Smith’s podcast “Smodcast” titled “The Walrus and the Carpenter”. In that podcast Kevin Smith and his longtime friend and “Clerks” producer Scott Mosier poke fun at an Internet personals ad. In the ad an older, wealthy eccentric man is looking for someone who will live in his mansion with him. The lodger would have to live in a walrus suit for two hours a day, eat whole raw fish, and only imitate the sounds of a walrus. For that price, the lodger would get the room and board in the mansion for free. The idea was seized on by the podcasters for the potential humor but Smith quickly deconstructed the absurdity of the exchange into the plot of a horror movie.
In the film, Michael Parks plays the older eccentric gentleman by the name of Howard Howe. The young man that answers the ad is Wallace, played by Justin Long. Wallace and his friend Teddy (Haley Joel Osment) are a pair of podcasters recording the “Not See Party” podcast. It is named as such because Wallace travels around looking for funny content for their podcast while Teddy stays behind. Wallace leaves behind Teddy and his beautiful girlfriend Ally (Genesis Rodriguez), to play the field and podcast from a Canada. That is ultimately a huge mistake for Wallace as he answers Howe’s personal ad after his original story about a Kill Bill Kid goes bust.
Howard meets Wallace at his mansion and charms the young man with quotes by Hemingway and Tennessee Williams. Howard is instantly enchanted by Wallace because of his crass and spoiled generational behavior, as well as his recognition of the poem “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner”. Howard describes being lost at sea and being washed up onto the shore of the “Island of Ponder Rock”. Howe found that he had been rescued from his sinking Naval vessel by a walrus. It is near that point that Wallace collapses from drinking tea that Howard clearly drugged with a sedative. It is shortly after Wallace awakes from the sedative that Howe’s insanity emerges on screen in full force.
My mind immediately drew a comparison to “Misery”, though the end of the first act is where any similarity to “Misery” ends. Michael Parks delivers a masterful performance that can stand proudly next to any great performance in recent memory. Wallace pleads with Howard to let him use a phone, but instead, Howard lies, beats, boasts and then mocks him. Howard Howe is a deeply sinister character. He is a menacing force of nature throughout the entire picture.
Michael Parks delivers a masterful performance
The moment the walrus suit is revealed is shocking. Film legend and special effects maestro Robert Kurtzman was the driving creative force behind the madness that is the walrus suit. The walrus costume allows Justin Long to disappear into it and become monstrous. The images and tone through the second act are stomach churning and grotesque but are ultimately counter balanced by the light-hearted and humorous performance by Guy Lapointe as Guy Lapointe.
The newcomer to the screen is at once instantly recognizable but confusingly Canadian. Guy Lapointe is a detective from Quebec who has been chasing down a serial-killer. He meets with Teddy and Ally as a consultant. Together they search for the mysterious serial-killer and their missing friend Wallace. Guy Lapointe is superb. He rounds out an an already stellar cast and the result is a film packed with strong performances.
Ultimately the “Tusk’s” strength is found in the film’s performances. Smith was able to get exactly what he needed from his cast to make the story more than the gross-out horror comedy it imitates. What’s more is that the film never takes itself too seriously. To some that can be an issue, but that certainly was not the case for me. The film doesn’t try to fit the preconceived mold for what a horror movie should be; instead, it is the very expression of a particular artist’s rendition of horror, and it works.
“Tusk” had me squirming in my seat and laughing uncomfortably to myself in order to relieve the clammy shiver that had worked its way up my spine. Any film in the horror genre usually has to do something special to win me over. I’m not a fan of the jump scare tuned to deep base and then repeated ad nauseam. “Tusk” surprised me by keeping the tension high enough that I genuinely felt creeped out for the entire last half of the film. Even after Guy Lapointe’s post credits sequence I couldn’t shake the dark notions “Tusk” left with me. Kevin Smith has honed his skills as a filmmaker and the result is now a wonderful combination between humor and horror that will delight his fans and give a cheap thrill to every other moviegoer.
Mark Avo AKA Zendobot can usually be found reviewing comic books and picking out his favorite moments every week for “Five and Three” right here on Big Shiny Robot. You can also find him writing and inking The Salt City Strangers comic book or pretending he’s an expert for The Undead Soup Podcast (http://undeadsoup.com/undead2/). You can delight or even heckle him with your tweets @MarkAvo and he’ll be totally thrilled.
Image: Kevin Smith’s Tusk – A24 & Smodcast – Art by Francesco Francavilla – More at instagram.com/TuskTheMovie
Image: Kevin Smith’s Tusk – A24 & Smodcast – More at instagram.com/TuskTheMovie