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

TUSK (the first 30 minutes) – Directed by Kevin Smith, written by Kevin Smith, staring Michael Parks, Haley Joel Osment, Justin Long, Genesis Rodriguez, Harley Morenstein and Ralph Garman; currently unrated; running time: currently unknown.

The first 30 minutes of Kevin Smith’s upcoming podcast inspired horror film “Tusk” was shown to a small public audience in Logan Utah on June 15, 2014. The lucky 100 or so at Deathray Comics for the live Smodco podcast “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old” got to see the first act of what very well could be the best film of Kevin Smith’s career. Although a full opinion cannot possibly be reached off only a first act, the film as shown could also be one of the more exciting horror films in recent years. “Tusk” is the brainchild of an episode of Smith’s widely popular podcast “Smodcast”. During episode 259 “The Walrus and the Carpenter” Smith and his co-host (and long-time producer) Scott Mosier joked about a hilarious personals ad where in it a man was seeking another to dress in a walrus suit and pretend to be a walrus for free room and board. The discussion became a moment of whimsy for Kevin Smith where he asked the Internet if the idea would be a good movie. He had listeners respond over Twitter with the hashtag #WalrusYes. The support was overwhelming and the rest, as they say, is history.

The writing is punchy and acerbic with moments that sound like Smith and other moments that sound like madness. Madness it turns out is exactly what Kevin Smith was going for. Michael Parks, who worked with Kevin on his previous horror film outing “Red State”, is back to play a deranged but poetic old sailor named Howard Howe. Howard is the one who posts the personals ad but, in the film, it is on a bulletin board above a bathroom urinal in Canada and not on the Internet. The ad is similar in flavor to the one that inspired the Smodcast episode that inspired the film, but when Parks reads it in the rich Canadian accent of Howes, it takes on an entirely different and almost sinister feeling.

Michael Parks’ is astounding. His performance left me with a cold chill down my spine.

Howard Howe is well spoken and full of quotes from Hemingway, Tennessee Williams and “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner.” Michael Parks’ is astounding. His performance left me with a cold chill down my spine. It is Parks’ erudite character’s punctuating dialogue that sells the dark maliciousness of his character, but the violence and deep madness of his character is told through his interactions with his victim, Justin Long.

Justin Long begins the movie as a podcaster who is travelling to the “true north” on a short podcasting excursion. There are many great inside jokes from the last 7 years of Smodco podcasts for fans to find but they’re so incredibly subtle and well done that they are true Easter Eggs and viewers who have not heard the podcasts will not feel cheated or feel like they’re missing out on anything. The places where the Easter Eggs happen flow naturally into the story and are a great treat for long time listeners.

At the beginning of the act Long’s character is the closest thing to any of Smith’s films prior to “Red State”. His character comes off as raunchy and willing to exploit any situation for a laugh. Long’s character is a funny man on the Internet after all, and there is no censorship unless it’s self-censorship. For the sake of the show, the podcaster has no self-censorship whatsoever. Some might think him a monster for his ruthless exploitation of regular people for the sake of a joke. To Parks’ Howe, the podcaster is an educated but foolish man who like the rest of his generation is spoiled by the age and technology. Howard Howe refers to Long’s podcaster once as a “libertine”.

Long’s character is the closest thing to any of Smith’s films prior to “Red State”.

That libertine podcaster is hard not to laugh at and with. That he is the primary source of punch lines makes the final moments of the first act so much more unsettling as uproarious laughter is replaced with the nervous variety. The confusion, fear, and pain Long’s character is going through feel very real. Justin Long’s ability to sell the audience on the intensity of the events in the scenes closing moments is nothing short of terrifying. 

Parks makes for a Howard Howe who is truly monstrous. Howe’s dialogue is full of words that make sense when you hear them but only that they’re connected into sentences. The way in which he says those words is perplexing though, because no sane person would speak the way Howard Howe speaks. The brutality of the juxtaposition between when Long is first introduced to Parks and when things take that inevitable horror film turn for the worse is truly wonderful. Long’s podcaster appears to be in agony and trapped as Parks as the madman takes him down the rabbit hole. Kevin Smith has said that the rabbit hole awaits all of his fans and film lovers alike. If Smith’s hopes come true, “Tusk” will premier at the Toronto Film Festival this Fall. 

Netheads Live at Deathray Comics: Trent Hunsaker, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Will Wilkins

EDITORS NOTE: This article has been updated to clarify that Kevin Smith is hopeful “Tusk” will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this Fall.

Here at Big Shiny Robot, we’re fans of Kevin Smith. In fact Swankmotron sat down with Smith at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con.

He’s a personal favorite of this bot, both because of the movies he’s made and the presence he maintains with fans. Smith’s podcast, “Smodcast,” was one of the first podcasts I discovered way back when they had only 14 episodes. Smith and his “Smodcast” co-host Scott Mosier have come a long way since those early shows and just yesterday posted their 300^th episode.

What started as a single weekly show has spawned dozens of others which now comprise Smith’s podcast empire and is also proving to be a conduit to the screen, both large and small. “Tell ‘em Steve Dave,” another podcast on the “Smodcast” network was the inspiration for AMC’s “Comic Book Men.” Episodes of Smith’s varied podcasts have also been inspiration for movies including “Anti-Claus” a Christmas horror anthology, “Helena Handbag” a movie the return of Christ as a giant Godzilla like monster, and “Tusk” set to release later this year. You can read more about “Tusk” here.

Smith’s podcasts are usually recorded in Los Angeles where he lives, but on occasion he takes his shows on the road, doing them live on stages or at venues across the country. Whenever Smith announces a tour I always check to see if there are any dates in Utah, but he’s never made it to the beehive state outside of visiting Sundance. That is, until now.

Smith will be appearing with Will Wilkins and Trent Hunsaker of the podcast “Netheads” and Jason Mewes of the podcast “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old” at 12:00 PM and 3:00 PM respectively on June 15^th at Death Ray Comics in Logan, Utah. 

Death Ray Comics is located at 72 West Center Street in Logan. Smith’s appearance is part of the store’s one year anniversary celebration begins next Friday, June 13. In addition to Sunday’s shows there will be a special screening of the documentary “Legends of the Knight” with chronicles the experiences of people who have overcome adversity or struggle with the help of “Batman.”

Tickets to the live podcasts are limited and can be found at SeeSmod.

A few days ago I talked about Rosario Dawson and her return to the View Askewniverse in the upcoming Clerks 3. In that piece, which you can read here, I spoke about the resurgence in Smith’s movie making career. He has four films in the barrel that I’m aware of, three of which are based on conversations he’s had in podcasts on his Smodcast network. “Tusk”, and the tentatively titled “Holy Christ” are both based on conversations Smith had with Scott Mosier on Smodcast, but yesterday Smith posted that he had finished another screenplay based on a podcast conversation. This time from his podcast, Edumacation with Andy McElfresh, who also co-wrote the script and will direct one of the movie’s episodes.

“Comes the Krampus” is the title of the new flick, it will be a Christmas horror anthology along the lines of “Creepshow” according to Smith. The movie will consist of five smaller stories revolving around the Krampus. The Krampus is like Santa’s evil twin that their parents kept locked in the attic. The Krampus looks sort of like Santa, if Santa were a demon who rather than reward good kids with presents, instead captured particularly naughty children and took them back to his lair to eat them.

In addition to sharing the writer’s seat, Smith will be sharing the directorial seat as well. According to his post. The movie will be comprised of episodes titled The Krampus vs. the 3rd Grade, Hitler’s Krampus, Mask Maker, The Proposal, and The Bad Babysitter. They will be directed by Andy McElfresh, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Carol Banker, and Jennifer Schwalbach respectively.

When Smith started focusing so much of his time on podcasting I worried it would be the end of his movie career. I wasn’t complaining, I’m a huge fan of his podcasts and in reality I get a lot more laughs out of weekly episodes than I would waiting for a movie every couple of years. Happily, it’s been just the opposite, the podcasts seem to be helping him create more movies. It makes sense, Smith essentially sits down with his friends and colleagues for hours each week and brainstorms. Those brainstorming sessions are uninhibited and recorded for posterity. It seems only likely that some of those sessions would produce good ideas. Smith seems to agree, he often encourages others to create, it’s on of the reasons I like him, and he’s not afraid of sharing the tactics that work for him. Smith closed his recent post with the following, “Go record a podcast, kids. Don’t cost nothin’ but time and the potential yield is limitless.” Seems like good advice, you can’t argue with results.

The continuation of Smith’s podcast movie era however, will have to wait, Clerks 3 is next up to bat. Smith stated he plans to begin filming on April 7, with “Comes the Krampus” directly after. If you’re interested in listening to the source material for “Comes the Krampus” you can find it here along with more podcasts than you could listen to in a lifetime.