Tusk

Released: 2014
Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Michael Parks, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment, Genesis Rodriguez
Produced by: Demarest Films, XYZ Films, SModcast Pictures
Distributed by: A24
Rated: R (UK – 15)

“Let me tell you a story…”

Horror and comedy usually have a parasitic relationship, one leaching from the other. Most horror comedy mash-ups are B-movie titles with the preface that you won’t take it so seriously. Within that preface, the suspension of disbelief gets thrown away almost immediately, with some films such as The Evil Dead turning away from its horror franchise staples and roots to almost straight comedy in Army of Darkness. So can horror and comedy co-exist in the same space? Let’s find out.

Tusk is a passion project by famed New Jersey director Kevin Smith and much unlike his previous projects isn’t a comedy event totally. In fact, it’s more of a horror perspective with rather funny moments.

Wallace, played by Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball), is an asshole. There isn’t really another way to describe him. Just the kind of guy that any grown man or woman doesn’t want to associate themselves with. Well, Wallace runs a podcast called the Not-See party, which basically makes fun of unfortunate people. Wallace’s latest being a trip to Manitoba, Canada to interview a kid who, while making a video of him swinging around a katana, manages to cut his own leg off. When Wallace arrives the kid has already committed suicide. Wallace, refusing to return home empty-handed, finds a peculiar note at a bar. An old seafaring man beckons Wallace to his home in Bifrost.

Howard Howe, played by Michael Parks (Planet Terror, From Dusk Till Dawn), begins spinning yarns at a very uninterested Wallace. Each dipping its foot further and further into the macabre unbeknownst to our hero. What follows is a sickening and laugh-out-loud funny tale of a man and his love for a walrus.

Director Kevin Smith was once the golden child of the indie film following clerks. His career seemed to wane somewhat after becoming more of a cult icon presenting podcasts and making a few Jay and Silent Bob films. One of his podcasts was the inception of this film — detailing and describing it.

At a glance, Tusk is essentially a stoner horror film. At its release, it didn’t exactly get rave reviews and bombed terribly. Looking back at it now, I cannot see exactly where this comes from or its justifications as Tusk is a hidden gem.

I think nothing makes this point better than the performance of Michael Parks. His acting takes this movie to a new level. He is the essential cog that keeps the greater machine running and scenes without him seem to fall apart slightly. [SPOILERS] Parks even upstages Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Sweeney Todd) who has a surprise cameo as a detective on Howe’s case. [END OF SPOILER]

Parks definitely steals the show with a fantastic monologue. At one of their first meetings, Parks and Jason Long sit down for tea and have a chat. As Parks talks, the dialogue reaches further and further into the familiar and uncanny comfort of hearing an elder retell a traumatic story. While he goes on telling tales of seafaring adventures, Wallace seems only interested in certain parts and comes off downright disrespectful of the old man. It’s here where Smith as both director and writer flexes his talents. The dialogue is so good it’s almost as if Parks is reciting a tale from Robert Frost or James Joyce. Jason Long’s character symbolizes a different type of audience similar to the modern audience of moviegoers. The YouTube generation at its most grotesque (interrupting, being rude, etc.).

For me, this very scene stands on par with the scenes like the opening of Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds where the Nazi Lieutenant is speaking with the farmer at length about mundane things and the audience is intended to grow to like him. The mundanity of the conversation is offset by the context. Giving the viewer a relaxed but eerie sensation. It builds and builds until a pile of bodies litter the basement of the farmer’s house. It’s the same idea in Tusk, executed differently and more in tone with the rest of the film, but it builds and builds until Wallace is unconscious and Howe is smiling.

I can’t quite say that the film holds together after its first act, but it maintains a funny vibe at the very least. In particular, there is a moment, a final showdown of sorts, between the monstrous Wallace and Howe with the Fleetwood Mac song Tusk in the background (the song allegedly cost the largest part of the budget). The scene delves too deep into its comedy angle. Until this point, the horror was maintained enough for believability. Then it turns more toward the comedy side and only tries to grasp at balancing the horror and comedy with its ending shot. I was lost far enough back that it didn’t work the way I think it meant to.

Aside from what is mentioned above, there isn’t a whole lot to see here other than Michael Parks and Jason Long. The rest being appetizers to the meat of the film. The acting from the rest of the cast is very forgettable including Haley Joel Osment (Sixth Sense, A.I.) as Wallace’s best friend Teddy Craft, and Wallace’s girlfriend Ally (Genesis Rodriguez; Last Stand, Identity Thief). Each has their own interconnected subplots that aren’t worth going into here.

Tusk bridges a new gap and in some ways breaks new ground in horror comedy. Some scenes go into hilariously dark territory making you laugh, but afterward, you think about the dark element and get a sickly, uncomfortable feeling. Its audience is very niche as it won’t be for everyone, but for some of you, it will be a nice addition to your film experience.

Rating:

Thomas C:

Tusk is the first in director Kevin Smith’s True North trilogy. The next film is Yoga Hosers (released in 2016), and the last will be Moose Jaws.

Trailer:

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