After multiple patrons and listeners requested, we sat down and watched Tusk on Netflix. We regretted our decision.



This film is all blubber and no craft. Kevin Smith proves his limitations with this failure of a body horror film. In this Tusk Review episode we break down what went wrong and what went right with the execution.







Skip to Intro - 0:42Skip to Trailer - 5:59Skip to Synopsis - 08:51Skip to Review - 10:23Skip to Score - 17:07 Skip to Spoilers - 21:36Skip to Final Recommendations - 1:02:04Skip to Taglines - 1:08:00Skip to Horror Movie News - 1:10:54 Skip to Outro - 1:28:34



Tusk Poster



Also, the face I would make if I was forced to watch this movie again.



Tusk Trailer




https://youtu.be/BCQJnOn0ru0
Tusk Official HD Trailer



Tusk Movie Synopsis



This horror movie is brought to you by the same guy that brought you Yoga Hosers and Cop Out. He now brings you a body horror movie based on a joke craigslist personal ad. In Tusk, Justin Long, plays Walrus, I mean Wallace Bryton, who runs a podcast with friend Teddy Craft (Haley Joel Osmond). Their podcast is mostly based off of making fun of internet cringe videos, and as such, Wallace flies to Canada to interview this movie universes equivalent of the Star Wars kid.





Watch TuskTusk Full MovieClick to Watch Tusk











When Wallace arrives, he finds out that unfortunately, his interviewee has killed himself. Desperate to find material for their upcoming episode, Wallace then discovers a bizarre personal ad in the bathroom stall of a bar. He goes to meet an enigmatic retired seaman named Howard Howe played by Michael Parks. Mr Howard tells tale of his adventures at sea and of a particular shipwreck where he was miraculously saved by a passing walrus. Before long, Wallace finds himself drugged and captive to Howard's twisted plot to recreate his walrus savior at Wallace’s expense. 



Short Review of Tusk



Sound interesting? It’s not.



Tusk is what you get when you make a movie based on a joke. The premise is entertaining enough for a fake trailer, but not a feature length film, and definitely not with Smith at the helm. I expected a lot more, but the commitment and budget did not pull off the intense and twisted body horror tale necessary to hold my attention. It was shot in 15 days with $3 million and it somehow feels more rushed and cheaper than that.



Check Out Our Review of IT (2017)




https://www.horrormovietalk.com/2019/09/04/it-2017-review/




Instead of focusing on the dread of slowly being turned into a Walrus, Smith focused on creating a panoply of redundant characters delivering redundant dialogue at length. For a body horror film, there is very little care given to the design and shooting of the actual body horror. Smith blows his load halfway through the film and really has nowhere to go after that.



Score for Tusk Movie



2/10



Origin of the Idea of Tusk



The movie is based on a fake ad from Chris Parkinson from Brighton, England. He offered free rent to anyone willing to dress in a walrus suit and pretend to be the animal for two hours a day.



The advert was a hoax, but after Smith discussed it on his Smodcast podcast with co-host Scott Mosier, he began to think about mull the idea of turning it into a feature film.



“Something snapped in my brain, and it’s only happened one other time in my life.” That other time was 20 years ago, when “I wondered why people didn’t make movies about me and my friends talking about movies and pussy and ‘Star Wars.’ So I did, and it was ‘Clerks,’” Smith said.



The Good Elements of Tusk



Michael Parks is undeniably, a great actor, and he gets to display his talents well in this movie. Kevin Smith states that he wrote the film specifically for Parks, and wouldn't make it without him.



My favorite moments in the film were him doing a little delighted dance watching his victim, and him yelling ferociously as a whining Justin Long.



Spoilers for Tusk