Review of Tusk (2014) by Capnamar — 25 Sep 2014

An interesting coincidence occurred on the drive home from seeing this movie. I was listening to my local rock station, and the song “More Human than Human” by Rob Zombie came on. As I listened, I couldn’t help but feel the song was all too appropriate for the experience I’d just been through. Both pieces of work were twisted, unique, and contained a dark comic edge. Not to mention the incredibly apt title of the song, poignantly reflecting a central point of the film. It caused me to appreciate even more what was already an incredible and chilling experience brought on by one of my all-time favorite directors, the one and only Kevin Smith.

Tusk follows the story of Wallace Bryton (Justin Long), who hosts the comedy podcast The Not-See Party with his best friend Teddy (Haley Joel Osment), in which they discuss weird and unique people. Wallace gets the ultimate opportunity when on a trip to Canada, he discovers an ad from a mysterious old man named Howard Howe (Michael Parks) offering free lodging in exchange for household chores, and promising to share stories of his wearied life. Wallace takes him up on the offer, but soon comes to discover that Howard is more than he appears. Before long, Wallace finds himself trapped and at the mercy of a man whose obsessions range from old-timey alcohol to…oh, let’s say, walruses.

I find myself having to be rather elusive with my descriptions here, and it is for one simple reason: this is not a film to spoil. As I mentioned before, I am a big fan of Kevin Smith’s directing style. Clerks is one of my favorite films of all time due to its simplicity, its rejection of cinematic conventions, and its excellent script. These are all elements which Smith has mastered over the years with his comedies. Unfortunately, his previous horror outing, Red State, although heavily saturated with Smith’s various tropes, failed to draw me in thanks to lack of any sense of focus and a shameful waste of a very intriguing premise. When it came to Tusk, Smith vowed to fix the mistakes he made with Red State and create a proper, satisfying horror experience. Thankfully, he remained true to his word.

I intentionally refused any trailers for this film before its release. I had heard the story of its conception, stemming from an ad Smith and longtime friend Scott Mosier had heard about and discussed on their show, SModcast, and which immediately sparked an idea for a film based on the ad. To me, this was enough exposition. I tend to avoid trailers in general nowadays, so that I can go into the film with a more open mind and give myself an element of surprise at things I otherwise may not have seen coming.

With Tusk, I absolutely feel that this was the correct choice, as this is a film built entirely around tension. There is a phenomenal extended sequence early on in the film in which Howard, living up to his promises, is telling Wallace stories of his life, including a friendship with Ernest Hemingway. Michael Parks wears Kevin Smith’s dialogue like a champion and gives a delightful performance as he is relating these tales for what is probably five to ten minutes of screen time. The scene is just the two characters sitting in a room talking, accompanied by the occasional flashback; a simple premise, yet extremely effective. Then Howard begins to tell a story of being stranded at sea and being saved by, of all things, a walrus. This is when the tension kicks in, and after a good ten minutes at this point of hearing these two converse, it is a welcome addition to the emotion that has already built up. It is an expertly crafted scene to lead into the insanity that follows.

Unfortunately, the best aspects of the film, I am choosing not to discuss in very much detail. All I can say is throughout the film, it is very heavily implied what climax the events are headed toward, and the final product does not disappoint one bit. The second half of this film shocked and disturbed me to my core. I sat in the theater, mouth agape, attempting to absorb what was being presented to me, and feeling as though I was failing. As previously mentioned, this is thanks to some of the best tension building I’ve seen in a film in quite some time. This is not to mention the terrific cast. Michael Parks, who was one of the only redeeming qualities regarding Red State, can go from a wise, wearied old man to a psychotic then back again instantaneously, as well as anything in between. The range is incredible. I am not normally a fan of Justin Long as an actor, and he does grate a bit early on, however he, too, shows a surprising amount of range and depth in this role. The supporting cast is commendable as well, including the out-of-left-field addition of Johnny Depp, of all people, as the film approaches its third act. At first Depp seems like an almost random insertion, but he immediately proves that he belongs with the rest of this twisted movie.

Depp provides a comedic angle, something else this film does very well. It is classified as a horror-comedy, and although it leans far more toward horror, there is certainly a good amount of dark humor thrown into this. This allows Kevin Smith’s comedic tropes to shine through once again, although this time with a much more demented edge, which is simply wonderful.

I cannot stress enough that there is a very good reason for me being so discreet with my descriptions of Tusk. This was by far the most unique and unforgettable experience I’ve had thus far in a theater in 2014. I walked away from the film thoroughly disturbed, somewhat shivering, at the sights and emotions this film brings to life. This is a film that I believe will stick with me long after the fact, and may even enter the ranks of my favorite films ever made. To mix the Kevin Smith writing standards with one of the most twisted premises that could have been conjured up…the result is something purely one of a kind. I cannot recommend the film enough, although I must urge caution, as it is remarkably gruesome and graphic in its second half. For me, however, this was a haunting experience for which I thank Mr. Smith very much.