Review of Tusk (2014) by Brett B — 16 Dec 2014

I'll say this much for Kevin Smith's TUSK: whatever its flaws, I guarantee you've never seen a movie quite like it. The ballsy-ness of its premise is kind of remarkable, and there are definitely elements within which are truly unsettling and which work really well.

Fundamentally, though, Smith seems unable to completely commit to straight-faced horror, and the result is an awkward melding of comedy and fear. The things which befall Justin Long's protagonist are properly horrifying on in an intellectual and visceral sense, but the film undermines itself with tone-deaf moments of humor; all of the comedy is just a little too obvious, a little too self-indulgent, and the numerous jokes pertaining to the story's Canadian setting fall painfully flat.

Also on the comedy side of the movie's equation, we have the inclusion of a big name surprise guest star giving what can only be described as a baffling performance; the actor in question makes some REALLY bold character choices that pretty much don't work at all and essentially stop the movie dead every time he appears.

The character might work fine in an all-out comedy, but as the comic relief in what could otherwise be described as a pretty grotesque, "body horror" story, it doesn't work at all. Thankfully, though, we have Michael Parks to counteract the guest star, and he's absolutely terrific; he plays totally unhinged in a frightening plausible way, but he also incorporates the right kind of subtle humor (in stark contrast to the more jokey elements I complained about above) and even pathos in his portrayal of the character.

Parks basically elevates the movie entirely due to his work, and he makes the film worth a look (in addition to the out-there-ness of the storyline).