Review of Tusk (2014) by Harry W — 06 Oct 2014

With Kevin Smith directing and combining his sense of comedy with horror, Tusk sounded like an interesting film.

I can tell you this much, after seeing Tusk I left feeling uneasy. The experience was not the most consistent one, but I can say for sure that it was a good film overall.

The central issue at the heart of Tusk is its tonal inconsistency. As the film walks the path between being a horror and a comedy, it is never really consistent with precisely which one it wants to be. It ranges between being hilarious at some moments and intense at others which means that it does appropriately touch upon the two central intended genres, but it never really sticks to one. This means that sometimes it is hard to be sure whether to be freaked out by some scenes or laugh at them. As a whole I found there was a mix of both in the experience, but it was shaky. The atmosphere was constantly changing and while it did work as a whole, the fact that it ranges between horror and comedy can prove a bit much at times.

Also, Tusk uses antagonist Howard Howe's obsession with Walruses as the driving force for part of the story but doesn't really explore it. It lightly touches upon the idea, but although it is obviously key to the narrative, the actual amount of depth it goes into about this is not that strong. There is also not enough time to really get a grasp on what Wallace Bryton is experiencing in his changed state as from then on the story shifts back and forth between that and Ally Leon and Teddy Craft on their search for him. A lot of the issue with that is the pacing because while the film depicts Wallace Bryton's suffering and physical transition slowly in the first half of the film, it speeds up a bit much during the second half and becomes more a series of vignettes. So the pacing is the other narrative inconsistency in Tusk.

But in the end, I really did enjoy Tusk.

As a horror film, Tusk really does work. As part of the humour in the film, Tusk is clearly a send-up of the recent body horror film The Human Centipede: First Sequence. However, Tusk works a lot better because of how it points out the ridiculous nature of the creator and doesn't put all its focus into ridiculously disgusting concepts. There are some really intense moments in Tusk because it is a strongly atmospheric film and in all it was genuinely freaky in some moments for both its concept and how it was executed from a visual perspective. The visual imagery in Tusk is interesting. The cinematography, scenery and production design is all very nice, but the most important aspect is the artificial Walrus suit. It looks genuine enough to freak audiences out, but at the same time it looks artificial in the appropriate sense. By that I mean it looks fake enough to be funny, but at the same time it's fake enough to be realistic which reinforces the horror concept. All in all, Tusk really does work as a horror film due to use of an interesting and original concept which has some moments exploring the idea of differences between man and animal. The script in the film keeps things interesting and puts some decent dramatic moments in there, but more importantly it plays a key role in ensuring that Tusk does the job of making audiences laugh.

As a comedy, Tusk is pretty funny. Some of the jokes are hit and miss, but audiences who are fond of a lot of Kevin Smith's signature material should have a good few laughs along the way. Walrus is appropriately ridiculous and self-deprecating which means it works as both a legitimate horror film and a parody of one at the same time. As it is the main concept itself sounds hilarious on the surface, and along the way there are a lot of great characters and subplots which make it all the more funny. The comedy in the film is crude at times while ridiculous at others in a very Kevin Smith style which gives the film a light nature to counter the hard hitting nature of the horror themes. It isn't fully consistent, but ultimately Tusk proves to be funny enough in the long run to entertain.

And the cast in Tusk do their part to help the film move along.

Justin Long is a great lead. He characterizes Wallace Bryton as a rather shallow and egotistical person, but at the same time he has a certain funny and likable demeanour to him. Either way, he remains an interesting character and Justin Long deals with the humour in the film very nicely. When he becomes Mr. Tusk, he does a decent job as well because his acting is mostly physical and what he puts into the character in the form of a Walrus is great. He gradually learns to use proper physical movements and begins to embrace his life as a Walrus in a wacky but interesting transition. All in all, Justin Long stays true to the character the entire time and deals with both the comedy and the drama of his situations very well, so he makes a compelling lead actor.

Michael Parks also does a nice job. He remains serious the entire time throughout the film whether the material is dramatic or comedic, and in doing so he contributes a good level of insanity to the part. He combines an interesting level of sophisticated madness with wisdom which fits the profile of the role easily. His character Howard Howe has a level of madness which works as a combination of hilarious and intimidating, like a mix of Dieter Laser in The Human Centipede: First Sequence and Kathy Bates in Misery yet remaining silly like a Kevin Smith character should. Michael Park's performance is fuelled by charismatic line delivery and reminds me a little of Jeff Bridges, so it is an efffective one.

But Johnny Depp, credited as Guy Lapointe stands out as the finest member of the cast. Johnny Depp is the best actor in Tusk for a different reason than in any other film he has appeared in. His role is so out there, a character created seemingly for a cartoon show who has the most ridiculously quirky way of speaking, and part of the reason it is so funny is because it is actually Johnny Depp in the role. He has never once been as funny as he was in Tusk because Guy Lapointe is such a ridiculous character intended obviously for comic relief, and the charisma that Johnny Depp brings to the role is just spot on as he says every word with such a wacky accent and easy comic energy that it makes the film such a fun romp whenever he is around. Johnny Depp works perfectly with Kevin Smith's material in Tusk to deliver a performance which is all too memorable and undoubtedly one of the best elements of the film.

It is good to see Haley Joel Osement active again because he proves that he still has natural talent in a performance which brings support to the story with both comedy and drama. Genesis Rodriguez is also good.

So although Tusk is inconsistent in pacing and tone, it has an interesting concept which is freaky and hilarious at times thanks to Kevin Smith and the cast is spot on.