Review of Tusk (2014) by Robert I — 17 Sep 2014

I had said "Red State" was 2/3 of a good movie and 1/3 weed induced garbage. Sadly here "Tusk" is 1/3 good and 2/3 weed induced garbage. When the movie is disturbing, it is creepy. But mostly this is a film that is not very good at being a horror film and that may very well be intentional.

What works well is its surrealist dark comedy tone. Unfortunately, the pacing is off - made worse by poorly placed flashback scenes that stop the movie in its tracks. Michael Parks, like in 'Red State', is captivating and fantastic.

Justin Long not as good as his role in "Jeepers Creepers", but I feel really stepped up a notch to playing this role. I laughed more than I do for other horror films, so that's good I think.

I had an hysterical fit during the end credits where Smith flat out replays a portion of the podcast that inspired this film and you can hear how close he got it to the original conception. Worthwhile for fans of films like "Basket Case"? Absolutely.

... I also feel like this is what "Hannibal" would be like if Kevin Smith directed an episode.