Tusk Movie Review - A Truly Transformative Tale

For those who follow the career of Kevin Smith this film has been a long time coming. It was first conceived in Smith's Smodcast #259.

This is where he and Scott Mosier developed what would eventually become the first steps of Tusk, and at the end of the episode Smith left it to the fans. #WalrusYes to make the film.

#WalrusNo to leave it be. The fans had spoken.

Smith first dabbled with the horror genre with Red State, and to the surprise of many, pulled it off beautifully. With a background in raunchy comedy we weren't sure what to expect. It was a pleasant surprise to see there was a lot more to the man than dirty jokes and witty dialogue.

With no delving into the background of this project one might go into the theater expecting a continuation down the horror path. That could be interpreted as the case up to a certain point, but this is less of a horror film and more of a black comedy.

A script that refuses to take itself seriously, but still hold nothing back.

As far as the story goes, it's easy to tell that this was something born from an hour long back and forth trying to top the last spoken absurdity. The two stories taking place, the past and present, are violently separate and it's hard to feel like they're connected. There is a bit going on below the surface of the plot, and some serious character development for Wallace, the lead.

That being said, the strength of this picture is the shock value and (like all Smith's scripts) the dialogue.

Bottom line: if you want a well crafted horror film this is not the film for you. If you like your comedy as black as black gets, make room in your top 5.