Kevin Smith took his one and only gig as a studio director-for-hire on the dismal 2010 buddy comedy Cop Out, an experience he’s regretted ever since, to the extent he described true darkness as having to work with Bruce Willis. To recharge his creative batteries, the filmmaker took a detour into the horror genre, about as far away from his slacker roots as you could possibly imagine.
Red State was received warmly by critics and audiences, signaling that Smith may have a future in the realms of ultra-violent thrills and chills, but his next effort proved to be much more divisive. On paper, the concept of Tusk was insane, and it was just as nuts in execution.
Justin Long’s podcaster heads into the Canadian wilderness to interview Michael Parks’ reclusive Howard Howe, who harbors both an extraordinary past and a disturbing secret involving a walrus. To dive into any more specifics beyond that would be giving too much away, but rest assured; Tusk is one of the most batsh*t movies of the last decade.
Johnny Depp even shows up for a cameo buried under prosthetics and an even thicker accent as investigator Guy LaPointe, which isn’t even one of the ten most bizarre things to happen during the 101-minute running time. Some people loved it, others absolutely hated it, but Tusk definitely had people talking.
Seven years on, and it’s finding a new lease of life on streaming as per FlixPatrol, where Tusk has unexplainably become one of the fifteen most-watched titles on Amazon.