"Tusk" is about an aged sailor, Howard Howe (Michael Parks), transforming an arrogant podcaster (Justin Long) into a walrus.
A walrus!
The story originated on writer-director Kevin Smith's "SMODcast," the internet show he fled to when his film career started to flatline. During one of the shows, Smith and his co-host, Scott Mosier, came upon a fake classified on the website Gumtree, requesting someone to dress up as a walrus in exchange for free lodging. Although the ad was fake, the two spent the rest of the podcast hashing out the entire plot for "Tusk."
It's a funny movie. It's a scary movie. Ultimately, "Tusk" is a Kevin Smith movie, in the most classic fashion. It's raunchy, rowdy and topical; Canadians are poked fun at for some inexplicable reason. But like all of his best movies, "Tusk" manages to hit the right beats between scat jokes. It's hard not to empathize with Justin Long's Wallace Bryton, who starts the movie as host of the "Not-See" podcast — shallow, petty, and struggling to figure out who he is, and that's before a psychopath shoves tusks into his mouth. Long kills the role, showing a range I wasn't aware he possessed. The final scene of the movie, which I won't describe, is as touching as it is disturbing.
The true star of the movie, however, is Michael Parks. Smith has spoken at length about using "Tusk" to give Parks, who also starred in "Red State," a showcase. Parks nails it. Howard Howe, the old sailor, the man who was once shipwrecked onto a small island where his only savior was a walrus, is a truly terrifying movie maniac. He delights in every little bit of dialogue; his rendition of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," about 40 minutes into the film, is breathtaking. Parks is worth the price of admission alone.
While I can't speak highly enough of "Tusk"'s two stars, the film isn't without flaws. I mentioned earlier that the film is a Kevin Smith film, and with that comes a certain amount of self-indulgence. One particular subplot serves as a showcase for another famous actor, whose presence I'll keep secret only to say that it distracts heavily from the meat of the story. This plotline is wall-to-wall scat jokes, and once the surprise at seeing the unnamed thespian perform them wears off, it feels like serious script padding.
Regardless, "Tusk" is Kevin Smith's best film since 2006. It's a strange story that pulls few punches. It'll make you laugh; it'll make you cry; it'll make you die just a little bit on the inside.
Isn't that what you want from an autumn horror movie?