Kevin Smith is a weird guy. I mean, who in their right mind sets out to make a film about a psychopath abducting people and trying to surgically turn them into walruses?
Such is the simple, twisted premise of “Tusk,” Kevin Smith’s latest entry into his increasingly experimental filmography. When I first heard about the film, I wasn’t entirely sure that the world was ready for another “Human Centipede”-style movie, but being a fan of Smith’s previous work, I found myself curiously intrigued and cautiously optimistic.
So how was it? Well, let’s just say that I’m glad that I wasn’t eating anything during my viewing.
“Tusk” opens with Wallace (Justin Long) and the long-dormant Teddy (Haley Joel Osment)playing a couple of hugely successful podcast hosts who found success through making fun of embarrassing Internet videos on their Howard Stern-esque podcast.
While on a trip to Canada to interview a minor Internet celebrity, Wallace finds an interesting invitation to stay and listen to an old man’s tales of adventure. From here, “Tusk” shifts dramatically from what viewers are used to from a Smith comedy. The film eschews the funny, friendly banter between characters for a far more grotesque sense of humor.
Right off the bat, I could tell that this film’s sense of humor was not for the faint of heart. From the twisted monologues delivered by the film’s villain, Howard Howe, to the disturbing yet hilarious imagery, it’s clear this is a film created to please the masses of jaded horror fans.
Every joke has an air of self-awareness, and the film is packed with homages to classic horror films and references to Smith’s own repertoire. There’s even a cameo of epic proportions by a star who is no stranger to bizarre films.
The film really shines when it is reveling in its own absurdity, though its sense of self-awareness unfortunately can’t always make up for the film’s flaws.
About halfway through, it became clear that Smith hadn’t put much thought into the pacing of the film. By the third act, the film felt a bit lethargic, which is a shame considering how briskly it had been moving forward. The runtime is a meager 102 minutes, yet “Tusk” somehow manages to feel stretched thin by the end. Certain plot points are padded out beyond necessity with relatively unfunny dialogue, and there are moments where Smith seems to have become a bit too overindulgent with the grotesquerie.
Fortunately, these flaws don’t overshadow Smith’s impressively meticulous direction.
Scenes are framed well, the editing feels quite deliberate, and the audio mixing is suitably eerie. “Tusk” is one of those films that is able to utilize every element of the medium to elicit some sort of reaction, and it mostly uses them for a comedic effect. However, when it takes a break from making the audience laugh, it can genuinely be an unsettling experience.
Altogether, this makes it somewhat tonally inconsistent, but for the most part, Smith does a great job of integrating the horror into the humor. It’s a bold move to ask the audience to laugh at the absurdity of the main character’s suffering, but it’s a strategy that often pays off.
By the time I had reached the melancholic ending, I was both disturbed and in stitches. Still, I can’t help but feel that Smith wanted to say something more. The film is funny and well-directed, but it feels entirely trivial. I want to believe that Smith was trying to provide some form of social commentary, but any message he was trying to send is muddled by the sheer absurdity and self-awareness of the film.
Thankfully, while those two aspects make for a lack of depth, they also make it hugely enjoyable and entertaining.
“Tusk” may not be what defines Kevin Smith’s career, but it’s nice to see that the man hasn’t lost his edge.