As a filmmaker and pop culture icon, Kevin Smith is a polarizing figure - even within his own fanbase. Some want him to keep cranking out potty-mouthed social situations, while others wouldn’t mind if he retired and stuck with podcasting and Tweeting about Batman. With his upcoming horror flick Tusk, Smith apparently took everyone’s opinions about his career and threw them in the bottom of the ocean, or wherever it is that walruses like to hang out and scare the shit out of people.
The film’s first trailer, seen above, is wholly unlike anything the director has put out in the past, and even though it seemingly gives away a lot of the plot, I’ll be damned if it isn’t one of the creepiest trailers I’ve ever seen in my life. Did you SEE Michael Parks’ eyeballs? If you did, then you’ve probably called a babysitter over to your house to wait by your bed until you fall asleep. (Unless that’s an ever weirder idea.) It’s no wonder Smith decided to bring Parks back into the fold after his powerful performance in Red State. The guy makes it look like he eats crazyballs for breakfast every morning.
Tusk, which was first conceived during one of Smith’s many podcasts, tells the story of a podcaster (Justin Long) who takes an assignment to interview Parks’ Howard Howe, a maritime man with a troubled past (that’s putting it fucking mildly.) He has an obsession with walruses, and is determined to turn Long’s character into one. Cosplay 2.0? Does he have 15 copies of Human Centipede in his DVD library?
When Long never returns home, his girlfriend Allison (Genesis Rodriguez) and best friend Teddy (Haley Joel Osment) head out to look for him. Thankfully, the trailer doesn’t really get into what happens when they go off on the hunt, but we’re not optimistic about Long’s fate. Things get pretty goddamned psycho there in the second half of the trailer. The bit where he’s cheering above the water tank? Gah. Or the one where he starts growling after mimicking Long’s screams? It’s legitimately terrifying, and it’s from Kevin Smith, the guy who lovingly placed "37 dicks" into the cinematic lexicon. I honestly couldn’t be more excited to see this flick.
And there’s still the issue of the secret guest star detective that Smith has been teasing since first announcing Tusk’s existence. There’s no sign of him (or her) here, but I hope whoever it is has the gusto to stand up to Parks. This is Trailer Oscar material.
A24 will be putting Tusk into everyone’s tea when it hits theaters on September 19th. Have a spot?
