Tusk

If you grew up in the 90´s like myself, you probably heard of Kevin Smiths films Clerk, and Mallrats. Small independent films that became cult films, especially for a younger audience. As the 90´s continued to influence director Kevin Smith, he realeased 2 more films, Chasing Amy, and the weird, still funny film called Dogma. It all changed when he decided to do a film on his characters Jay & Silent Bob, from his first feauture film Clerks. The film Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back was a tribute to vulgar humour, Star Wars, and a lot of classic ingredients from many motion pictures. This was a really funny film, stupid ? Yes, but that was the whole point. One of the best film Kevin directed after the cliché romantic comedy Jersey Girl, was the sequel to Clerks. Simply called Clerks 2. To be honest, i feel the sequel is even better than the original film. If you have not seen any of them, i suggest you check them out. After making some bigger movie studio productions, i was really surprised to see Kevin Smith going back to independent film again, with Red State. This was a step away from his usual genres, more into a horror and thriller mixed combination. Red State showed us a different side of religious cult groups, how far some of them can go in the name of Jesus. A really interesting project, and it turned out to be a nice surprise. A box office failure, but the critics were positive at least. That was 3 years ago, now director Kevin Smith is back with another small film, Tusk. The film is based on a story from his SModcast, so he decided to make a film on this particular story. Ever since i Heard Tusk was coming out, i was really excited. Not only because it was another smaller film by director Kevin Smith, but he is working together again with actor Michael Parks. He played the pastor in Red State, and did an excellent performance. Is Tusk Another quality film delivered by legend Kevin Smith, or have his glory days passed by for a new generation film makers ?

Wallace Bryton ( Justin Long ) and Teddy Craft ( Haley Joel Osment ) are friends, doing their own popular podcast online called The Not-See Party. This podcast show try and find the craziest, most odd people, and present them online for their listeners. Teddy finds a boy who call himself Kill Bill Kid, a nerd boy who try and do some sword movements, but accidently chop off his own leg. Wallace decide to travel to Canada to interview Kill Bill Kid, to find out if he can interview him to their podcast show. As he arrives to Canada, and find his home, he finds out that Kill Bill Kid is dead. He sits down in a local bar, dissapointed that he did not get an interview. As he goes into the bathroom, he notice a letter on the poster wall. An old man who call himself Howard Howe ( Michael Parks ), want someone to visit him to hear him tell his stories, from his life filled with travelling, strange happenings not many people have experienced. Wallace realise he need to come home with something, and decide to take the letter and find the home of Howard Howe. Wallace manage to do so, and is very fascinated by the stories Howard begin to tell. But after a while, Wallace feels dizzy and fell on the ground. As he wakes up, he finds out that his left leg have been surgically removed.  Wallace realise that Howard have a plan, what he is goint to do with him further on in this process. Wallace manage to find his phone, calls for his girlfriend Ally ( Genesis Rodriguez ). She does not answer, but Wallace leave information on her voicemail. Time is running out for Wallace, since Howard have a special surprise for him.

The scenes with Justin Long and Michael Parks proves that Kevin Smith can write really good dialougue. Tusk is without a doubt another great release from Smith, and the odd mix of horror, comedy and drama is well served with interesting details. You get a sense that Kevin Smith is trying to find new interesting stories, instead of the same usual stuff Hollywood put out. The audience does not seem to find his films nowdays, that is such a shame. Because fascinating stories are hard to find, and most directors only do what they belive will be successfull at the box office. Film makers who take chances, and don´t care about the box office numbers are those who should have more respect. Tusk is a proof of that, this is not the typical wide release film that people will notice. One detail i really enjoy in Tusk, is the bizarre character of Howard Howe. He may not seem strange at first, but i love the fact that Kevin Smith builds up a certain tension in the air, as if something is very wrong with this old man. The main actors Justin Long and Michael Parks is the reason why i enjoy Tusk. These 2 actors on their screen time together, bring the quality of Tusk together. The acting feels solid, and the dialogue floats so smooth, you don´t want to stop listening. The story itself, considering it is based on a story from Kevin´s SModcast, feels very odd but fascinating. If you don´t like intelligent independent films, this is not for you. I am on the other hand, love original stories, especially if there is solid acting included. The first scenes of Tusk feels pretty typical Kevin Smith style, but once Michael Parks show his disturbed personality, Tusk lifts to a complete different level. This is the best film of Kevin Smith for many years, very different, very disturbing, and i find myself smiling, even how strange the story sounds. Johnny Depp looks funny as the ex cop who try and locate Howard, his french english mixed dialect sounds silly but fits the character somehow. Everything is not perfect, but considering for such a low budget, i would say that Kevin Smith proves why he such a great director when he finds the right material. Support Tusk, buy it on dvd or blu ray since it is released in december, quality independent films are needed.

Rating: DDDD