By Nicholas Farinola, Contributing Writer ||
Where do I even begin with Tusk? I can confidently say it is the weirdest movie I have ever seen (and I’ve seen The Human Centipede also). Three words I would use to describe the movie are: disgusting, hilarious, and weird.
The story begins in Los Angeles, where a podcaster named Wallace Bryton (Justin Long) visits Canada to question this one old man, Howard Howe (Michael Parks), with an incredible tale that must be heard by everyone on the Internet. Bryton is a cheating, crude, and just plain horrible excuse for a man. His girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) constantly questions him on his choices in life, and she notices a change in the man she once loved. Bryton’s podcasts are rude representations of both him and his partner, Teddy Craft (Haley Joel Osment).
Bryton interviews Howard Howe in his house in the middle of the woods, but what Bryton does not know, is that he is in the presence of one of the most notorious killers in the world. Howe, responsible for over 25 murders, wants to turn Wallace into a walrus. Yeah, that’s right, a walrus.
Howe is a sick man with a somewhat sad tale of his adventures at sea. His ship sank, and he was left for dead, surrounded by nothing but open ocean. His shipmates were eaten by sharks, and he assumed his fate would be similar. Just when death had him by the throat, he was saved by a walrus (I know, sounds really cheesy, but let me continue). Left to die on this island with nothing to eat, Howe had to make a choice: eat the walrus or die in the sun. He could never let go of that memory, so his plan is to recreate his best friend, Mr. Tusk, and that’s where Bryton comes in to play. Craft and Bryton’s girlfriend then go on a long journey to find their friend that is in some deep trouble.
The movie is just weird, but not the bad kind of weird. It’s not for the faint of heart by any means, but it brings up an intriguing premise that is just so out of the box. Just watching the process of turning Wallace into a walrus is so sick that I could not help but to turn away at parts.
Surprisingly, in the darkest parts of the movie, I couldn’t help but laugh, and I wasn’t the only one. Tusk is so funny in a dark way. The idea is so disgusting, but the actors play the roles in a way that it is so preposterous that it’s hilarious at many parts. I have not seen anything like this movie. I have seen many weird movies, especially the movies on Netflix, but this just creates a genre of its own. On that note, I have to give director Kevin Smith credit for creating something new on such a small budget.
I can’t talk about Tusk forever without spoiling the rest of the movie, but I just want everyone to see it. It’s one of those movies released that doesn’t get much hype, but it was well worth my ticket.
First-year Nick Farinola is a contributing writer. His email is nfarino@fandm.edu.