Tusk

PLOT:
 Wallace Bryton (played by Justin Long) and Teddy Craft (played by Haley Joel Osment) have become two popular podcasters by doing their podcasts on strange and/or funny stories. When they find a story about a boy that has a very bad accident with a sword that leads to him becoming a viral sensation, Wallace and Teddy make it a mission to get an interview with the boy. When arriving in Canada to do the interview, Wallace discovers that he won't be able to and has now made a trip to Canada with no payoff. While drowning his disappointment in a bar, Wallace comes upon a flyer of a man who has one of the most interesting stories that Wallace has ever heard and he wants to share it.

 Deep in a secluded area in Canada Wallace arrives at the home of Howard Howe, a crippled man who is more than eager to tell his story. What a story he has to tell too, one of adventure, new experiences, unexpected friendship, and one that leads to pure terror. Awaking the next morning strapped to a wheelchair himself, Wallace has become the hostage of Howard. Wallace has no idea what is about to happen to him but Howard is still telling his story, a story that is one with a very unhealthy relationship with walruses.

A TALE OF TERROR:
If you are a Kevin Smith fan, which most of the people that went to watch this movie in the theater are, you would know that the idea for Tusk started off as a joke on his own podcast. Kevin Smith himself states that this movie was one that was made by just seeing if he could actually get it made and then released. Tusk is also his first attempt at doing a horror movie and I got to say he has created a disturbing movie. If you have watched any of Kevin Smith's past movies you would know that he is more of a comedy writer with a flair for dialog. Being that this movie is a large step away from Kevin Smith's normal style movies there was a lot of doubt about how Tusk would turn out. Would it be good, would it even be scary or a true horror movie, or would this new venture in story telling be the downfall of his career?

Well, I've watched this movie twice now, once in the theater and now on Blu Ray, and I got to tell you that for me I'm still impressed with how this movie turned out. I was one of the skeptics that thought that Kevin Smith wasn't going to be able to pull off a serious horror movie. What I figured was that he would make a movie with more comedy and less horror but I was wrong. There's a very good balance of comedy and horror, as well as drama and surrealism being put into this movie.

If you want to watch a movie that will put the fear of how crazy people can be in this world, then Tusk is the movie for you. What happens in this movie, which I won't give away because seeing the progression of what Howard Howe does is what makes this movie disturbing. I'm still iffy on calling this a horror movie, more of a psychological thriller that will give you some thoughts into how depraved some people can be. Granted, the outcome at the end of the movie is where the truth is stretched by movie magic (if that's magic then I don't want magic) but it's leading up to that point that makes this movie disturbing.

However, there are a few slight problems with this movie. One being that the plot does drag along some and takes a little too long getting to the end point. Being that I like Kevin Smith, I like how well he can write dialog, but there's not as much in this movie as his previous movies which leads to too much wasted time. The beginning of the movie is good, has everything that it should, interesting characters, good dialog, and it starts with a story that makes you want to know where it's going. But then it gets there and kind of comes to a slow speed of going from then on. There's also the walrus suit that looks like what it is, a fake suit being worn that is made instill images of horror but more likely will bring out more giggles and wonderment. Still, for the way the movie was made and for how little, the suit is something that turned out better than what it could have been.  This is a decent movie, better than what I expected it to be, it has a good way in making you feel disturbed, and it is a bit disturbing itself, but it's also a low budget horror movie that has a wild story line. If not for the acting of Justin Long and especially Michael Parks who plays an excellent creepy guy, and the writing of Kevin Smith, Tusk wouldn't be as good as it is.

TUSK ON BLU RAY:
Watching Tusk on Blu Ray was much better than in the theater because of how sharp and clear the picture quality it is.  There's a lot of different colors and lighting being used in this movie, from the brights in the podcast room, the dark areas from when they are in the bar, as well as the browns being used in the home of Howard Howe. This movie looks good, there's no noise or grain being seen in the blacks, the audio levels are clear, and the picture quality is quite sharp. The special features are also good, with the podcast that started this movie, deleted scenes, and commentary.