Beware Of Tusk

Tusk was... excuse me while I clear my throat... a massive train wreck.

Kevin Smith was trying to do something, but he couldn't help himself. It feels like he couldn't figure out what to do with the 'A' storyline and accidentally made two completely different movies. I wouldn't have quite as big a problem with this flick if it maintained the same level of quirk it inherited in the last third, throughout. But Tusk begins as sick horror fantasy and rapidly tumbles into a world of awkward, poorly delegated black comedy.

I'll come out and say the concept is lackluster at best to begin with. But usually we aren't asked by a filmmaker to sit down and actually watch such a piss-poor concept once the script is completed (if the script is completed) because most filmmakers would've thrown it in the trash long before an audience could ever get their hands on it. Look, I was never a fan of the idea that The Human Centipede put into our collective heads. And watching Tusk, I have to wonder why Kevin Smith, a guy who I actually like and who's films I frequently enjoy, would feel it made logical sense to make a poor ripoff of that concept...

Tusk is a bad ripoff with a weird attempt at a surprise in the second half, just as the budget seems to drop out. The walrus suit makeup is a bad joke at best. And while I think there are some solid acting performances and actually a few really well designed shots (particularly early on), I never once wanted to laugh or felt comfortable even being in the theatre for this, because at the end of the day Tusk is just garbage. Some people may disagree with me on this final statement, but Kevin Smith can do a lot better than this.