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Kevin Smith is a filmmaker that many people admire. Dating back to 1994’s “Clerks” (his little indie film that could)Smith is a director who does things his way and has rarely succumbed to the whims of Hollywood, choosing instead to tell the stories he wants to tell, the way he wants to tell them. This was never more true than in 2014, when he directed “Tusk,” an absolutely bizarre body horror film that has to be seen to be believed. For those who are morbidly curious, it’s now streaming on Netflix.
The film follows Wallace (Justin Long), a brash American podcaster who braves the Canadian wilderness to interview Howard (Michael Parks), an old man with an incredible past. However, as Wallace unwittingly discovers that the man’s dark secret involves a walrus, he finds himself forced to participate in a very twisted plan to merge a human with an animal.
“Tusk” is not generally known to be one of Smith’s best filmsbut it is absolutely one of his most fascinating and strange. It’s also not for the faint of heart, as the body horror stuff gets pretty intense and graphic at times, which is out of character for those who know Smith for comedies like “Mallrats” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.”
Smith initially got the idea for “Tusk” from a listing in which a landlord offered someone free housing on the condition that they agreed to dress as a walrus. The whole thing was documented in the episode #259 of his podcast “SModcast”, with this episode titled (what else) “The Walrus and the Carpenter”.
Tusk was a major departure for Kevin Smith
Taking to Twitter (before “X”), Kevin Smith then called on his fans to use the hashtag #WalrusYes if they wanted to see him turn his idea into a film. The answer was clear and thus “Tusk” was born. “Six months after recording the podcast, we were on set and I said ‘Action.’ as Smith noted in an interview with /Film to promote “Tusk” in 2014.
The film cost less than $3 million to make and was released theatrically by A24 as one of the company’s first works. It was extremely controversial upon its release, with Germain Lussier calling it “an overly ambitious film from a reinvented filmmaker” that “starts well, turns around completely, then struggles to find its way back.” in his 2014 review of “Tusk” for /Film. The film also exploded at the box office, grossing just over $1.8 million.
It still represented a change for Smith. Not only that, but his original plan was for “Tusk” to kick off what he dubbed the “True North” trilogy, a series of films set in Canada. To date, however, only two films in the series – “Tusk” and its much-maligned sequel “Yoga Hosers” – have actually happened. A planned third entry, “Moose Jaws”, remains stuck in limbo.
But over time, “Tusk” found an audience. At some point, Smith even announced plans to release a sequel called “Tusks.” although this too has not yet been implemented. We’ll see if that changes, but in the meantime, for those interested in a twisted horror based on walruses in the Canadian wilderness, “Tusk” is just a few clicks away for Netflix subscribers right now.
