Why Kevin Smith’s “Tusk” Failed as a Horror Comedy Film

«Tusk» is a 2014 horror comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith. The film is about a Canadian named Wallace Bryton (played by Justin Long) who runs a podcast about unusual and bizarre people.

While in Canada in search of a new story, he meets an old man named Howard Howe (played by Michael Parks) who claims he is a former sailor who was saved by a walrus and has had an obsession ever since animal developed. Howard offers Wallace to tell him his story, but when Wallace falls asleep drunk at Howard’s house, Howard kidnaps and tortures him. Howard gradually turns Wallace into a human version of a walrus and holds him captive. Wallace’s girlfriend Ally (played by Genesis Rodriguez) and his best friend Teddy (played by Haley Joel Osment) end up traveling to Canada to find and rescue Wallace, but are caught unaware by Howard’s devious plan.

«Tusk» is a bizarre and disturbing horror experience that is a mixture of body horror, comedy and psychological thriller. The film questions how far someone would go to get what they want and whether it’s possible to ever go back to normal after a horrible experience. Some critics have found “Tusk” confusing and tasteless, and the film is neither scary nor funny. The Hollywood Reporter called the film “weird and incredibly awkward,” while the Guardian called it “a bad idea that was executed even worse.” The industry feels that the film moves too slowly and relies too much on dialogue rather than visual effects and suspense. The Chicago Sun-Times described “Tusk” as “a film that fails to build its terrifying premise or maintain the suspense.”

In summary, «Tusk» was considered by many critics to be a failed, unpleasant and uninteresting film that failed to impress in terms of either horror or comedy. “Tusk” had a production budget of $3 million. However, the film had only grossed around $1.9 million at the box office worldwide. This means that financially the film was not a commercial success and did not fully recoup its budget.

«Tusk» was to be the first film in Kevin Smith’s so-called “True North Trilogy”. The idea behind the trilogy was to make three films, all set in Canada and focusing on Canadian themes and myths. “Yoga Hosers” was released in 2016 and a third film called “Mooses Jaws” is in development.