The fanboy king and Clerks director has made something shocking, funny, and fresh in Tusk .
Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Smith, Genesis Rodriguez, and Justin Long during the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 7 in Toronto.
Jonathan Leibson / Getty Images for Variety
It's been 20 years since Clerks. It's a number Kevin Smith, wearing his signature hockey jersey and ensconced in a Toronto hotel room two days after the world premiere of his latest movie Tusk, repeats with self-conscious pride. Not every '90s wunderkind has lasted so long or come off a Toronto International Film Festival screening filled with cheering fans in walrus masks. "Twenty years into your career, you're really not supposed to be doing anything good or different," he told BuzzFeed News.
Well, there's no arguing that Tusk — the proudly batshit new feature Smith just premiered at the festival, which is set to open in theaters on Sept. 19 — is very different. And it's also surprisingly good. The unpredictable horror-comedy marries Smith's distinctive voice with some startling body horror, and stars Justin Long as Wallace Bryton, who travels to a remote area in Canada to interview a promising-sounding oddball for his podcast.
Though Wallace is looking for a crazy story to record, he becomes one himself when he ends up in the clutches of the insane Howard Howe (Michael Parks), who's fixated on creating a human walrus using a custom suit, amateur surgery, and brutal psychological conditioning. Haley Joel Osment plays Wallace's podcasting partner, Genesis Rodriguez is his girlfriend, and an uncredited Johnny Depp plays a quirky French Canadian detective.
Michael Parks in Tusk
A24
