Tusk

Critics Consensus

Tusk is pleasantly ridiculous and charmingly self-deprecating, but that isn't enough to compensate for its thin, overstretched story.

45%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 131

36%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 12,261
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Tusk Photos

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Movie Info

Red State director Kevin Smith takes the helm for this horror film starring Justin Long as a podcaster who is targeted by a sadistic killer while attempting to land an interview with a misanthropic adventurer (Michael Parks). Genesis Rodriguez and Haley Joel Osment co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
  • Rating:
    R (for some disturbing violence/gore, language and sexual content)
  • Genre:
    Horror
  • Directed By:
    Kevin Smith
  • Written By:
    Kevin Smith
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    A24 Films

Cast

Justin Long
as Wallace Bryton
Genesis Rodriguez
as Ally Leon
Haley Joel Osment
as Teddy Craft
Michael Parks
as Howard Howe
Johnny Depp
as Guy Lapointe
Ralph Garman
as Frank Garmin
Harley Morenstein
as Border Agent
Jennifer Schwalbach Smith
as Gimli Slider Waitress
Harley Quinn Smith
as Girl Clerk #1
Lily-Rose Depp
as Girl Clerk #2
Ashley Greene
as Convenience Store Customer
Zak Knutson
as Ernest Hemingway
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News & Interviews for Tusk

New on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Equalizer, Tusk, and More
Video: Who is This Michael Parks Character, Anyway?
RT Podcast: Ep. 055 – New movies & TV, plus Liam Neeson & Kevin Smith interviews
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Critic Reviews for Tusk

All Critics (131) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (59) | Rotten (72)

  • Justin Long and Johnny Depp join the "Clerks" director for a weird, unpredictable movie that still feels like only Smith could have made it.

    October 28, 2015 | Rating: B+ | Full Review…

    Eric Kohn

    indieWire
    Top Critic

  • Nice as it would be to herald Tusk as a return to Smith's bold early period, the movie has a lurching tone and an airless atmosphere.

    October 16, 2014 | Full Review…

    Richard Corliss

    TIME Magazine
    Top Critic

  • Smith has always had a weakness for protracted dialogue, and in Parks he has a fitting muse.

    October 10, 2014 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Philippa Hawker

    The Age (Australia)
    Top Critic

  • If Kevin Smith was stoned when he thought up his excellent walrusian nightmare, then marijuana is the best creative medicine.

    October 3, 2014 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

    Brad Wheeler

    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic

  • "Excess" is Smith's middle name, so the show goes on . . . and on.

    October 2, 2014 | Rating: 1.5/4 | Full Review…

    Peter Howell

    Toronto Star
    Top Critic

  • Tusk is not a particularly good movie, but the vivid anxiety dream at its heart makes it one of the most personal films this writer-director has ever made.

    September 19, 2014 | Full Review…

    Bilge Ebiri

    New York Magazine/Vulture
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (131)

Audience Reviews for Tusk

  • Jan 09, 2016
    I've been somewhat ambivalent about most of Smith's career but I love the fact that he's going down this increasingly bizarre and unexpected road. This movie obviously isn't going to work for everyone, but I honestly knew I wouldn't care how bad it was, I just had to see it. And really, it's not that bad. It's too comically bizarre to be bad.
    Super Reviewer
  • Jul 29, 2015
    It's a good idea but handled shoddily, then Johnny Depp turns up and manages to make everything even worse.
    Marcus W Super Reviewer
  • May 19, 2015
    If this film accomplished anything, it's allowing me to gain the self control I never had to not punch the screen (mostly Justin Long's face). Tusk is a disastrous film that bears nothing worth while for the duration of the entire film. It has one of the corniest stories I've ever seen, all the characters are unredeemably repulsive, the dialogues were likely written by a 5 year old, the acting was even worse to begin with, I don't know how Smith even allowed this film to be released at all. Smith never fails to disgust me as a self proclaimed film director.
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
  • Feb 24, 2015
    "Is man, indeed, a walrus at heart?" Though it's not a good movie, Tusk proves to be the best film Kevin Smith has made in years. It's insanely bizarre and horrific, but oddly captivating in a strange sort of way. The story follows a podcaster named Wallace who answers an ad by an elderly man wishing to trade stories of his exotic travels, but he turns out to be a serial killer who captures Wallace and begins to surgically transform him into a walrus. Both Michael Parks and Justin Long give incredible performances and really commit to their roles. The problem is with Smith's storytelling and directing, which is inconsistent. And the ending doesn't really work. Yet despite its weaknesses, Tusk is a fascinating horror-comedy that's perversely entertaining.
    Dann M Super Reviewer
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