Editorials
How Walruses Became the Stuff of Nightmares: Looking Back on Kevin Smith’s ‘Tusk’ 5 Years Later
As a lifelong horror fan I’ve seen lots of gross things. Having watched films like Saw and Hostel, while being aware of how both use graphic body horror, I’ve never felt unnerved watching them. I’ve always considered myself to have an iron gut when it comes to body horror. And then I saw Kevin Smith’s Tusk.
Smith has been one of my favorite directors ever since I first saw Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back; his work with Mallrats and Clerks have made for some of my favorite comedies. But when I heard he was making a horror movie, I was caught off guard. Nowadays we’re becoming used to hearing about artists with a background in comedy taking on horror, such as Jordan Peele and Chris Rock regarding Us and the Saw reboot (respectively). After reading the premise for Tusk, how a man is turned into a walrus, I had to see the film. I didn’t have any strong expectations and figured it might give me a couple laughs; however, while I found myself in brief moments of uncomfortable chuckling, I eventually became silent as the film dove deeper into grim territory.
Smith’s horror comedy, Tusk, was released back in 2014 and was based off a story from his podcast SModcast. The film features Justin Long as protagonist Wallace Bryton, along with Michael Parks as the film’s antagonist Howard Howe. Wallace is a podcaster who seeks humiliating viral videos; during a trip to Canada, he discovers an ad from Howard offering to share a lifetime of stories. Wallace goes to Howard’s mansion and learns that he is a retired seaman. Howard tells Wallace about a walrus who saved him from a shipwreck and who he named “Mr. Tusk.” During their conversation, Wallace passes out, Howard having drugged him; when Wallace awakens, he discovers that one of his legs was amputated and that Howard intends on putting him in a walrus suit. Over time, Howard has been kidnapping other people and using their skin to build the suit.
Now on paper that still reads a little goofy, except seeing it in person is a whole different experience. There’s an additional psychological horror to Smith’s Tusk that amplifies that of the body horror. Later in the film, we learn that Howard had to eat Mr. Tusk in order to survive on an island he was trapped on after the shipwreck; doing this sent him into a guilt and has driven him to recreate his friend. Howard’s process in putting Wallace into the walrus suit plays into Tusk’s physical and psychological horrors. Regarding the physical, the suit is made of human flesh, the tusks made from the tibia bones of Wallace’s amputated leg. While the effort of sewing Wallace inside the suit is gruesome, the end product is haunting to look at. While we are looking at a person in a costume shaped like a walrus, there’s a human feel to the suit that’s uncanny; the combination of all that human flesh along with Wallace’s eyes staring out is enough to send chills down one’s spine.
Then there’s the psychological torture Howard puts Wallace through, conditioning him to think and act like a walrus. The constant battering and berating Wallace endures is upsetting, and the ending of the film brings the whole thing to a close on a heartbreaking note.
Among the cast is that of Genesis Rodriguez who plays Wallace’s girlfriend Ally Leon. The two have a rocky relationship, Wallace constantly cheating on her and she having an affair with a close friend of his. By the end of the film, after Wallace has been able to kill Howard with his tusks, Ally and the friend find Wallace. The film then jumps to a year later, Wallace now being confined inside a wildlife sanctuary due to the psychological damage done upon him. While Ally visits him she remembers a conversation the two had about how crying separates humans from animals, since crying is proof of a soul. She tells him she still loves him, and as she’s walking away, tears roll down Wallace’s face.
Even for the film’s moments of dark comedy, like when Howard gets in his own walrus suit and fights Wallace, Tusk ends up being a much more somber experience. Where a lot of other body horror films use torture to present suffering through physical and graphic details, Tusk delivers an equal amount of emotional suffering. Wallace’s entrapment is unnerving, the dark humor only adding to the film’s tension as it continues forward in despair.
It’s in my opinion that Tusk deserves a lot more credit for all it accomplishes. If it has been a while since you’ve watched it, or you’ve never seen it, I encourage you to check it out (it’s currently on Netflix). While Kevin Smith may be remembered for his more comedic films, what he has done with Tusk is pretty intriguing; rather than make a film that attempts to solely gross us out and provide bland comedic beats, he offers us a heartbreaking story. Tusk is one of those films where the body horror is deeper than the flesh.
No conversation about cartoons based on live-action movies is ever complete without mentioning The Real Ghostbusters.
This animated continuation is, warts and all, a notable example of turning a hit movie into a hit series. And although the new target demographic skewed a little younger, even kids-at-heart could partake in the further adventures of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Winston Zeddemore and Egon Spengler.
For a good part of its run, the show required fans to wait at least a week for more Ghostbustin’. That’s torture for a kiddo. Luckily, though, the entire series, or at least most of it, is now available for streaming.
So, as you revisit The Real Ghostbusters on Tubi—for now it’s just the first five seasons there—use this guide to help prioritize some must-see episodes.
The Boogieman Cometh
“The Boogieman Cometh” (Season 1)
Season One’s “The Boogieman Cometh” is a classic episode featuring one of the show’s more iconic villains. It’s hard to forget the unique character design used for the Boogieman (whose creepy voice was provided by Ray and Slimer’s actor, Frank Welker). In this story, Egon is reunited with that bump-in-the-night entity who haunted his own childhood, all while trying to keep him away from his latest targets: the brother and sister claiming to have the Boogieman in their closet. Although the Ghostbusters do save the day here, the Boogieman eventually returns (“The Bogeyman Is Back“). That same episode also features the love-’em-or-hate-’em Junior Ghostbusters.
Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream
“Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” (Season 1)
You could say the namesake of “Mr. Sandman, Dream Me a Dream” had good intentions for putting mankind to sleep for the next few centuries—he wanted to end war and keep everyone dreaming. Sounds nice until you remember that whole free will business. But when it seems like the Ghostbusters have lost to their latest foe, the last one standing, Winston, gains a sudden ally. Janine’s dream of becoming a Ghostbuster is manifested, and she helps put this rogue spirit to bed.
When Halloween Was Forever
“When Halloween Was Forever” (Season 1)
Before the show’s execs capitalized on Slimer’s popularity by making him the focus of later episodes, early stories like “When Halloween Was Forever” better utilized that gooey ghost. Here, the spirit of Halloween itself, Samhain, hopes to make the holiday a permanent thing by stopping time. And who does the embodiment of All Hallows’ Eve use in his nefarious plot? Slimer, of course. Thankfully, the lil’ green bud knows where he really belongs, and Samhain is banished (at least until Season 3’s “Halloween II 1/2“).
Night Game
“Night Game” (Season 2)
Because Season Two was rather long, in comparison to other seasons, it accumulated quite a few solid episodes. One of the most beloved, though, is that ultimate good-versus-evil story, “Night Game“. Winston gets to shine here as he participates in a battle that was 500 years in the making. Except this time, the fighting is done on the baseball field. The other-dimensional settings in The Real Ghostbusters are always great, but the one here is particularly memorable.
Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin
“Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” (Season 2)
Not all ghosts and whatnot were bad in The Real Ghostbusters. As “Drool, the Dog-Faced Goblin” showed, some were actually benevolent. Sadly, it took a lot of convincing, and one very heroic act, for Peter and the others to see past this goblin’s grotesque appearance. The heroes find more than one shapeshifter at a sideshow carnival in the Poconos; a sinister Class-4er called the Metamorph does a swell job of menacing the Ghostbusters before they finally realize Drool’s not their culprit. The good guys indeed win here, but that victory is a bittersweet one.
The Collect Call of Cathulhu
“The Collect Call of Cathulhu” (Season 2)
While “The Collect Call of Cathulhu” does misspell “Cthulhu” in the title (probably to avoid legal issues), it is clearly the Old One in this Lovecraft-inspired episode. The story kicks off with the Necronomicon being stolen by the deity’s modern-day cult, who then raise their ancient god at Coney Island. From there, the Ghostbusters’ typical methods don’t work on the big guy, so they seek advice from an old issue of Weird Tales (or “Wierd Tales”, as it’s spelled on screen). That build-up to the finale comes with a decent amount of dread before the Ghostbusters, as well as a scholar named Alice, face off with one of the show’s most powerful entities.
Knock, Knock
“Knock, Knock” (Season 2)
A number of Real Ghostbusters episodes could be reworked into big-screen features, but perhaps “Knock, Knock” is the most hopeful. It helps that this story feels in step with the first two movies. Here, some ignorant construction workers accidentally uncover and open an ancient door in the subway. What’s behind said door is none other than those unspeakable evils that only the Ghostbusters can quell. A good deal of the imagery here is prime for adaptation.
The Grundel
“The Grundel” (Season 3)
One of the darker episodes, which was written by the prominent J. Michael Straczynski, is “The Grundel“. Here, a boy is being influenced by the titular entity, a type of ghost who ultimately turns his targets into new Grundels. The episode does have something of an after-school special quality to it, but that doesn’t take away from the eerier moments. For more Grundel lore, be sure to check out the episode “Grundelesque” from the sequel series, Extreme Ghostbusters.
Standing Room Only
“Standing Room Only” (Season 4)
It’s no secret that The Real Ghostbusters experienced multiple changes after the second season. Out of all of them, though, retooling the show so that Slimer would get more of the spotlight is maybe the most egregious. Thankfully, Season Four (the first to be called Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters) didn’t completely obey that new directive; episodes like “Standing Room Only” felt more like the old days. The focus here was on the well-being of the city and its people, rather than on the series’ green mascot (or the Junior Ghostbusters). In the episode, Peter’s new ghost attractor isn’t to blame for the ensuing chaos; the ghost-eating Mee-Krah is what’s really imperiling everyone. And the Ghostbusters must dish out everything they have to avoid a doomsday situation.
The Halloween Door
“The Halloween Door” (Season 5)
While many fans will skip the later seasons in their rewatches, episodes like “The Halloween Door” are still worth checking out. This colorful helping of Halloween pandemonium premiered on primetime, so the animation is better than usual. And save for a random musical moment, it’s an enjoyable event. Here, a group of anti-Halloweeners tries to cancel the holiday, but they only end up making things worse by unleashing a baddie named Boogaloo.
The first five seasons of The Real Ghostbusters are available on Tubi, starting on July 15.
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