Back in 2013, while recording episode 259 of his podcast, “Smodcast,” Kevin Smith came up with the idea for what would eventually be the horror film, Tusk. During the episode, Smith and co-host Scott Mosier discussed an ad that had recently surfaced on the free classifieds site Gumtree where a man was offering free housing to anyone willing to dress up and behave like a walrus for two hours a day. The ad was eventually determined to be a prank, but that didn’t stop Smith from running with a much darker take on the story that would become a feature film starring Michael Parks and Justin Long where a madman captures another man and actually surgically turns him into a walrus.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to rave reviews but flopped when it went to wide release on September 19, 2014. (I remember being the only person in the theater other than my wife when we saw this movie the opening week). The film has since grown a cult following and I was happy to see Bloody Disgusting’s Michael Pementel give the film some love earlier this year.
Now, five years on, Smith revisits the film in a new behind the scenes documentary released on YouTube called “Walrus Yes: The Making of Tusk,” which was directed by Smith’s hetero life mate Jason Mewes. The 90-minute documentary was made with behind the scenes footage captured throughout the making of the film starting at early production through filming.
If you’re a fan of Tusk, or even just a fan of Smith you’re going to want to catch this documentary. If you haven’t seen Tusk yet I suggest you seek it out and then give this documentary a quick viewing.
