# Tusk (2014 film)
**Tusk** is a 2014 American body-horror comedy film written, directed, and edited by [Kevin Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-smith), in which a podcaster, Wallace Bryton ([Justin Long](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-long)), travels to Manitoba and is kidnapped by Howard Howe ([Michael Parks](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-parks)), a retired seafarer who surgically transforms him into a walrus. It was released in the United States on September 19, 2014, distributed by A24.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70635-TUSK) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tusk_2014)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer / editor | Kevin Smith, who also co-created the story on his podcast[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70635-TUSK) |
| Origin | SModcast episode 259, "The Walrus and the Carpenter", in which Smith and Scott Mosier discussed a real online ad offering a room to a tenant willing to wear a walrus costume[3](https://www.showbizjunkies.com/movies/kevin-smith-tusk-interview/) • [9](https://edgemagonline.com/article/kevin-smith/) |
| Release | September 19, 2014 (wide, United States), 102 minutes, rated R for disturbing violence/gore, language, and sexual content[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70635-TUSK) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Tusk) |
| Principal cast | Michael Parks (Howard Howe), Justin Long (Wallace Bryton), Génesis Rodríguez (Ally), Haley Joel Osment (Teddy), Johnny Depp (Guy LaPointe)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70635-TUSK) |
| Production | Demarest Films, SModcast Pictures, and XYZ Films; production budget $3,000,000[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70635-TUSK) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Tusk) |
| Box office | $1,821,983 domestic and $65,571 international, a worldwide total of $1,887,554 against the $3 million budget[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Tusk) |
| Critical reception | 45% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 137 reviews; a Metacritic metascore of 55, labeled "Mixed or Average"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tusk_2014) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/tusk/critic-reviews/) |
| Franchise | First film of the Canadian-centered "True North" trilogy[6](https://irishgothicjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/film-reviews.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Wallace Bryton and his friend Teddy Craft host a podcast called the Not-See Party, in which Wallace interviews internet eccentrics and recounts their embarrassments to Teddy, who has not seen the material.[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/) Wallace flies to Winnipeg to interview "the Kill Bill Kid", a YouTube figure who cut off his own leg with a sword in imitation of [Quentin Tarantino](https://www.edgepedia.org/quentin-tarantino)'s films, but the young man died by suicide before Wallace arrived to interview him.[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/) • [6](https://irishgothicjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/film-reviews.pdf) • [16](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/11/tusk-review-kevin-smith-toronto-film-festival-horror-walrus)
Desperate for a story, Wallace answers a hand-written notice offering free lodging and visits Howard Howe, a wheelchair-using former adventurer who promises tales of "a lifetime of adventures".[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/) • [8](https://www.startribune.com/horror-comedy-tusk-isn-t-very-funny-or-scary/275635591) Howe recounts, in black-and-white flashbacks, a shipwreck off the Siberian coast and his rescue in the [Bering Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/bering-sea) by a walrus he calls Mr. Tusk, and declares that "the real savage animals are the humans".[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/) He then drugs Wallace and performs surgery that sews his arms to his sides, inserts tusks into his cheeks, and encases him in blubber, turning him into a walrus.[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/) Wallace's girlfriend Ally and Teddy travel to Canada to find him.[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/)
## Origin on SModcast
The film exists because of a single podcast episode. On SModcast episode 259, "The Walrus and the Carpenter", Smith and his co-host [Scott Mosier](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-mosier) read a real advertisement placed by a man in the United Kingdom offering a room in his house to a tenant who would agree to wear a walrus costume, and improvised a horror premise in which a madman turns a person into a walrus.[3](https://www.showbizjunkies.com/movies/kevin-smith-tusk-interview/) • [9](https://edgemagonline.com/article/kevin-smith/) Smith asked his Twitter audience whether he should actually make the film, using the hashtags #WalrusYes and #WalrusNo; the vote came back overwhelmingly in favor, and he spent the following twelve months developing and producing the movie.[3](https://www.showbizjunkies.com/movies/kevin-smith-tusk-interview/) • [10](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2024/film-genre-now-rmit-university-student-dossier/tusk-kevin-smiths-take-on-body-horror/)
The project also marked Smith's return to directing. He had announced his retirement from filmmaking at the Sundance premiere of *Red State* (2011) and had not made a film in three years; he described falling in love with "this dopey idea from a podcast" as the thing that brought him back.[11](https://www.screendaily.com/features/kevin-smith-tusk/5073868.article?blocktitle=LATEST-FILM-NEWS&contentID=40562) • [3](https://www.showbizjunkies.com/movies/kevin-smith-tusk-interview/) Smith has said that, spiritually, he considers *Tusk* the sequel to *Clerks*, because like that first film it was made without thinking about critics or box office.[9](https://edgemagonline.com/article/kevin-smith/) He also stated that it is the only movie he has ever made while stoned.[12](https://laist.com/shows/the-frame/kevin-smith-says-tusk-is-the-only-movie-hes-ever-made-while-stoned)
## Production and financing
Demarest Films came aboard as financier and wanted the film sold and released through conventional channels, unlike Smith's self-distributed *Red State*.[11](https://www.screendaily.com/features/kevin-smith-tusk/5073868.article?blocktitle=LATEST-FILM-NEWS&contentID=40562) Production companies were Demarest Films, SModcast Pictures, and XYZ Films, with James Laxton as cinematographer and Christopher Drake composing the score.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70635-TUSK) The walrus creature effects were created by Robert Kurtzman, whose earlier credits include the original *Evil Dead*, *Halloween*, and *Nightmare on Elm Street* films.[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/)
*Tusk* premiered on September 6, 2014 in the Midnight Madness program of the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) before its wide theatrical release.[13](https://www.ioncinema.com/reviews/tusk-review)
## Cast and the Depp cameo
Michael Parks, then 74, played Howard Howe; Justin Long played Wallace; [Haley Joel Osment](https://www.edgepedia.org/haley-joel-osment), in his first major role years after *The Sixth Sense*, played Teddy; and Génesis Rodríguez played Wallace's girlfriend Ally.[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70635-TUSK) [Johnny Depp](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-depp) appears as Guy LaPointe, a French-Canadian detective who has long pursued a serial killer, in roughly ten minutes of screen time; Smith had wanted Quentin Tarantino for the part, and Tarantino declined.[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/) Depp's daughter [Lily-Rose Depp](https://www.edgepedia.org/lily-rose-depp) appears briefly as a convenience store clerk.[7](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Tusk)
## Genre and reception
Critics placed the film in the body horror tradition alongside [David Cronenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cronenberg)'s *The Fly* (1986) and [Tom Six](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-six)'s *[The Human Centipede](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-human-centipede-first-sequence)* (2009), while noting that Smith's comedic style makes the film a self-aware hybrid of horror and comedy rather than a straightforward genre entry.[10](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2024/film-genre-now-rmit-university-student-dossier/tusk-kevin-smiths-take-on-body-horror/) Reviewers also compared its captive setup to *Misery* (1990).[13](https://www.ioncinema.com/reviews/tusk-review)
The critical response was divided. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus calls the film "pleasantly ridiculous and charmingly self-deprecating" but finds that this does not compensate for its "thin, overstretched story"; the audience Popcornmeter stood at 36 percent.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tusk_2014) Metacritic recorded a metascore of 55 from 33 reviews, with 12 positive, 13 mixed, and 8 negative.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/tusk/critic-reviews/) Positive reviews singled out Parks's performance: Variety called the film "an utterly bizarre, weirdly compelling story" and [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter) wrote that its "entrancement factor" depended almost entirely on Parks.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/tusk/critic-reviews/) Negative reviews criticized the tonal shifts between horror and comedy; RogerEbert.com's Simon Abrams wrote that the film works better as horror than comedy and that Smith's comedy is "too unfocused to pull off a cinematic prank".[14](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/tusk-2014)
## Box office
The film opened in 602 North American theaters on September 19, 2014, grossing $846,831 over its opening weekend, 46.5 percent of its eventual domestic total.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Tusk) It finished with $1,821,983 domestically and $65,571 internationally, a worldwide gross of $1,887,554 against a $3,000,000 production budget.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Tusk) Estimated home video sales added $816,650, split between DVD ($394,410) and Blu-ray ($422,240).[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Tusk)
## Legacy and the True North trilogy
*Tusk* became the first entry in Smith's planned "True North" trilogy of Canada-set horror films, and it began the weirder second phase of his career that continued with *Yoga Hosers*.[6](https://irishgothicjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/film-reviews.pdf) • [15](https://lrmonline.com/news/watch-this-feature-length-documentary-on-the-making-of-kevin-smiths-tusk/) A feature-length documentary on the film's production, directed by [Jason Mewes](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-mewes), was later released.[15](https://lrmonline.com/news/watch-this-feature-length-documentary-on-the-making-of-kevin-smiths-tusk/) As a marketing tie-in, A24 and Smith commissioned the Studio City dispensary Buds and Roses to create two cannabis strains named "Mr. Tusk" and "White Walrus" for the film's release.[12](https://laist.com/shows/the-frame/kevin-smith-says-tusk-is-the-only-movie-hes-ever-made-while-stoned) Over time the film has drawn a divided but persistent audience reputation, described by some viewers as a cult favorite and by others as a tonal misfire.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tusk_2014)
## References
1. [Tusk (2014), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/70635-TUSK)
2. [Tusk (2014), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tusk_2014)
3. [Kevin Smith Talks 'Tusk,' Filmmaking, and Visiting the 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Set, Showbiz Junkies (July 30, 2014)](https://www.showbizjunkies.com/movies/kevin-smith-tusk-interview/)
4. [Tusk (2014), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Tusk)
5. [Tusk critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/tusk/critic-reviews/)
6. [Film Reviews.5, Irish Gothic Journal](https://irishgothicjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/film-reviews.pdf)
7. [Tusk: The Human Walrus, the Crazy Carpenter and Hey, Isn't That Johnny Depp?, Time (September 16, 2014)](https://time.com/3387204/tusk-movie-review/)
8. [Horror-comedy 'Tusk' isn't very funny, or scary, Star Tribune (September 18, 2014)](https://www.startribune.com/horror-comedy-tusk-isn-t-very-funny-or-scary/275635591)
9. [Kevin Smith, Edge Magazine interview](https://edgemagonline.com/article/kevin-smith/)
10. [Tusk: Kevin Smith's take on body horror, Senses of Cinema (January 2024)](https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2024/film-genre-now-rmit-university-student-dossier/tusk-kevin-smiths-take-on-body-horror/)
11. [Kevin Smith, Tusk, Screen (Screen Daily)](https://www.screendaily.com/features/kevin-smith-tusk/5073868.article?blocktitle=LATEST-FILM-NEWS&contentID=40562)
12. [Kevin Smith says 'Tusk' is the only movie he's ever made while stoned, LAist/The Frame (September 19, 2014)](https://laist.com/shows/the-frame/kevin-smith-says-tusk-is-the-only-movie-hes-ever-made-while-stoned)
13. [Tusk | 2014 TIFF Review, IONCINEMA.com](https://www.ioncinema.com/reviews/tusk-review)
14. [Tusk movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com (September 19, 2014)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/tusk-2014)
15. [Watch This Feature-Length Documentary On The Making Of Kevin Smith's Tusk, LRM Online](https://lrmonline.com/news/watch-this-feature-length-documentary-on-the-making-of-kevin-smiths-tusk/)
16. [Tusk review: Kevin Smith seals his comeback with walrus horror show](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/11/tusk-review-kevin-smith-toronto-film-festival-horror-walrus)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Body horror films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license