It has become something of a tradition for Clerks/Red State writer/director Kevin Smith to take over Comic-Con’s Hall H at the tail end of the Saturday programme for one of his rambling, funny, candid Q&A sessions. This year was no different except that he also brought the trailer for his new horror movie, Tusk. Take a look at the first promo below.
Justin Long stars as Wallace, a podcast host who spends his time travelling around the US and Canada finding interesting characters with a story to tell. Assisted by pal and producer Teddy (Haley Joel Osment), he’s a seeker after the weird and wonderful.
So when he receives a letter from Howard Howe (Red State’s Michael Parks) who promises a tale of seagoing adventure and reminiscences that include interactions with Hemingway, Wallace heads to the Great White North to interview the man. Unfortunately for our moustachioed chatterbox, Howard has an ulterior motive: he’s looking for someone to turn into a living man/walrus creature. And the tea he serves Wallace is laced with knockout drugs. Soon, Teddy and Wallace’s girlfriend Allison (Genesis Rodriguez) are frantically searching for him. But Howard has thought carefully about his crazy plan...
With Smith taking the idea from a strange ad he saw and talked up on his podcast, he’s definitely embracing the idea of being a low-budget horror filmmaker. His next couple of films are planned as the other two parts of a loose Canadian trilogy. This one is certainly intriguing and unlike anything he’s done before.
Tusk will arrive in the US on September 19, while Sony Pictures has the film for the UK but hasn’t yet revealed a release date.