What is the movie Tusk about? Is the movie Tusk based on a true story? Well, do you have these questions in your mind? Let’s dissect them in this Tusk movie summary. Tusk is a horror film that was composed and directed by Kelvin Smith in 2014. This movie explores a true scenario from his SModcast, though the house ad was a prank that resulted in terrifying movie scenes.
This movie was released in September 2014. Tusk the Movie is a comedy and horror type of genre. Are you intrigued to explore more about this film? Read this Tusk 2014 summary and acquire factual concepts about the scenes.
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This film starts with two friends, Wallace and Teddy. These guys were hosting a podcast called Not-See Party. Their podcast collects viral and trending videos and makes fun of them. This platform is doing well and has a lot of followers.
They have featured many funny videos, like the Canadian boy who accidentally cut his leg when showing a stunt. Wallace and Teddy named this boy the Kill Bill Kid. Wallace travels to Canada to interview the kid, get more content for his podcast, and, of course, make fun. On arrival in Canada, Wallace found that the boy had committed suicide after his video went viral and got trolled online.
Wallace was sad and felt wasted for traveling and getting nothing. He goes to a pub and runs into a flier with an advert of an older man offering rent-free room and meals if anyone agrees to dress like a walrus and listen to his stories. This older man was a former sailor and had a lot of stories to tell before he died. Wallace got excited about this opportunity to gather more content for his podcast.
He sought directions to the older man's (Howard) house. The man welcomes him into his secluded home full of bizarre goods. Howard was in a wheelchair; he welcomed Wallace with a mug of coffee. Howard was living a dark life that involved a walrus. So, he wanted to lure someone into his house and fulfill his dirty mission (that’s why he acted helpless in a wheelchair).
Howard narrates how he traveled on a ship to find a white shark in Siberia. The ship got into an accident and started sinking, and everyone on board died except him. Howard swam to a small island and met a walrus that helped him. At this moment, Wallace realized his coffee was spiked with secobarbital after feeling unstable and later fainted.
After Wallace gained consciousness, he couldn't feel his leg and noticed he was amputated. Howard tries to trick him that a poisonous insect bit him, and that's why his leg was cut to prevent the venom from spreading to his heart. Wallace could feel the reality was different, and something was off.
Later in the night, Wallace expressed his disappointment with the unsuitable experiences for his podcast. Howard slaps him and reveals a plan. He says he has a walrus-shaped suit made from human skin and could fit Wallace’s body. Howard planned to transform Wallace into a Walrus (by cutting all his body parts).
In another scene, we see Teddy flirting with Alley and giving her sympathy for Wallace. It has been days, and Alley can't reach Wallace on the phone. Coincidentally, Wallace gets a chance to send a voice message to Alley describing his condition and location. Howard comes shortly, hits his head with a stick, and threatens him that if he wishes to live, he must become a walrus.
Alley and Teddy report the matter to Canadian police, though they don’t take the matter lightly at first. After some time, the police get convinced and open an FIR for Wallace as a missing person.
On the other hand, Howard completes his mission of converting Wallace into a walrus. He has removed his legs, hands, and tongue and is swinging his skin with a walrus suit. Also, he fixed two tusks of leg bone.
By now, this cruel older man has managed to physically change Wallace into a walrus. He was his savior, Mr. Tusk. He was on another mission of transforming Wallace mentally. He starts feeding Wallace with raw fish and imagines them being on the island like in his story, though Wallace can't relate.
Teddy, Alley, and officers intensify the search for Wallace in different scenes. A border agent, Guy LaPointe, had heard about the serial killer Howard and planned how they would search Wallace there. On their way to Howard's place, they traced Wallace's car near the lake.
In another scene, Howard suggests that they should fight until one dies. Wallace manages to kill Howard. By this time, Alley, Teddy, and Guy arrive in the house to save Wallace but are stunned when he turns into an animal.
A year later, Wallace is sent to an animal sanctuary for a while. Ally and Teddy keep visiting him with mackerel. Ally remembers a talk she had with Wallace before he left for Canada, that crying separates humans from animals because it shows they have a soul. Alley tells Wallace that he loves him, and Wallace can't hold back his tears, meaning his human part is still there.
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Actor |
Role |
Johnny Depp |
He appears in the movie as Guy Lapointe, the detective who helped find Wallace when he was reported missing in Canada. |
Michael Parks |
They appeared as Howard and are best known for their horror genre work. He departed in Los Angeles in 2017. He is best known for his roles in films such as From the Dusk and Planet Terror. |
Kill Bill Kid |
The guy who cut his leg in the movie. His character in the movie is a parody. It’s an imitation of Star Wars Kids, a 15-year-old Canadian who created a video practicing lightsaber moves. He faced ridicule and cyberbullying after the content went viral. |
Humanity
Humanity is the central theme in this film, but it is in an animalistic context. To understand the theme better, think through these questions: Is man really a walrus? Take walrus to be an animal, and ask, is man an animal? It’s actually true, that Wallace portrayed an inhumane character.
The name of the walrus, Mr. Tusk, was made to be a caring creature like Howard Howe met on the island. But, in contrast, the walrus, who was Wallace a human, has changed to a beast.
Before Wallace goes to Canada, we experience his personality of inhumanity. He mocks the impaired boy on his podcast channel, which traumatized him, leading to death. After all this damage, Wallace plans to travel and interview the boy for more content for his selfish gains. So, he didn't care what led to the boy's decisions and the impact it could have on his life.
Howard also helps in the development of this inhumanity theme. Though he may be punishing Wallace for his actions, it’s wrong to torture humans that way. Howe could have thought of better ways of teaching him the importance of humanity.
When Wallace is transformed into a walrus, Alley tests him. We notice him crying, showing he still has some humanity. Though he is Mr. Tusk, he has a soft spot for him. So, it’s true that animals show humanity in this film, unlike humans.
There are so many scenes of crying for walrus, the character. However, as an animal, a walrus could be crying to get sympathy from humans for food. But in the end, Wallace the walrus could be crying after learning the kind of animal he has turned into and has always been to others. So, the film shows us the selfish, inward, and animalistic Wallace's character. So, his character as a walrus symbolizes his actual human behavior towards others.
The primary setting of this film is Manitoba, Canada. Other settings of this movie are Winnipeg, California, and Los Angeles.
Tusk movie belongs to a body horror comedy film. A body horror or biological horror is a subgenre of horrors that presents psychologically disturbing scenes that violate the human body or other creatures.
In this Tusk 2014 movie, Howard cruelly cuts Wallace's body parts, hands, legs, and tongue to transform him into a walrus. Also, we witnessed a Canadian boy who cut his leg and later committed suicide after cyberbullying.
This movie is a tale of an arrogant podcaster abducted by a serial killer and converted into a walrus. Wallace is inhumane because he makes fun of a boy who cuts his leg. He commented that this boy possibly didn’t need his leg. This video became viral, and the kid was trolled until he lost his dignity and ended his life.
As if that was not enough, Wallace planned to visit the boy to interview him to get more content for his platform. His main intentions were to continue making more stories for his website and platform. He feels sad for wasting his time traveling all the way but not for the boy.
Howard wanted Wallace to reach 100% metamorphosis into a Walrus. He challenged Wallace, saying that for him to survive, he must be a walrus, meaning he must kill Howard for his safety. So, Wallace has to transcend his human nature and accept his new identity as a tusked walrus.
Tusk, the movie, grew from a real-life podcast joke. They got the movie idea during a discussion between director Kevin and his friend Scott on their weekly show SModcast. They got this cryptic ad that a homeowner offered a rent-free room if the tenant agreed to dress up like a walrus.
So, these two guys asked their Twitter followers if they wanted to see this script turn into Kelvin’s masterpiece. Little did Kelvin Smith know that the ad was a prank, and that's how he fell into Howard’s trap.
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