Tusk, by any standards, is not "normal." After writer/director Kevin Smith announced his retirement from the world of film in 2012, he shortly decided to make a comeback, apparently inspired by the "real-life" story that makes up the bulk of Tusk. So here's a motion picture that - really - stars Justin Long and Johnny Depp and features a plot line about a man who tries to force another man into a giant walrus costume. It's not quite as "simple" as that, of course, but that description just about sums up the sheers levels of mania associated with this horrifying and incredibly weird flick. Essentially, Tusk is one of those movies that - afterwards - you're left wondering whether or not you should have bothered. But whereas with a travesty like Transformers: Age of Extinction, the answer would be a resounding "no," Tusk lingers on your mind because it's a work of sheer insanity. Seriously: as it ploughs onwards, slowly revealing its layers, you're left staring at the screen in disbelief, wondering how - or why - anybody decided that Tusk should exist. Reviews were mostly negative, but disgusted critics seem to have missed the point of this dark and funny freakshow.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.