10 Movies ONLY MADE In Response To Film Critics
7. Kevin Smith Made An "Apolitical" Thriller - Tusk
Kevin Smith's 2014 horror film Tusk emerged during a majorly unexpected transitional period for the Clerks filmmaker, who between 2008 and 2010 had directed a major studio comedy (Zack and Miri Make a Porno), a buddy cop film he didn't write (Cop Out), and a politically-themed thriller (Red State).
Tusk was once again another left-field movie, a deeply disturbing horror film in which a man, Wallace (Justin Long), is kidnapped and sewn into a walrus costume by a deranged seaman (Michael Parks).
Though the seeds of Tusk stemmed directly from a 2013 episode of Smith's podcast where he and his producer pal Scott Mosier first unearthed the idea, Smith also later stated it was heavily influenced by the response to Red State.
Among the thriller's mixed reviews, many took issue with the film's "preachy" political diatribes, that despite taking aim at worthy targets such as religious fundamentalism and the far-right, these wordy detours ultimately detracted from the entertainment.
And so, Smith designed Tusk from the outset as an effectively apolitical film focused purely on delivering schlocky thrills:
"I wanted to right what I felt was the only wrong of Red State by scripting something with no religious or sexual politics that could grow up to be a weird little movie and not an indie film call-to-arms or a frustrated self-distribution manifesto. I just wanted to showcase Michael Parks in a f**ked up story, where he could recite some Lewis Carroll and 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' to some poor motherf**ker sewn into a realistic walrus costume."