Tusk – The Walrus Reveal
When Kevin Smith first announced Tusk, we questioned just how far his walrus-torture-porn-kidnapping-caper could push the boundaries. With Justin Long cast as the film’s unfortunate victim, could Smith truly transform the mustachioed podcaster into a mammal with gigantic, white tusks? Well, if anyone had the balls to attempt such a twisted transformation, it’d be the fearless Kevin Smith, and much to the delight of the horror fan inside of me, Long’s final walrus form delivers on EVERY level, including the lifestyle he so gruesomely adopts.
Despite your final feelings on Smith’s pseudo-horror flick, one of 2014’s crowing achievements came when Long’s walrus suit is unveiled for the first time. Sporting stretched-out skin and Frankenstein-like stitching, Long is completely transformed into a physical monster that no longer resembles a biological human form. It’s not every day that a director delivers the exact amount of insanity promised, but Long’s grotesque mutilation and revolting walrus body are the product of a madcap filmmaker who excitedly jumps at the chance to shock viewers with the obscene and unheard of.
What’s disturbing isn’t the blood, scars, and leathery hide Smith showcases though, but the realization that there’s no human resemblance of Long’s character left to save – just a squishy, fleshy shape shoved inside a walrus casing like a sausage.