Kevin Smith is primarily known as a comedy director, with titles like Clerks., Dogma, and Zack and Miri Make A Porno all coming out over the last 20 years. In 2011, however, he changed things up in a major way and brought us the R-rated horror film Red State. For his next feature, Tusk, Smith is once again sticking with blood and guts over laughs, and as you can see in the photo above, it's going to be pretty disgusting.
In celebration of star Justin Long's birthday, Smith sent out the image over his Instagram account. The picture came with the message, "Happy bloody Birthday to the bravest actor I've ever worked with: Mr. TUSK himself, JUSTIN LONG! #WalrusYes."
So exactly what the hell is going on in this picture? Well, in Tusk Justin Long stars as Wallace Bryton, a podcast host who goes missing after going to interview a mysterious seafarer named Mr. Howe (Michael Parks). As you can see, Long doesn't end up being the kind of kidnapping victim who is tied up and locked in a closet. Instead, it would seem that Mr. Howe is determined to transform Wallace into some kind of human walrus. This involves stitching Wallace's arms to his chest and knocking out all of his teeth (where else are the tusks going to go?). Tusk also stars Haley Joel Osment as Teddy Craft, Wallace's co-podcast host who goes searching for his friend along with his girlfriend, played by Genesis Rodriguez.
This image doesn't really give us any kind of bigger grasp on the story or how Kevin Smith plans on shooting the film, but there is definitely a lot to like here for horror fans. Great practical effects work is always welcome, and this movie looks epically gruesome in all the right ways.
Tusk went into production last November and has been in post since then. The distribution company A24 has signed on for the movie, and while no release date has been announced yet, the film is expected to get a conventional theater release sometime in the third quarter of this year. Hopefully it will end up right in the weeks leading up to Halloween, which would mean getting a first trailer in the next couple of months. Does this image of Justin Long on a surgery table get you excited to see the film? Answer our poll and tell us what you think in the comments below.
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