One thing I never expected to see when going to the movies was a Foo Fighters horror film, but when I saw that one was coming out, I knew I had to go. I had very limited expectations going into it, but I was excited nonetheless. Maybe Dave Grohl is trying to replace Rob Zombie as the rock star horror film maker. The film also did make me leave and immediately put on the Foo Fighters on Spotify, so if that was their goal, they succeeded, but in their top five songs, they all have a similar sound to them, except for “Everlong” which is unique and an incredible hit! At the end of the day, I think their goal was just to make a fun gory movie for people to go see.
Studio 666 is about the Foo Fighters trying to make a new album, and to find something to inspire them to makes some new music. Their producer hears about a mansion, and he suggests that maybe they go there and see what happens. So they go to the mansion, and Dave Grohl finds the sound to be spooky and intense but inspiring, so he convinces his fellow band members to hang out there to create their next album. Then, like in all haunted mansions, things start to get weird. Dave finds a weird shrine down in the basement where a racoon was used as a sacrifice, and while down in the basement, he gets possessed by a demon. This makes him turn into a rock star diva. He no longer cares what the other band members have to say, he must create this demonic song no matter what.
As the movie progresses, Grohl’s killer instinct develops more and more. It turns into a slasher film where members of the band, and those that stick their head into the mansion are becoming victims to Grohl’s savagery. Eventually it turns out that a previous rockstar had tried to conjure the same demon, but it had taken over him and become too powerful, so someone else was hoping that Grohl would be strong enough to finish the demonic anthem, and they were correct.
This movie was definitely over the top at times. It was very campy, but that is what made it so endearing. It was trying to go for a late 90s early 2000s slasher vibe, and it hit those notes nicely. It was a little over gory, but that was what it was going for. Many of the kills in this movie reminded me of the finishing moves in Mortal Combat. There was a lot of dismemberment and cutting in half of people. Thankfully this movie had a more developed plot than Mortal Combat did, and they were very self-aware about what they were doing, they were not trying to make a cinematic masterpiece.
I saw this movie described as the ultimate Dad movie, and I would say that that is a pretty solid description of it. There is quite a bit of rock music in the film, although the actual amount of Foo Fighters music, is minimal, which is surprising. The song they are making in the film is all instrumental and intense, but it sounds great, sadly if you go onto Spotify and listen to the song from the movie, for one, it is not forty minutes long, and it also has a vocal part to it. It is way more death metal than the typical Foo Fighters vibe. It was also a dad movie because it was very laid back, there was a lot of grilling going on and IPAs being consumed, and there was not much going on beyond the surface level. There was a good amount of violence in it as well. The only part that did not strike me as making it a dad movie is that it was more horror themed than action.
An aspect of the movie that seemed a little over the top was the product placement. It seemed like in every scene, there was some label of a company taking some spotlight. There was the constant consumption of Doritos, and there were three different beers that were being show cased. I get it, make as much money as you can, but there is a line where it feels like they are literally beating you over the head with it. I do see it as a good sign that so many big named companies were willing to put their products in this movie. It is nice to know that people are still willing to invest in small campy horror films.
Overall this movie was a solid watch. It hit its nostalgic goals nicely, and although it seemed like there was no need for this movie to be made, I was glad that it was. It made an enjoyable time at the movies. It was a little long, it definitely could have been cut ten minutes shorter, but they felt the need to add an extra unnecessary action sequence at the end. Other than that, it was a nice watch. The other people in the theater seemed to be enjoying the film as well, which is always a good sign. I give this movie 3 stars for being weird and fun.
This week I also started and finished watching Euphoria, and it is excellent. It is very intense and emotional, but it is so well done. I thought that Succession was the apex of HBO right now, but I was wrong, this is it. There are so many emotions being created from watching this show that it is amazing. The first season seems to more glamorize the insane lifestyles that these teens are living out, but in the second season, reality comes to take its toll on just about everyone, like when taking a drug, and the Euphoric feeling dies out. Every time Rue is on the screen, you cannot help but root for her, and feel so dejected when she falls into another relapse. The shows is packed with characters that are so great to root for or against, but even the antagonists seem to have so much baggage that there is at least some level of empathy for them. The music in the show is also excellent, it is not my typical listening genre of choice, but it is so catchy that I keep going back and listening to it. The last episode of season two just came out, if you have not started watching it, now is the time!
Other Movies This Week:
Memento: A man with short term memory loss is searching for the guy who murdered his wife and gave him short term memory loss. The structure of the movie can be a little convoluted at times as time bends in a weird way to explain what exactly is going on, but once you get the hang of it, it is captivating.
Coven of Sisters: A movie on Netflix about a group of girls who are accused of being witches, but they are innocent, but the plan they conjure up involves one of them pretending to be a witch, so that they can waste time as the sailors return to the city. It gives the perspective of the victims and shows some crafty ingenuity to get out of an impossible situation.
New Rankings:
Studio 666: 3 Stars
Memento: 4 Stars
Coven of Sisters: 3 Stars
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