Dave Grohl and The Foo Fighters are on the hook for their 10th studio album. They have a few ideas, yet they lack the sound and drive to put them together. They are encouraged to move into a historical Encino mansion to work, and just as they start figuring out some of the ideas, a ghastly satanic presence may have other plans.
I am not going to lie or toe around it – the acting here is nothing to rave about and really stretches the contemporary definition. Grohl throws himself recklessly into every scene headfirst and has some fun with his more “possessed” moments. But we know from the start that he is not a trained thespian, so it is easier to forgive his faults. He has more life and enthusiasm than the rest of the Band however, who toe-the-line between awkward uncertainty and over-the-top clumsiness. Again, these are not trained Actors, so it is challenging to really criticize their styles when they seem to be having so much fun acting like goofballs in the middle of a semi-satirical, meta slasher flick. And they certainly do better for themselves than comedians like Jeff Garlin and Whitney Cummings, who seem keenly unaware of what kind of ridiculous nonsense they have found themselves a part of. STUDIO 666 could have benefitted from more of Will Forte, who is definitely on the same level as the Film is – and a whole lot more of future Scream Queen Jenna Ortega, whose limited amount of screen time barely qualifies as a cameo.
Seeing a certain Horror Maestro drop in for a bit part and co-scoring the opening track does partially make up for that though.
All of that said, where STUDIO 666 succeeds is in its Rock and in its makeup and gore effects. I have only ever been a casual fan of The Foo Fighters, so I cannot confidently compare this music to their legendary body of work. Suffice to say, it goes hard and I do not think fans will walk away disappointed. The makeup and gore effects go just as hard, if not harder. This Movie is bloodier than you might expect, layering-in as much gruesome violence and destruction as it can get away with. There was a lot of care put into these increasingly more disgusting moments, and the way it casually references some of the greats while it constantly one-ups itself is a thing of beauty. I wish some of the Visual Effects were as good as the buckets of blood being spilt, yet their low budget nature ends up complimenting the higher budgeted effects around them.
STUDIO 666 is not a great film, but it is a really fun one for fans of The Foo Fighters and Horror alike. You can easily look past some of the contrivances and weaknesses when you notice that the majority of the Band is having a blast being part of this project. I can only imagine what is going to happen when the cult classic fandom gets their hands on this.
MK2 | MILE END release STUDIO 666 in theatres on Friday, February 25, 2022.
*Please exercise caution observing COVID-19 protocols if seeing this in theatres*
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