Studio 666 (2022)

 

So Foo Fighters+Horror+Comedy = Good?

I wish I could say that the formula above, which popped into my head the minute I saw the trailer, was true. Unfortunately, hopes and dreams are not always fulfilled by Hollywood or our heroes. There was fun to be had here, but not enough to recommend to anyone who is not a fan of Foo Fighters or schlock horror. In spite of the big swings the film tales, it just does not connect with the two genres it is reaching for.

There are plenty of films that mine the link between Rock and Roll and "Evil", I remember seeing a film back in the 1980s called "Trick or Treat", it had brief appearances by Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons. That film was more of a straight horror film and it took the subject seriously, with a little bit of irony. "Studio 666" starts off with a few good rock and roll  clichés being sent up, but those drop off more quickly than is wise. The horror stuff starts but because the humor has been laid down and there is a lot of quick bits designed to show it is really a horror film, all of that gets undermined very quickly.

Much like "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein", the horror elements of this film get undermined by the slapstick tone of the comedy. It also does not help that the band members are not really actors. They are playing exaggerated versions of themselves but the self parody wears thin and there is not any real tension as the movie goes on. Director BJ McDonnell, is a camera operator  who has worked on a ton of films, including a variety of horror films, but his strengths are not really in story telling. He is hitting the notes but it feels like a piano student who is playing a piece for the first time for their teacher. Everything is technically correct, but none of it connects. The movie is just flat. Maybe it would work as a sketch but as a full length film, it leaves a lot to be desired. 

Everyone goes all in on the death scenes, with lots of blood and body parts to go around. The gore never seems real however, because it is undercut by the silly situations. "Evil Dead 2" made the comedy and horror work together, here they work against one another, and it shows. I'm not a huge Foo Fighters fan, but I would have appreciated some of their songs in the film, and basically, there are two riffs of their material and that's it. There is an uncredited part played by John Carpenter, and the theme song for the titles, feels like composter Carpenter contributed, to get that 80s feel in the credit sequence. 

I don't regret going to see this and even paying for the privilege. I just wish I could be more enthusiastic about it. The movie is too long, the jokes are inconsistent, and the stars all feel like they are just having a lark, which is what they are doing, but it doesn't seem like the audience was as important to them as they would have been in a concert. Dave Grohl, continues to be a guy I admire, and he is the one Foo that seems to be putting in some effort, but it is not enough. 

Foo Fighters+Horror+Comedy = Mediocre at Best.