Summary

• Tusk is based on a fake online ad that offered a rent-free room but required the tenant to dress up and behave like a walrus occasionally.
• The movie explores what would happen if the joke ad were real, but the characters and storyline are fictional.
• The director, Kevin Smith, initially thought the ad was real and used it as inspiration to create Tusk, combining elements from his own life and adding a horror twist.

The walrus man in Tusk, Kevin Smith’s horror comedy about a man who is surgically transformed into a human walrus, has earned the movie a solid cult following for nearly a decade. However, the most disturbing thing about Tusk and the walrus-human hybrid is that it was based on a true story — or so the movie humorously claims. The real story of Tusk isn't as bombastic and harrowing as the movie — nobody was ever turned into a walrus in real life. However, as Tusk proudly points out, the skin-crawling premise of a human being surgically reconstructed into a hybrid man-walrus creature for the enjoyment of an eccentric serial killer isn't entirely fictional.

Tusk is so disturbing because Justin Long's Wallace gets painfully transformed into a "walrus" by Michael Parks' chilling serial killer Howard Howe. Thankfully, this never happened in real life. Tusk was, however, inspired by a fake online advertisement offering a rent-free room, but with a catch: the lucky tenant must be willing to occasionally dress up as and behave like a walrus. The fake ad which inspired Tusk was writer Chris Parkinson of Brighton, England. The joke ad received over 400 responses, and the story of how a harmless prank became one of the most viral body horrors of the last decade is almost as fascinating as Tusk itself.

Howard's Ad In Tusk Was Based On A Real-Life Ad (Sort-Of)

The True Story Of Tusk Didn't Include A Serial Killer

Tusk is based on a true story, but the story it's based on isn't the same one the movie tells. Rather, Tusk is the exploration of what would have happened if a joke were real, and what circumstances would need to fall into place for it to plausibly happen. The advertisement for a voluntary live-in walrus did exist, so Tusk isn't being false with its claims of being based on real events. However, the characters of Wallace, Teddy, and importantly Howard Howe were all made up. Chris Parkinson, who made the original Tusk advertisement, didn't even post the note as himself, and definitely didn't plan to turn a human being into a walrus.

Kevin Smith created every detail beyond the premise for Tusk. In Tusk, Los Angeles podcaster Wallace Bryton (Justin Long) and his co-host, Teddy (Haley Joel Osment), ridicule unfortunate people in viral videos, and Wallace interviews them. For an interview with a teenager who mistakenly cut off his own leg, Wallace has to go to the outskirts of Manitoba, Canada. After he discovers that the man has died by suicide, presumably because of the ridicule, he finds a flyer posted by an old man who seems like he would be perfect for the podcast.

Unlike Parkinson’s original human walrus ad, however, the flyer in Tusk does not mention the walrus, and it is not a joke. Instead, it is a lure posted by serial killer Howard Howe (Michael Parks), a retired sailor obsessed with finding redemption for killing and eating a walrus that he claims once saved his life. He surgically transforms his victims into a human walrus, which he names Mr. Tusk, so that he can re-enact their time together.

This thankfully bears no resemblance to the real-life Chris Parkinson and the ad he posted, but was an incredibly satisfactory answer to the question "what if someone posted this and it wasn't a joke" — as evidenced by the cult viral fame Tusk has found since its release.

How Did The Fake Ad Become Kevin Smith’s Tusk?

Kevin Smith Thought The Real Tusk Ad Was Genuine At First

Considering the major differences between Parkinson’s fake ad and the film, it may be difficult to imagine how the former inspired the latter. Thankfully, Kevin Smith has been open about his process when creating Tusk from the "true story". It's obvious that Tusk replaces the old man with a serial killer and the walrus costume with a grotesque surgical transformation into a human walrus. But where do the film’s protagonists come from? The answer to this question is surprisingly simple: They are based on the film’s director, Kevin Smith, and his friend Scott Mosier (Clerks).

In one episode of Askewniverse creator Kevin Smith’s SModcast podcast, they read the fake ad aloud and laugh about it, thinking it’s real. This was the start of the process that would eventually lead to Kevin Smith creating Tusk, which is why the movie focuses on Wallace and Teddy. However, in Tusk the podcasters are considerably crueler than Smith and Mosier, and Wallace’s transformation into a human walrus can be interpreted as a karmic consequence of this cruelty. His transformation is also the result of the serial killer’s special relationship with the walrus, similar to the special relationship featured in Parkinson’s fake ad.

While Tusk can only laughably be considered to be based on actual events, Smith's movie was undeniably inspired by the ad. The film embellishes the story, combines it with elements taken from Smith's own life, and applies a classic horror premise to it: a disgraceful man in search of something doesn’t find what he’s looking for but gets exactly what he deserves. Tusk deploys a commentary on voyeurism, a culture of schadenfreude, and the perils of both. Wallace ridiculed unfortunate people for a living and put them on display. The price he paid for that cruelty was to become one of them by the film's conclusion.

The Fake Tusk Ad Author Explains The Adaptation To Screen Rant

The Man Behind The Ad That Inspired Tusk Has A Fascinating Story

Screen Rant caught up with UK poet Chris Parkinson, the author of "Landlord Seeks Lodger For Walrus Cosplay" — the online accommodation listing credited with Tusk's entire existence. The project escalated very quickly, and Parkinson was present on-set during the production of Smith's horror curio. According to Parkinson, the escalation of the bizarre but unassuming post led to "the strangest year and a half of his life" (and one of the weirdest movies to boot).

"I got whisked out to North Carolina for filming. I spent a week wandering around a deserted country club, watching Michael Parks muttering lines from my advert in a gloriously sinister way, and coming face to face with some very alarming life-size walrus suits," Parkinson recalls. "A year later, I was out in LA watching the premiere, although I don't think anyone knew who the hell I was when I walked down the red carpet."

Many authors, including Stephen King, hated some movie adaptations of their work. But Parkinson glows about Tusk as a piece of cinema. "I loved it. I think it's absolutely hilarious. But it horrified other people," he enthuses. "It's certainly a bit more sinister than my original advert, but I think that works in its favor. It takes the premise set up in the post and it evolves it to its logical and terrible conclusion. And the ending is probably the most heartbreaking moment in the entire history of cinema. Perhaps man truly is a walrus at heart." Parkinson met Smith a handful of times and maintains that the legendary director was "kind, welcoming and absolutely hilarious."

However, movie director Kevin Smith initially thought that the advertisement was real when researching the movie. "Kevin didn't know that it was some guy writing a ridiculous advert on Gumtree (a Craigslist equivalent in the UK) – he thought that people were trying to introduce him to a real guy with a spare room and a homemade walrus costume. Which, given how things turn out in the film, might not be the sort of person you'd actually want to meet in real life."

As far as the original post goes, over 400 people replied, which, according to Parkinson, "says a lot about the housing situation in most major cities." But would he have replied having stumbled across the ad himself? "I would like to say no, but I'm always up for a challenge." Tusk received a disappointingly meager theatrical release in the UK, but Chris Parkinson and Kevin Smith contributed something singular to the horror genre. Here's hoping that the snake vortex movie picks up traction soon. In hindsight, Tusk was a rarity that warrants a revisit.

Why Kevin Smith Adapted The Real Walrus Man Advert Into Tusk

The Director Saw The Potential Of The Weird Tusk True Story

Tusk has been warmly received by audiences who enjoy body horror, weird movies, or are simply fans of cult cinema icon Kevin Smith. However, many have wondered why Kevin Smith made Tusk in the first place. The premise is incomparably bizarre, and while it's easy to appreciate this as a viewer watching Tusk, it raises questions about how the movie made it through the gate. Kevin Smith has been open in interviews about the difficulties he faced getting Tusk made, and many of them stemmed from just how ridiculous the plot seemed on paper, even with the viral Tusk true story cited by the director for justification.

Speaking to AskMen, Kevin Smith revealed that Justin Long in particular was a difficult actor to bring aboard. "I hit him [Justin Long] up with a script, and his agent was like, don’t do this." Kevin Smith explained when recalling the Tusk star's initial reaction to the story, "He was like, “Dude, my agent told me, 'You’re already the Apple guy, don’t be the walrus guy as well.'” He said he was scared of it, but he f***ing loved it." Suffice it to say, Long's agent eventually overcame their concerns, and the movie is now considered one of the highlight performances of the actor's career.

As for why the Tusk true story stood out to Kevin Smith to make it into a movie after laughing about it in a podcast, much of it had to do with the opportunity it presented. The Tusk director was open about how his love of horror movies informed the film, both in terms of his decision to make it and the tone of the finished product.

Kevin Smith recalled that in his childhood "I wanted to watch f***ing John Landis tear sh*t up with American Werewolf. And that’s the spirit animal of this f***ing movie. Because the tone of that movie informed Tusk. I was 10, 11 years old when I saw that. That flick is incredibly f***ing gory, incredibly scary, and f***ng trippy as well, but periodically, Landis injected big doses of humor. I remember the poster was like, “From the director of Animal House comes a new kind of animal.” And it was a new kind of animal. It was a f***ing scary movie that was also funny."

Smith's love for the gory visceral elements of horror movies shows in Tusk's execution too. The living walrus suit Wallace gets fused with wasn't part of the ad in the Tusk true story, and was concocted by Kevin James. It's understandably been a talking point since Tusk's release, and the director took great lengths to ensure it was front-and-center when it came to what disturbed audiences saw on screen — "Once we start showing him, we’re like, “Look at it!” Because that’s what you paid to see. At the end of the day, it’s sideshow material. The only reason you came into that f***ing dark room is because you’re like, “I heard they made the guy a walrus.”

Tusk 2 Is Coming

Kevin Smith's Bizarre Walrus Movie Is Getting A Sequel

Break out the human walrus costume, because Tusk is getting a sequel. In the podcast Fatman Beyond (via Geek Tyrant) Kevin Smith himself reported that Tusk 2 is on the way, and there's a reason he left the human walrus at the zoo in Tusk's ending. The writer/director/actor even gave up some of the sequel's premise, which will be called Tusks, so audiences can know what to expect.

Firstly, Justin Long will be returning to reprise his role, and at some point, he will be rehabilitated out of the human walrus. However, his transformation still sticks with him — and he wants to inflict the pain he experienced on others now. Presumably, horror actor Justin Long will be surgically turning people into half-human-animal hybrid in Tusk, and it'll be intriguing to witness Long in a villain role. Kevin Smith plans to bring the Tusk sequel to the big screen in 2024, on the ten-year anniversary of the original film.

• 

  Tusk

  Director:

  Kevin Smith

  Release Date:

  2014-09-06

  Cast:

  Michael Parks, Justin Long, Genesis Rodriguez, Haley Joel Osment, Johnny Depp

  Writers:

  Kevin Smith

  Rating:

  R

  Runtime:

  101minutes

  Genres:

  Horror, Comedy

  Summary:

  When Wallace Bryton interviews an eccentric old sailor, Howard Howe, for his podcast, the old man tells him of a walrus named "Mr. Tusk" who once saved his life. Unfortunately, the story doesn't end there, as Howard's obsession with Mr. Tusk means he has some disturbing plans for Wallace.

  Budget:

  $3 million

  Distributor(s):

  A24

  Sequel(s):

  Yoga Hosers

  Studio(s):

  A24