"STUDIO 666" (2022)

Studio 666 (2022)

Directed by BJ McDonnell

Written by Jeff Buhler, Rebecca Hughes, based on a story by Dave Grohl

Starring The Foo Fighters

Running time 1 hour, 46 minutes

MPAA Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, and sexual content

By Hunter Bush

A lot of bands love movies. Especially horror movies. After seeing Studio 666, I’m certain that Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters is a fan of the Evil Dead movies. Even as I type this I’m reasonably certain that he’s appeared in some documentary or another talking about it. He kind of pops up like that a lot. The man is a pop cultural sponge.

Grohl and the rest of the Foos play themselves in the flick (based on an idea from Grohl himself), a band on the eve of finally recording their 10th album, if only Dave would stop dithering and commit to some studio time. Luckily, their manager (Jeff Garlin) knows just the place. There’s a house in Encino that has a little bit of a history that might intrigue the band. It seems that back in the ‘90s a band (the fictitious Dream Widow, supposedly “the next Jane’s Addiction”) holed up there and things, to put it gently, did not go as planned. They all died. Violently.

As the band prepares and Dave has to admit that he’s creatively constipated, things take a turn for the spooky as whispery voices, red-eyed smokey silhouettes, a creepy groundskeeper, and other familiar haunted house tropes begin piling up. Bodies too. With Dave obsessed with a gnarly new song, one that he MUST FINISH, the Foos begin to feel trapped and they won’t all survive!

Studio 666 opens with some nice, shocking gore that’s really well done and for a minute I genuinely wasn’t sure which side of the horror/comedy line the film was aiming to come down on. Was it a comedy with horror elements or a horror movie that was funny? Ultimately it falls just a bit on the lighter side of things, despite the quality and fidelity of the gore effects. Some of the comedy is completely carried by the performances, like Pat Smear mocking Dave Grohl’s admission of seeing the creepy groundskeeper on the grounds overnight: “The killer gardener of Encino…”, but some things like the repeated reference to the “Pearl Jam high-five”, were genuinely fun and funny. There were also some kind of lowest common denominator gags, like a semi-climactic battle that is just back to back nut kicks like low-blow Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em robots.

The humor works best for me when it genuinely feels like a Foo Fighters joint. Their videos for things like “Everlong”, “Learn to Fly”, and even “Low” showcase a sense of humor that feels specific to the Foos (and Tenacious D who somehow do not appear in this film - a bet I would have made and lost) and there are moments of that humor here. The post- cold open introduction scene of the band at their record label, and their initial arrival and unpacking at the house have it, and a pre-climax confrontation around the in-ground pool does as well. Throughout the middle of the movie that tone largely gets lost in favor of being just a horror movie. You see flashes of it here and there, like when the nosy neighbor (Whitney Cummmigs) delivers lemon squares dusted with cocaine, or when Dave, deep in his songwriter’s block, begins playing "Hello" only to have Lionel Ritchie himself show up and advise him “That’s my fuckin’ song! Get your own song! Nerd.” but for whole stretches, the tone switches to your run of the mill horror offering.

My single favorite contribution that Dave Grohl has made to pop culture is his appearance in the Fresh Pots video (compiled from behind the scenes footage from the recording of a Them Crooked Vultures album Dave played on) - which is in no way meant to devalue the literal dozens of other amazing things Grohl has had a hand in - and I kind of wish he’d brought a little bit of that energy and …Muppet-ish-ness (?) to his spiral into madness here.

This is Monday morning quarterbacking, but I wish there was more of the Foo Fighters DNA in this film (metaphorically). BUT. Having said that, I had a great time with this. If you’re looking for something to show to a new horror fan, or throw on after your next band practice, I all but guarantee this flick pairs well with beers, pizza, and friends. As I enjoyed my own Fresh Pots this morning, I repeatedly howled laughter at some goofy thing or another, and I honestly and truly hope Dave and the Foos make more movies.

Imagine if they just pumped out some weird little horror comedy every couple of years, like those straight-to-video Scooby-Doo movies but with the goofball Foo Fighters and their pals at the center instead of a cadre of nosy teens? They could star in a remake of KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park! Or let them make whatever the Foo Fighters version of Yellow Submarine would be! I’m just spit-balling, but clearly I have some ideas. Call me, Dave. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This piece was written for MovieJawn, a fabulous site where you can find tons of other excellent movie-centric writings, a shop where you can subscribe to the quarterly physical zine, or listen to me on the  Hate Watch / Great Watch  podcast! Support the MovieJawn Patreon here!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------