Studio 666 – movie review
If you aren’t a fan of either the Foo Fighters or shlock horror, you can give Studio 666 a wide berth.
The band gather around a boardroom table and their record label CEO Jeremy Shill (Jeff Garlin) enters with expletives flying. He tells them he’s in debt up to his eyeballs and the Foo Fighters are well overdue on their tenth album. Founder and guitarist Dave Grohl thinks a change of scenery might be in order. So, the manager makes a phone call and before you know it, the sextet and their roadies are setting up their equipment in an old LA mansion that has been vacant for years. But that’s because it was the site of a horrible massacre in 1993.
Grohl immediately senses death, but the acoustics are so good he can’t pass up the opportunity to record. That’s in spite of the fact that he can see nasty images and shadowy figures begin popping up regularly. When one of the crew is electrocuted, the writing is on the wall, but somehow Grohl convinces the others to stay put and compile an album as testimony to the deceased. Things go from bad to worse after Grohl discovers a mounted racoon with its guts wide open and spilling blood in the basement. Before long, Grohl is possessed by the devil.
I found Studio 666 as directed by BJ McDonnell excruciating to sit through. The story is by Grohl and the script – which is ridiculous – is the work of Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes. I can only imagine they thought they were being funny. The humour is puerile.
Don’t get me started on the acting. By and large, it is appalling (save for David Grohl, who does a passable job). The horror is way over the top. In fact, honestly, I can find nothing to commend the movie. The cast and crew may have had fun making this as a passion project, but I didn’t share their enthusiasm after having sat through this second-rate mess.
But who knows – if The Room can garner a cult following, Studio 666, should be a motza?
Alex First
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Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.