Kevin Smith goes weird with another horror comedy in the vein of Red State which shows his continued confidence as a filmmaker - though it wasn't as good as his earlier stab in the genre. It has some great moments and wonderful acting but I kept feeling it wasn't quite a feature - maybe more a 50 minute episode of an anthology TV show.
Justin Long is effective as the egotistical podcaster who has an experience even worse than James Caan in Misery - Long is meant to be a prick (greedy, making fun of people, cheating on his girlfriend) - but because Long is so likeable, and he's not that bad, and his girlfriend his cheating on him with his best friend, you still really feel for the poor guy and he doesn't deserve what happens to him.
Michael Parks is given another fantastic role by Smith as the crazy serial killer and there is good work from chubby Hayley Joel Osmet and Genesis Rodriguez, plus some enjoyable Smith family cameos eg Ralph Garman. I loved some bright Smith dialogue (eg the exchange with the customs official), felt the "Not see Party" gag was over-used, and the reveal of the walrus costume was stunningly effective and the ending didn't cop out. I liked Smith's daughter and Johnny Depp's daughter (the latter stunning beautiful) as bored convenience clerk workers.
Where the film fell down was in the last third after the transformation. It needed an extra twist and you think you're going to get it when Johnny Depp pops up as a cop. But he mainly craps on with a dodgy nose and gets a long flash back with Parks. Sure he fleshes out the back story but really everything Depp's character does could be done by Rodriguez and Osmet, and the movie drags when it should accelerate. I did like the ending though.
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