Foo Fighters have always had a flair for the slapstick, from the Mentos-parodying video for 1995's "Big Me" to the flight attendant cosplay of 1999's "Learn to Fly." That penchant for silliness reaches its ultimate expression in Studio 666, a feature-length horror-comedy that takes the tradition of the "band movie" (à la A Hard Days Night) and bathes it in blood.
Filmed in the same Encino mansion where the Foos recorded 2021's Medicine at Midnight, Studio 666 stars the band members as themselves. They turn this haunted house into a studio, and are cursed by a malevolent spirit while recording an epic-length metal song.
It's decently funny, with improvised scenes that feel a bit like hanging out with the Foos themselves. There's a running gag about a "Pearl Jam high five" — in which the guys join hands above their heads, like in the artwork for Ten — and Dave Grohl plays against his nice-guy reputation by being a domineering asshole who gets mad when people criticize his barbecue skills. Keyboardist Rami Jaffee is an unexpected standout as a new age-y hornball, and only the subdued Taylor Hawkins doesn't quite commit to the bit.
The inclusion of Hollywood stars like Will Forte (as a clingy delivery guy with a demo tape), Whitney Cummings (as the lusty neighbour) and Jeff Garlin (as the demanding record label rep) brings some Hollywood star power to the unvarnished charm of the Foo Fighters' comedy.
But Studio 666 really gets going once the blood starts flying. The special effects come courtesy of Tony Gardner, of Zombieland and Bad Grampa renown, and he really goes above and beyond in making Studio 666 totally over-the-top in its gruesomeness.
This is the kind of knowingly silly B movie that would be a perfect fit for TIFF's Midnight Madness programming. Gross without being visceral or scary, it's a total blast to watch. Grohl recently told Exclaim! in an interview, "Nobody's going for a fucking Oscar here. I hope someone sees this and fucking laughs and screams and fucking bangs their head on their movie seat." Mission accomplished.
(MK2 | MILE END)Filmed in the same Encino mansion where the Foos recorded 2021's Medicine at Midnight, Studio 666 stars the band members as themselves. They turn this haunted house into a studio, and are cursed by a malevolent spirit while recording an epic-length metal song.
It's decently funny, with improvised scenes that feel a bit like hanging out with the Foos themselves. There's a running gag about a "Pearl Jam high five" — in which the guys join hands above their heads, like in the artwork for Ten — and Dave Grohl plays against his nice-guy reputation by being a domineering asshole who gets mad when people criticize his barbecue skills. Keyboardist Rami Jaffee is an unexpected standout as a new age-y hornball, and only the subdued Taylor Hawkins doesn't quite commit to the bit.
The inclusion of Hollywood stars like Will Forte (as a clingy delivery guy with a demo tape), Whitney Cummings (as the lusty neighbour) and Jeff Garlin (as the demanding record label rep) brings some Hollywood star power to the unvarnished charm of the Foo Fighters' comedy.
But Studio 666 really gets going once the blood starts flying. The special effects come courtesy of Tony Gardner, of Zombieland and Bad Grampa renown, and he really goes above and beyond in making Studio 666 totally over-the-top in its gruesomeness.
This is the kind of knowingly silly B movie that would be a perfect fit for TIFF's Midnight Madness programming. Gross without being visceral or scary, it's a total blast to watch. Grohl recently told Exclaim! in an interview, "Nobody's going for a fucking Oscar here. I hope someone sees this and fucking laughs and screams and fucking bangs their head on their movie seat." Mission accomplished.
