I don’t really know if there was a big demand for a movie featuring The Foo Fighters that is part music and part a gory slasher fest, but here we are with STUDIO 666, a horror comedy that somewhat confused me at the start as it starts with a SCREAM-like horror stinger to get the ball rolling. I was more hoping for a cinematic concert of some sort!
The setup is somewhat strange; The Foo Fighters are doing their 10th studio album and have found a rather creepy house with a sinister past that comes to life as they are also struggling to put their music together. Dave, playing himself, is going through a bit of a personal struggle while at the same time trying to figure out exactly why the house is trying to kill the band. Wackiness definitely ensues.
The level of gore here is right at the level of the genre film festivals that I attend like Austin’s own Fantastic Fest, and the reason I mention it is because there’s a definite, specialized audience for this and I don’t think it is for a wide cinematic release (early box office returns have been very poor). It earns its adults only rating for sure and there are quite a few genre elements that made me smile, even right down to horror master John Carpenter working on a portion of the score AND the man himself makes a brief appearance as a sound engineer.
Not all of it works though. Some of the jokes are a little too on the nose, but with Dave’s smile and enthusiasm still here after all of these years, some of the groaners (especially one where he plays old songs and his band-mates point it out as if the audience wasn’t smart enough) I did let go as it was just cool to see his personality on screen. There’s a Lionel Ritchie cameo that will appease the hipster crowd, and an amusing cameo by Will Forte that ends in graphic fashion, but many more of them are pretty forgettable.
Even with the pacing all over the map at a pretty overlong 106 minutes (whatever happened to the 84-87 minute comedy?), the cursing over the top and questionable acting from almost everyone…STUDIO 666 still has its moments and it’s not to be taken seriously whatsoever. It’s cool to see some awesome music in a weird but funny concept of making good music when you are much older. I DO recommend checking out Dave’s documentary SOUND CITY if you want an even more substantial Grohl fix. As for STUDIO 666, I’m a bit surprised this is getting a wide theatrical release as it would seem more at home on Shudder or a streaming service, but it’s pretty cool to see Dave and the band back together.
STUDIO 666 is now playing in theatres. Special thanks to MK2 Mile End for sending along a screening link for review.