It’s Foo Fighters Week here at Consequence. Keep checking back throughout the week for interviews, lists, editorials and videos — it’s all things Foos, all the time. You can see everything in one convenient place here.
The Pitch: Decades ago, it wasn’t uncommon for a band or musical artist of some repute, from the Beatles to Prince to the Who, to star in a movie where they wouldn’t just be playing music, but would be playing themselves to some degree. Designed to appeal to fans of the band or artist, these projects would never push too hard into the realm of serious drama, instead leaning into comedy or other genres while also delivering a banger soundtrack.
Filmed in relative secrecy largely before the pandemic (production shut down in March 2020 along with the rest of the world, with the film eventually finished during quarantine), Studio 666 is a deliberate throwback to that proud tradition, starring Dave Grohl and his loyal Foo Fighters as themselves, but in a darker context. But that’s what you get for recording a rock album in a haunted house…
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Studio 666 starts as Dave (Grohl) is struggling with a bit of writers’ block when it comes to the new Foos album, a block that might be caused in part by the pressures that come with it being the 10th album. (For our purposes here, please disregard the existence of Medicine at Midnight.) But label exec Jeremy Shill (Jeff Garlin) has an idea, though, recommending that they check out an empty mansion in Encino, California as a potential recording space.
While creepy and rundown, Dave finds a glimmer of inspiration in the house’s acoustics, and asks the rest of the band to camp out with him in the house for a few weeks, just so they can bust out some killer tracks. Unfortunately, while Dave and the band seem to get their mojo back musically, the “killer” part above quickly becomes literal, as mysterious deaths begin occurring in and around the house, and Dave’s starting to act pretty weird — almost as if the house is possessed by a malevolent spirit that has gotten its hooks into Dave’s genius.
Studio 666 (Open Road Films)
The story doesn’t require much more explanation beyond that, as the other Foos fight to survive the house — and their own bandmate. The script by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes (from a story by Grohl) layers in just enough mythology to establish what might be behind the evil unleashed, but otherwise keeps the focus where it should be — on the Foos being Foos, even as things get both spooky and bloody.
And that’s why you’re tuning in, of course — for the carnage and mayhem. Horror films come in many different flavors, of course, and here director BJ McDonnell (a seasoned camera operator and music video director who also directed the 2013 horror sequel Hatchet III) avoids too much in the way of psychological terror and jump scares, instead delivering a pretty steady stream of graphic kills that lean more towards comedy than terror.
Buckets and Buckets of Blood: Studio 666 is less interested in getting under your skin than it is in making you scream-laugh at its graphic deaths, including a few kills that feel pretty unique to the genre. That’s not a criticism; in fact, McDonnell’s ability to balance the film’s more over-the-top horror touches with the comedy is essential to keeping the party going, especially when he leans hard on practical effects. Yes, the realism of a squished head or disembowelment might be lacking, but that’s not the objective of a film like this, and it helps that it knows it.
While there’s a strong supporting cast including Garlin, American Horror Story veteran Leslie Grossman, comedian Whitney Cummings, and MacGruber himself Will Forte, Grohl’s the real star here, making the most out of his rock star charisma while fully committing to all aspects of playing in a genre like this. (When Consequence asked Grohl about whether he prefers working with fake vomit or fake blood, we did so for a reason — he spends plenty of time with both here.)
Studio 666 (Open Road Films)
On the off chance that you’re not a Foo Fighters loyalist, at least to the point of knowing the names of every single band member off the top of your head, the film doesn’t demand that kind of insider knowledge to track who everyone is. That said, while each of the bandmates gets at least a small share of the spotlight, not all are equally served, and not quite enough is done to fully establish each of them as characters.
This is probably the film’s weakest aspect, but one that comes as an unfortunate side effect of making a movie with ostensibly six main characters — A Hard Day’s Night only had four Liverpudians to showcase as individuals, after all. That said, of the band, Rami Jaffee and Pat Smear get the most opportunity to establish themselves as individuals, with Jaffee, in particular, throwing himself into a very wild sequence with Cummings.
The Verdict: Loud, gory, sometimes silly, sometimes scary, and nearly always constant fun, Studio 666 is tailored to a pretty specific audience but has the potential to break outside of that niche, thanks to its commitment to old-school horror tropes with a hearty side of rock and roll. Some horror films make you scream out of fear; Studio 666 instead makes you want to scream just for the thrill of it — a roller coaster ride through a tsunami of blood, while the Foo Fighters rage into the mike.
Where to Watch: Studio 666 starts haunting theaters on Friday, February 25th.
Trailer:
