Bloody Disgusting’s Studio 666 review is spoiler-free.
Satanic horror and rock music make for a perfect pairing, like chocolate and peanut butter. So, it makes sense that Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Foo Fighters would use horror as a vehicle for a movie about their band. Trying to inspire creativity for the Foo Fighters’ tenth album instead winds up summoning demons from Hell in this one, offering up an entertaining and bloody horror-comedy that serves as a band spotlight first and foremost. The excessive gore and personalities delight, even if Studio 666 is prone to meandering.
The Foo Fighters owe a new record to manager Jeremy Shill (Jeff Garlin), but lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Dave Grohl needs to refill his creative well to get started. Shill arranges a stay at an Encino mansion as a retreat to get the juices flowing and the album underway. The only catch is that the estate was host to another band a decade ago, and it ended in bloodshed when the band’s leader turned to demonic forces and wound up killing his bandmates. The curse resurfaces when Grohl stumbles upon an eerie basement and gets possessed by music. The Foo Fighters soon find themselves grappling with metaphorical and literal demons.
(L to R) Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett, Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, and Rami Jaffee star as themselves in director BJ McDonnell’s STUDIO 666, an Open Road Films release. Credit : Courtesy of Open Road Films
After one violent opening, Studio 666 spends time establishing dynamics between Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, and Nate Mendel. Their personalities, quirks, and in-jokes lend energy to the first half, offering a fun hang-out movie with the Foo Fighters. Refreshingly, it’s all about the band members rather than a greatest hits music video; save for a few familiar guitar riffs as part of a joke, Studio 666 doesn’t revisit the band’s previous hits.
It’s the cursed song driving the band forward here. The score by Roy Mayorga (drummer of Ministry, Hellyeah, and Stone Sour) and an original theme song by John Carpenter provides an unexpected sound, suited ideally for a demonic horror movie.
Director BJ McDonnell (Hatchet III) is no stranger to gore and brings the carnage here. With special makeup effects by Tony Gardner, McDonnell sprays copious amounts of blood, and a chainsaw death stands out as a highlight. However, the downside is that many of the kills get too spread out. Above the horror, it is a band movie, and the pacing winds up uneven in the back half.
The nature of the curse means that the possessed is obsessed with completing this demonic hymn, so much so that it’s a running gag. The movie also gets tangled up on endings, with the plot dragging out far too long thanks to multiple endings.
While that ultimately means that Studio 666 doesn’t finish nearly as strong as it starts, it still makes for an entertaining jam session full of gore, laughs, and endearing moments between the band. Based on Grohl’s story, Jeff Buhler & Rebecca Hughes‘s screenplay transforms a familiar writer’s block scenario, exacerbated by fears of being washed up, into a lighthearted splatstick horror-comedy that wears its horror influences on its comedic sleeves. That the Foo Fighters don’t take themselves seriously makes for an infectiously fun, if uneven, time full of gleefully deranged horror moments, surprise cameos, and a new appreciation for the band.
Studio 666 releases in theaters on February 25, 2022.
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