Directed by BJ McDonnell
Written by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes, based on a story by Dave Grohl
Starring Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Jenna Ortega, Rami Jaffee, Pat Smear, “Foo Fighters as Themselves”
Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes
MPAA Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, and sexual content
On demand starting February 25th

by Hunter Bush, Staff Writer

A lot of bands love movies. Especially horror movies. After seeing Studio 666, I’m certain that Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters is a fan of the Evil Dead movies. I’m reasonably certain that he’s appeared in some documentary or another talking about it. He kind of pops up like that a lot. The man is a pop cultural sponge.

Grohl and the rest of the Foo Fighters play themselves in the flick (based on an idea from Grohl) about a band on the eve of recording their 10th album, if only Dave would stop dithering and commit to some studio time. Luckily, their manager (Jeff Garlin) knows just the place. There’s a house in Encino that has a little bit of a history that might intrigue the band. It seems that back in the ‘90s a band (the fictitious Dream Widow, supposedly “the next Jane’s Addiction”) holed up there and, to put it gently, things didn't go as planned. They all died. Violently.

As the band prepares and Dave has to admit that he’s creatively constipated, things take a turn for the spooky as whispery voices, red-eyed smokey silhouettes, a creepy groundskeeper, and other familiar haunted house tropes begin piling up. Bodies, too. With Dave obsessed with a gnarly new song, one that he must finish, the Foos begin to fear they will not survive. 

Studio 666 opens with some nice, shocking gore that’s really well done and straddles the horror/comedy line. Is this a comedy with horror elements or a horror movie that is funny? Ultimately it’s just a bit on the lighter side of things, despite the quality and fidelity of the gore effects. Some of the comedy is completely carried by the performances, like Pat Smear mocking Dave Grohl’s admission of seeing the creepy groundskeeper on the grounds overnight, “the killer gardener of Encino.” Some things, like the repeated reference to the “Pearl Jam high-five”, were genuinely funny. There are also some lowest-common-denominator gags, like a semi-climactic battle that is just back-to-back nut kicks, like a low-blow Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.

The humor works best when it genuinely feels like a Foo Fighters joint. Their videos for things like “Everlong”, “Learn to Fly”, and even “Low” showcase a sense of humor that feels specific to the band (and Tenacious D, who somehow do not appear in this film - a bet I would have made and lost). Throughout the middle of the movie, this playful tone largely gets lost in favor of being just a horror movie. You see flashes of it here and there, like when the nosy neighbor (Whitney Cummings) delivers lemon squares dusted with cocaine, or when Dave, deep in his writer’s block, begins playing “Hello” only to have Lionel Ritchie himself show up and advise him “That’s my fuckin’ song!” but for whole stretches, the tone switches to your run-of-the-mill horror offering.

My single favorite contribution that Dave Grohl has made to pop culture is his appearance in the Fresh Pots video - which is in no way meant to devalue the dozens of other amazing things Grohl has had a hand in - and I kind of wish he’d brought a little bit of that energy and …Muppet-ish-ness (?) to his spiral into madness here.

This is Monday morning quarterbacking, but I wish there was more of the Foo Fighters DNA in this film (metaphorically). But I still had a great time with this. If you’re looking for something to show to a new horror fan, or throw on after your next band practice, I guarantee this flick pairs well with beer and pizza. As I enjoyed my own Fresh Pots this morning, I repeatedly howled laughter at some goofy thing or another, and I honestly and truly hope Dave and the Foos make more movies.

Imagine if they just pumped out some weird little horror comedy every couple of years, like those straight-to-video Scooby-Doo movies but with the goofball Foo Fighters and their pals at the center instead of a cadre of nosy teens? They could star in a remake of KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park! Or let them make whatever the Foo Fighters version of Yellow Submarine would be! I’m just spitballing, but clearly I have some ideas. Call me, Dave.