Studio 666 is almost a miracle. It’s a movie featuring non-actors in a genre where bad acting is easy to spot. The horror story of Studio 666 takes some of the elements from movies like Evil Dead, Trick Or Treat, Black Roses, and other films surrounding heavy metal music and horror. This time around, it stars The Foo Fighters and their quest to record a new album. That quest takes them to a famous house where they can get the best sound out of their record. What follows combines demonic possession, a great (and lengthy) metal track, and plenty of gruesome deaths.

Here’s the synopsis for those who haven’t heard about the film:

Legendary rock band Foo Fighters move into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock and roll history to record their much anticipated 10th album. Once in the house, Dave Grohl finds himself grappling with supernatural forces that threaten both the completion of the album and the lives of the band.

For fans of The Foo Fighters, this is a dream. But Studio 666 works so well on plenty of other axes. The film is based on the accounts of Dave Grohl while working in the studio. Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughs wrote the screenplay. BJ McDonnell directed the film. It stars The Foo Fighters (Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee, Chris Shiflett, Pat Smear, and Nate Mendel), Whitney Cummings, Jeff Garlin, Leslie Grossman, and Jenna Ortega. There are also cameos by plenty of others, but that would delve a bit into spoilers.

Does Studio 666 work as a horror movie? Does it have enough laughs as a comedy?

For Non-Actors, The Foo Fighters Are Fantastic

Horror movies are the land of bad acting. Whether it’s some schlocky slasher flick from the ’80s or a new-age supernatural possession movie. It’s easy to spot bad acting when people are pretending to be scared. In Studio 666, the Foo Fighters all show off a more comical side of fright, but it’s genuine and well-performed for people who are not trained actors. In particular, Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, and Rami Jaffee give the best performances of the other members of the band. Their performances are support for the lead though. Dave Grohl is the star of the show, and he gets the most to work with. He drives the film and shows off some true horrific talents.

Think of Studio 666 and the performances like an R-Rated demonic, heavy metal-tinged episode of Scooby-Doo. The band gets to stretch their comedic muscles surrounding acts of violence and gore from the demonic possessed Dave Grohl. The supporting actors like Whitney Cummings and Jeff Garlin also give hilarious portrayals of a nosy neighbor and the record executive that’s wants a record as fast as possible.

Some of the performances are a bit short or don’t get enough time, however. Jenna Ortega seems like she’s this generation’s “Queen of Horror” but her character is no more than a glorified cameo. Leslie Grossman’s character also has some strange motivations that are revealed at the end of the film, but her character isn’t really given much to work with.

Those are small gripes compared to the fun that is had watching Studio 666 though.

Heavy Metal Thunder, Gore-Filled Fun

The thing that separates Studio 666 from other horror comedies of this era, is that it leans into the gore. People get their faces beat in, their heads chopped off, body parts are thrown through a woodchipper, there are plenty of musical-themed deaths, including one with a chainsaw. If you love gore, you’ll love Studio 666. Most of the kills are also practical or use CG to accentuate the gore. It’s refreshing to see a film like this blend the two styles so seamlessly.

The heavy metal on display does fall into the trap that most of these Rock N’Roll-Horror films fall into though. The evil force in the film wants this song to be finished. So heavy metal isn’t saving the day, it’s the cause of what’s going wrong in the film. It’s not as heavy-handed or hamfisted as other films in the subgenre, but it would have been nice to see heavy metal as something not evil for once.

Cameos Galore

There are plenty of recognizable people in smaller roles throughout Studio 666 from metal, comedy, and horror history. The biggest one might already be spoiled for some wanting to watch the film, but it’s safe to say that Studio 666 has the blessing of a master of horror. These cameos don’t distract from the film though. They add humor and fun to most of the scenes that they’re involved with. In one case, a cameo featuring a food delivery guy gets brought back and meets a hilarious, untimely, end.

Goofy Fun Highlights A Must-Watch Film For Music And Horror Fans

It’s a difficult job to balance goofy humor with actual frights in a movie. If you’re into the ’80s brand of horror-comedy like Evil Dead II or something like Tenacious D In the Pick of Destiny, Studio 666 fits right in. This is the version of A Hard Days Night if demons were possessing George, Paul, Ringo, and John.

The fun that the cast and production had on set oozes onto screens and it makes the film that much more enjoyable of a watch. In an age of real horror in our lives, Studio 666 provides a necessary escape to somewhere where horror and fun live in harmony. This is a future cult classic for genre fans.

Studio 666 is in theaters February 25th, 2022.

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