"Studio 666" is a horror/comedy about the Foo Fighters recording their 10th studio recording in a mansion in Encino, CA that was once the scene of a bloody murder. The house is believed to be haunted and little by little, the house possesses Dave Grohl into not only creating a song to bring on hell itself but also lay waste to all his band members. The story is come from Dave Grohl and in the spirit of rock bands making movies, this is a fantastic entry into the horror movie catalogues of haunted house movies.
Now, this is a relatively small, indie production movie so there is a lot of noticeable special effects not being up to par but if you have ever seen movies like Shudder's "Satanic Panic", you won't find the CGI too jarring. In fact, when you hear people talk about this film, you will generally hear them mention two version distinct things; the acting is pretty bad, C movie bad. I mean... the band aren't filled with actors. The only really good performances come from Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee, and Whitney Cummings. The other thing you hear about is the kills. This movie has kills that would make Takashi Miik (Ichi the Killer, Audition) a raging boner for the sheer amount of blood sprayed all over the screen.
The story is your typical demon possession film with the background of the Foo Fighters trying to write their next record but Dave Grohl seems to have writers block and slowly starts to spiral into madness when he discovers the recording of the previous band that rented the house to record. The recording was soo "new sounding" that it instantly gripped Dave's soul, and ultimately took over it, in the hopes of completing the unfinished song... a 30+ minute epic instrumental that sonically would bring upon hell itself. The story is pretty funny because of the band members, who are portraying themselves, begin to have small fights and disagreements like any other band but with Dave Grohl being pretty good at comedic timing, the story is pretty enjoyable and you laugh alot with the band. It sort of reminds me of the movie "Airheads" with Brendon Fraiser, which had great performances from Frasier, Buscemi, and Sandler that made you laugh and smile throughout that film. The same can be said here... especially if you are having drinks and/or smoking a few during or before the movie.
This movie is a fun horror film that is definitely going to turn into a cult classic for the holiday because it has all the elements needed... demons, rock music, and tons and tons of blood. The kills of the film are definitely well thought out and executed and straight up laughable. You will definitely have a great time with this movie as long as you understand this isn't Hereditary, Exorcist, or The Conjuring level horror. This is a horror comedy that comes to make you laugh and rock out... with or without your head.
Rating: B+