Studio 666 (2022) User Reviews

Studio 666: It took me a while after the credits had rolled to decide if I liked it or not.

[Platypuschow · 6/10 · 19 November 2023]

Plot

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.

Cast

The Foo Fighters take the leading roles and are assisted by Jeff Garlin, Leslie "American Horror Story" Grossman, Jenna Ortega, Will Forte, John Carpenter and even features a hilarious cameo from Lionel Richie.

Verdict

I went in with almost no knowledge of the film beyond it being a horror comedy about the Foo Fighters and partially written by Grohl himself. This I find is the best way to be, I hadn't even seen the trailer yet.

The "Foo's" camp it up (More than I could have ever dreamed) in exactly that, a horror comedy with a fairly decent plot and some great deaths (Some of the best I've seen in a while). It was a lot gorier than I expected and plenty of the jokes hit the mark.

Other side of the coin? Plenty of the jokes don't, some of the cgi is really quite naff, the ending was a tired horror trope and the pacing is weird. Because of said pacing in fact the movie is oddly boring at times, like you're watching a Foo Fighters documentary then pow someone gets splattered and suddenly you're reminded this is a horror movie.

When the credits rolled I didn't venture my opinion to the other half as it hadn't formed, I was still a tad confused as to what I'd just watched. When it was bad it was dull, when it was good it was really quite entertaining.

It's an odd little film, perfectly watchable but I'd say if you're not a fan of the Foo Fighters it may not appeal.

Rants

Have Dave Grohl and Jack Black spent too much time together? I swear you could close your eyes and think Black was the lead of the film as their voices are so remarkably similar! And appearance? Is it just me or is Grohl turning into Tom Savini? Especially with a certain appearance change later in the film, I thought I was watching Dusk Till Dawn again.

Breakdown.

Some decent effects Many jokes are fantastic Awesome deaths and gore A Foo Fighters wet dream Some poor effects Many jokes fall flat Oddly boring due to the weird pacing.

Will Forte, funny as a dead baby joke.

Silly, dumb, stoopid. But boy, is it fun.

[stevelivesey67 · 7/10 · 19 March 2022]

Lots of laughs, lots of gore, lots of bad acting, bad editing and direction, but, despite all this, I had a lot of fun watching it.

Grohl is pretty good, the rest of the band, not so much.

To be picky, in a movie that is not meant to be taken too seriously, it is a bit too long and that is not how you wire a car, Pat!!

Exactly the B-movie ride I was expecting

[stu-miller-353-329893 · 6/10 · 25 February 2022]

I don't know if some misguided people were expecting to walk in to a polished, Hollywood big budget masterpiece, but that was certainly never the MO here. The trailers showed us that.

The acting sometimes verges on cringe-makingly awful, but the kills, thrills and gore are plentiful and, overall, the film is fun, even if it does sometimes meander aimlessly. You can tell they had fun making this.

Our beloved Foos do well with what they're given, but in terms of script, even if they're not given an awful lot, their sense of fun prevails.

This was hilarious

[rrobison-565-711600 · 7/10 · 25 February 2022]

You can tell the Foos love a good laugh. This wasn't so much a horror movie but instead was a series of inside jokes and double entendre. I found myself laughing at the jokes and then ultimately at the silliness. Thanks Dave and the rest of the guys!

Worth it just to see Kerry King play Dave Grohl's drum tech.

[subxerogravity · 6/10 · 25 February 2022]

I knew I would like this movie from the start. Dave Grohl is a magical Rock geek and this movie extends that. I'm a little surprise Dave Grohl can't act cause I seen him in other movies but I am not shocked that the rest of the Foo Fighters looked stiff on camera, but the thing about the movie is even if your love of the Foo Fighters is just in passing, you'll love this movie cause the Foo Fighters are in it.

I mean watching Pat Smear just recite lines was so entertaining. No one else could have pulled that off, no other band could have pulled off being such god awful actors in a two hour film and hold my interest, but they were able to do that, and all with only little pieces of a new incremental they played over and over again as part of the plot.

The idea apparently was something the Foo Fighters just thought would be cool for the longest time and decided just to do it. As themselves, the Foo Fighters set out to make their 10th album different by recording in a mansion that is haunted. I personally have herd the myths of rock bands recording albums in haunted houses. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are on record stating they felt a ghostly presence in the house they recorded Blood Sugar Sex Magik in (Drummer Chad Smith even moved out because of it).

Typical of Dave Grohl, who seems to love Rock and Roll lore, decides to poke fun of the whole thing with his own horror parody.

It is a movie for all Rock fans and all Foo Fighter fans and well worth seeing.

Would have benefitted from a tighter edit

[roobens · 5/10 · 17 March 2022]

Came into it expecting exactly what it was - a goofy B-movie with plenty of comical gore, horror tropes, and amusing jokes made at the expense of each band mate. I got all of these, however these moments were far too sporadically spaced throughout the movie, with idle chit-chatting that took the plot nowhere and scenes of the band rehearsing and chilling out, eating etc that were much too leisurely employed and dragged out for what felt like eternities at times.

It's a shame because there were enough quality moments in this to make it a great 70-80 minute movie, but space these out over the course of nearly 2 hours and it's a totally different prospect. The latter part of the film contained at least 3 places where the movie could have ended satisfactorily, only for another rather pointless event or 'twist' to take place to stretch it out another ten minutes.

Overall a slightly missed opportunity, as with tighter editing it could have been a cult classic.

Great b movie!

[aramina18 · 7/10 · 25 February 2022]

Some of these reviews are confusing. Did you think you were about to see an Oscar winning movie? This movie was a lot of fun and very entertaining. Was jump scary, which I wasn't expecting. Lots of fun and whole heartedly enjoyed it.

Get your kicks at Studio 666.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 5/10 · 26 March 2022]

I found out this morning that Taylor Hawkins passed away yesterday, the same day that I watched this film, so I wanted to open this review with a quick "rest in peace". I'm not sure how to segue from that, so I suppose I'll just start a new paragraph.

The greatest strength of 'Studio 666 (2022)' is arguably also its greatest weakness: the Foo Fighters and their wonderfully wonky acting. If there's any joy to be found here, it's purely because of the focal band and how much fun each member seems to be having. In fact, their energy is actually rather infectious and it makes for a rather sweet retrospective experience. In the moment, though, the movie isn't anywhere near as fun as it ought to be. It's goofy, gory and suitably self-aware, but it's also tonally inconsistent and far too long (it has about three different endings and ultimately settles on what's easily the worst one). It isn't particularly funny and it isn't particularly scary, either. It's a bit of a slog, to be honest. Pat Smear's almost permanent grin sort of encapsulates the picture's primary problem: it's always just one small step away from feeling fully credible. Every time it almost convinces you that it's a 'real' movie and you start to feel yourself getting lost in its B-movie pastiche, an unintentionally hokey or otherwise uncanny element will rear its head and set things right back to square one. Despite all this, it's never offensively bad. It's actually oddly endearing, even though it's undeniably subpar. It's never boring and its practical effects are surprisingly excellent. It has a couple of enjoyable moments, too. It's good enough for what it is, but not much more. 5/10.

The Foo Fighters vs the Forces of Darkness. It's likeable crazy comedy horror

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 26 February 2022]

Once again we come to a movie where I'm uncertain if 2 or 15 stars is what I'd give it, so I'll settle on 7, this despite the fact that stars don't really matter with something like... this. I mean, what other film in the year of our lord two thousand twenty two will you see former Germs guitarist (and touring guitar for Nirvana as my wife pointed out) Pat Smear screaming his head off as CGI demons try to rip his head off? This is maybe the most baffling comedy-horror film I've seen in a theater since Tusk - and that isn't a put down, persay, it's just... what is this?! And why is Pat Smear sometimes not good at all and other times is very funny?

Studio 666 is written like it was by 14 year olds who just discovered heavy metal and/or the Evil Dead from their older brother's cabinet, while still coming from seasoned veterans (the director of Hatchet III no less), and who cares if like 3/4ths of the Foo Fighters aren't from the Stella Adler school? It hasn't stopped rock stars from appearing in stuff and for material like a story where a band has to record an album in a house that is a portal to hell they can meet the bare minimum.

You know as soon as you see the trailer if you'll go see it, in a theater, as I did with Scream 5 and had no idea it was coming and once I saw it my thought was "HELLS YEAH... HUH... SURE! Wait is that Lionel Richie? Yes!" It's bloody, dorky, chunky, stupid, awkward, puzzling, as funny as it sometimes is pretty unfunny (some of the timing of the sorta jokes fall flat), and if I were stoned I might put a monument to it in its honor.

I gotta get an Oral History of how this came to be some day soon. Other highlights: Will Forte's wig, John Capenter (who scored the opening with his son) appearing for a cameo and probably being paid with the whiskey he drank on set, and how hard it goes in act three. I haven't listened to Foo Fighters regularly since before I had my undergrad degree, and it made me semi curious.... nah, this movie is enough. One real downside: it's a little too long.

Oh dear!

[tonyrushin-34466 · 2/10 · 14 October 2022]

Foo Fighters in a horror comedy? Not sure if either of these tags apply. Don't get me wrong, Dave is a top bloke, but if he wasn't who is is, this would never have been made. Its the D. G. show, as he plays out about 90% of the script himself and is in just about every scene. Unfortunately, that's not a good thing as he doesn't have the acting chops to carry the film. All could be forgiven it was actually funny, but to be honest the humour is cheesy at best. This is no Pick of Destiny!

Stick to the music lads!

I am sorry to say that this is the only film I have actually turned off before the end for years? Terrible...2 stars is generous.

The devil made me do it

[kosmasp · 8/10 · 27 February 2022]

We all know that Rock music is the devils work ... right? Right? No? Ok kidding aside (though pun certainly intended), you have to have the right mind set to watch this movie. Liking (or even loving) the Foo Fighters doesn't hurt either. Have to admit that my knowledge of them is more or less Dave Grohl - what a fun and funny Dude he seems to be. Maybe not the "character" he's playing here - but in real life.

Apart from the mood, you also have to be aware that the Foo Fighters are not trained or learned actors. It never bothered me a bit to be honest - but I read and have heard a lot of comments about their "inability" to act. I personally give them kudos for what they achieved. Yes there are moments that are weird to say the least - but you can always see them in the disguise of comedy and making fun of themselves - which they clearly do.

There is enough gore and blood to keep you on the edge, but also a lot of comedy too. Yes the pacing may be weird at times, but I enjoyed even the silent moments. And everything sort of makes sense in the end. I did not watch trailers, but many things seem to be out in the open even before you watch the movie - still this is a fun ride and if you spoil it and get too technical (no pun intended) ... you just are making it harder for yourself.

Silly, gory fun for Foo Fighters fans, I'm in!

[foxtografo · 6/10 · 16 March 2022]

By watching the trailer you know what's on offer, so let's not get too serious about this.

It's clearly a fun time with the Foos, nothing else.

The directing and cinematography was mediocre at its best, but I didn't watch this (and enjoy it) because I wanted to watch a cinematic masterpiece, I wanted to watch Dave Grohl and the gang being silly, and damn right I've got a lot of that!

As a surprising plus, I was quite impressed by the super gory deaths, Tom Savini style, fans of his B-Class movies will love this, some Mortal Kombat fatality stuff here!

I thank for the show and the fun, Dave always delivers!

Now I've got to go watch interviews and anecdotes about the making of, which I'm sure will be fun too!

Studio 666

[henry8-3 · 3/10 · 18 November 2023]

Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighter chums are working on their 10th album and decide to rent a rather run down mansion full of demons, spirits etc which take advantage of Mr Grohl, who insists, on pain of death etc that the band finish the final track.

One assumes that if you are a big fan of Grohl and his band that you are likely to enjoy this, punctuated as it is with loud noisy and no doubt highly respected music. For the rest of us who are indifferent to Grohl's talents, this is a shapeless, unfunny and not remotely frightening vanity project full of no discernible plot or script and relying heavily on the presence of an apparently regarded musician who has been handed a blank cheque because of who he is. Mostly dumb.

A couple of the very bloody death scenes are memorable.

So bad it's good!

[jmaheu-49407 · 7/10 · 27 February 2022]

If you're looking for a fun campy,horror movie with lots of gore and bad acting, then watch this movie! It was so silly,never took itself seriously and was the ONLY time Whitney Cummings was funny.

Nope... just NOPE

[lindyf29 · 1/10 · 11 March 2022]

This movie is SOOOOOOOOOO bad. I watch a lot of horror, a lot of crap horror, but this movie was totally the worst movie I have ever seen. I took my husband to the cinema's to watch this (he loves Foo Fighters). 5 minutes into the movie I was wishing I could switch it off or walk out, but I didn't want to let my husband down.

10 minutes into the movie he apologized, he also could not believe how bad it was. It was the worst time spent watching a movie, I was almost having a panic attack because I couldn't walk out.

The music is good but not enough to save the movie, next time just stick to the music... This movie was a complete ego trip for Dave Grohl, nothing else, nothing more.. save your time, because time is short..

Fun, funny, and very gory! Don't expect much more than that.

[pedropittss · 6/10 · 11 April 2022]

This film is as much a joke about the music world and the search for new albums, with the whole joke involving the "death of rock" and "rock is of the devil" being much more visible at the end. The piece is full of references to old horror movies, with clichés in every corner, but well executed, even Dave's possession is comparable to Jack Torrance's madness from The Shining (of course in totally different proportions). The violence is very explicit, which is totally normal in a horror and horror film. And the point that fails most in this film is the acting of the band members, but it is acceptable when you know that they are not actors, they are just musicians making a film that parodies reality. Each one gets a good amount of screen time, and the highlight is on Dave and him first discovering the secrets of the house and the Dream Widow band (created exclusively for the film).

Foos music = good. Foos movie = bad

[tbutta · 3/10 · 25 February 2022]

Love the Foo Fighters and Dave. Big fan. But some people simply cannot cross over from the music realm onto the silver screen. I realized halfway through the movie that despite the poor writing, poor acting, laughable special effects, shoddy camera work etc, and despite the plethora of cliche moments and obvious attempts at making the unfunny seem funny... despite all of this, if Jack Black had played the role of Dave Grohl in Studio 666, I probably would have laughed a ton throughout. Some have it, some don't. Heck, Will Forte stole the show in the 3 minutes of screen time he got. He's just a funny guy.

I can admit that Dave's a funny guy... when he's not trying to be. When he's on stage he is in his element. Not so much here.

This was not a good movie. It was hard to sit through. I'm glad I saw it just so I can say I did. Now let's never speak of it again.

Quirky goofy good fun!

[pierceduppinky · 8/10 · 25 February 2022]

Totally enjoyed this one. I'm a giant horror fan and a Foo fan also so I'm probably a bit bias but frankly, this was precisely what I'd hoped for.

It won't be for everyone. But if you dig the style of 80s cheesy horror, good laughs, and some decent gore, you'll probably enjoy this one.

It's goofy. But in the super fun sort of way that movies rarely are able to hit on correctly when they try. For me, this had a sort of "The Pick of Destiny" goofiness to it, with a mild Evil Dead 2 type of aesthetic. Don't get me wrong, its no Evil Dead either. But, it certainly has a level of that sort of cheese to it.

You can tell the boys just wanted to have a fun time of this and, the end product lands somewhere between "A serious go" and "A good movie to smoke some pot too."

Schlocky fun

[Psy-Ko · 7/10 · 20 March 2022]

I'll start by saying I am not a Foo Fighters or Dave Grohl fan, they're ok but not favorites of mine. However after seeing the trailer I was looking forward to seeing this. I grew up in the 80s and love that blend of rock & horror, also love schlock and low budget special effects. This movie is all that.

It's like Monster Dog & Black Roses had a baby! Rock band, satanic song, demonic possession and lots of bright red blood. What more could one want? It was a bit slow in the beginning but overall I enjoyed it.

Silly, gory, dumb rock'n'roll

[gavinp9 · 5/10 · 28 February 2022]

'Studio 666' is a Foo Fighters pet project, poking fun at themselves, rockstar excess and horror all in a fun film. The plot is simple - Dave (singer/songwriter), Nate (bass), Chris (guitar), Pat (guitar), Taylor (drums) & Rami (keyboards) are wanting to do something different for their 10th album, so end up recording in a haunted house. The rest is mostly an 'Evil Dead' rip-off!

Most of the fun comes from watching the band, who are clearly not actors, have fun with the absurdness/silliness. There are some good cameos from actual actors - Samantha (Cummings) the neighbour, Jeremy (Garlin) the manager and Darren (Forte) the delivery guy. And while it's semi-funny, it's definitely very gory and I think the death-count got to 9. Jut not sure it needed to be 1 hour 45min - might've ben a good 30min TV episode.

If you're a Foo fan and appreciate the humour in their video clips, you should enjoy this. Lots of little inside jokes and they play against their nice-guy personas on purpose. Still, they're definitely not actors! Only one actual Foo Fighters song from 'Medicine At Midnight' is used, during the credits - the song they play during the film is actually pretty good, even though it's in "L" key.

A gory but fun movie and NOT to be taken seriously

[mumooshka · 7/10 · 17 March 2022]

Has all the usual jump scares and is very bloody, so not recommended for children or the really young fans of the Foos Dave as usual, is the main focus of the movie as the band use a scary house to record their next album and to help Dave lose the writer's block he's suffering from

Good special effects and good sounds by the Foos with a bit of humour thrown in.

As I said in the title, not to be taken seriously at all. It's just a bit of Rock n Roll fun.

Only for the diehard fans of the Foo Fighters

[sue-77 · 3/10 · 12 October 2022]

This was pretty bad and unfortunately not in a good way. I am a fan of the Foo Fighters but even I could see this was just a vanity movie for the rick stars. It was kinda funny in a couple of spots. The gore was on the heavy, but campy silly side. The acting was just bad. The plot line was barely there and silly.

Why they didn't use more of Will Forte I can't understand! He was barely in the film and the only one who could act or who was funny. I guess they couldn't have him outshining the band.

The music was some rockin' heavy metal, but not enough to save this film for me. Nor the musical inside jokes. I can't recommend it.

Head Splittingly Funny!

[Pairic · 7/10 · 2 March 2022]

Studio 666: Comedy Horror where Foo Fighters send themselves up. Dave Grohl is the main protagonist as the group record their new album in the house haunted by the ghosts of a band massacred in 1993. Dave's songwriter's block spurs the narrative forward. There is a sharp edge to the horror though: in the 1993 opening sequence heads are beaten to a pulp with a hammer, later a musician is shoved head first into a barbecue grill, these disturbing scenes are unleavened with humour. Otherwise it's stoner fun as bit part players and stars alike are electrocuted, chainsawed and meet other gruesome ends provoking laughter from the audiences (at least when I saw it). Many standard horror film tropes and cliches are mercilessly parodied. John Carpenter supplies some of the music and has a cameo as a sound engineer. Good fun if a tad too long at 106 minutes. Directed by B. J. McDonnell from a screenplay by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes. 7/10.

Stick to making records guys!

[Stevieboy666 · 3/10 · 26 February 2024]

The Foo Fighters (as in the real rock band) are due to record their tenth album but they want to do something different. They set up studio in a large Californian house that comes with a murky past. Frontman Davi Grohl is suffering with writers' block and starts seeing horrific visions, which soon become reality. The movie is based on a book that he wrote and comes over as rather self-indulgent. Don't get me wrong, he comes across as a nice guy in real life (as do the rest of the band), but here it's all a bit too much "me, me, me". Horror comedy is a genre that either works or it doesn't and I'm afraid that apart from the odd laughs this one overall isn't very funny. In fact with a running time of 106 minutes it becomes quite a bore. By the 80 minute mark I'd pretty much had enough. It goes without saying that the Foos are musicians, not actors, so don't get your hopes up with good acting. Some of the guys are more convincing than others but it's Pat Smear, lovely chap that he seems, that gets the wooden spoon award. On a positive note it's cool to see Slayer's Kerry King and horror legend John Carpenter have small rolls. The other good thing about this movie is the gore, it doesn't hold back. A couple getting chainsawed in half whilst having sex is a real standout. There are a few nods to the Evil Dead, or it could be argued that things such as a book of spells made from human flesh was blatantly copied. If you are a big FF fans then you're probably going to love this movie. I think they are a great band, indeed I have seen them twice in concert, but I wouldn't put them in my favourite top 20 bands. I watched this because I am a massive horror fan. Studio 666 was a cool idea, it could have been so much better.

its the eternal...

[ops-52535 · 7/10 · 15 March 2022]

Epic fight about copyrights, and all the darksides of the death metal rock music. A superfascinating horror-gore-slasher musical...yes its a musical...that made my jawbone click outta its hinges of macabreness, and goosebumps on a more or less hairless grumpy old mans body, senile alopecia.

Foo fighters is to me just a name, ive heard some through my son headset, and its hard, and i must say they sound better than they act, but as a b+ horrorslasher and compared with other horror flicks their acts are far above what i expected.so whaterev you might think...its turbotime...

loads of riff and raffs, the long track reminded me a bit about some of german experimentalismic rock band CAN, and their long tracks at the tago mago album.i love the drummers devine efforts.

It surtainly works as a gutterly crusted intestinal black horror comedy, even though the story and script are super generic, i believe that this will be a musical cult classic in the years to come. Ive seen better, but it took me my surprise, and shock and awe. So will i recommend, yes , if you have the nerve and a heart for bloody instrumental homicide.