Studio 666 Review: A Real Splatterfest

Huge thanks to Sony for sending this on through as we bring you our Studio 666 review.

Members of the rock band Foo Fighters move into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock ‘n’ 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 members.

Following in the footsteps of low-budget horrors and from a story written by Growl himself Studio 666 has a quirk to it that you just wouldn’t expect.

Studio 666 forms a fusion between classic cheesy horror and old-school rock music as the band are under pressure from management to record their 10th album. Dave is looking for a new sound outside of the same boring old studios and ends up hiring a mansion once belonging to a band that mysteriously vanished.

The band get to work and soon the secrets of the house are revealed and Grohl isn’t just possessed by musical talent but a whole other beast entirely.

Directed by Hatchet III director BJ McDonnell this film has gore aplenty with the numerous kills on display and even Hatchet references with certain character names involved in the quite brief back-story.

It’s all shot in one location with a whole load of non-actors who seem somewhat uncomfortable delivering lines other than Grohl who surprisingly enough seems to carry his bandmates in terms of acting performance.

There are little chuckles of comedy here and there and as the film goes on the other bandmates slowly come into their own and you can see the comfort they have on-screen as the film goes on. They ease into their spoof persona and have fun with it.

Revolving around rockers and an egotistical frontman hellbent (get it?) on writing this perfect album there are some genuine horror elements too.

With superb kills and some jump scare moments, it has more than enough to keep horror fans hooked.

The kills are just gnarly with special effects aplenty at work here for a good old fashioned blood splatter fest.

You don’t have to be a diehard Foo fan to get the jokes and whilst the first half of the film drags on a little it’s quick to speed up once Dave is taken over by this ominous force.

A tribute to the Foo Fighters, a tribute to their love of horror but certainly not a film you’d want to see on a big screen.

Studio 666 feels like a more intimate experience indoors with a few cans of beer, some nachos and just come along for the unexpected ride of a Foo Fighters horror movie that genuinely doesn’t suck.

It’s a film you can laugh along with rather than at as the band clearly know they’re not making the next big iconic franchise here. It’s Tenacious D Pick of Destiny had it decided to go down a gorefest horror route and I’m all for it!

The film also hits much harder for more personal reasons with fans with the recent passing of drummer Taylor Hawkins. With Taylor featuring in this quite heavily, it’s one of the last pieces of media that Taylor appeared in before he left this world.

Despite your thoughts on this movie it’s going to stay with fans of Taylor’s for a very long time.

Studio 666 review by Sean Evans