Horror and Comedy are like Peanut Butter and Jelly.  Don’t argue with it and just chow down…

While a movie like Studio 666 will never be mistaken for high art in the annals of cinema history, it serves as a reminder and a love letter to the horror films of the 80’s and why rock and roll and gore just work so well together.

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.

On paper we’ll readily admit that this feels like some goofy shit and seeing ‘Foo Fighters Presents’ before a feature film doesn’t really inspire confidence but this film actually works for one very simple reason.

It’s earnest in its presentation and knows exactly what it is trying to do.  From the people behind the scenes to the actors and performers on screen, this is just a fun horror romp that tips its cap to the history of the genre.

Rife with throwbacks and nods to the horror gods, the script from screenwriters Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes working from the story idea from Dave Grohl; basically writes itself.  It’s not reinventing any kind of storytelling wheels but it takes us down a fun road in an effective fashion.

The real magic of this film actually comes from director BJ McDonnell, as this could have easily been a rock star vanity project where the band is basically goofing off and generally not giving a damn, but on this one there’s no doubt that everyone is committed to the story.

Yeah it’s an inherently silly one, but there’s never enough credit given when people effectively commit to something that is more than a little dumb.  McDonnell with his years of camera operating experience knows how to keep a narrative moving and have his team on point.  Something that is even more impressive considering that his primary leads in the film aren’t really actors and just playing exaggerated versions of themselves.

In concert with a very deliberate effort to make sure that any of the effect shots and scary moments in the film are as in camera and as practical as possible, there’s an honesty to this film that is difficult to ignore.  It’s hard to fake any kind of love, and McDonnell and the entire team that worked on this film really had genuine love for it all which shines on the screen.

And yeah we’re not going to beat around the bush that Dave Grohl as the defacto lead in the film is basically playing…Dave Grohl and while it will never net him a best actor nomination any time soon, McDonnell does a very good job of turning the perform switch on in not just Grohl but the entire band.  Alongside for the ride in supporting roles and cameos, the likes of Will Forte, Whitney Cummings, Jeff Garlin and Jenna Ortega all do good jobs in helping to drive the narrative and take the band on an adventure that intersects somewhere between classic Universal horror, the indie sensibilities of the 1970’s filmmakers that elevated the horror genre to the next level and a good old fashion episode of Scooby Doo where they get lost in a cemetery or something.

Studio 666 simply wants to rock out and take audiences on a ride; and in this day and age there isn’t a damn thing wrong with that.