Joey Magidson
The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, after a bit of a delay, we officially continue the miniseries within this series that concerns a favorite filmmaker of mine…
When we last left off with this Kevin Smith miniseries, I was defending the odd duck that is Tusk (here). Prior to that (here), I professed my love for Smith‘s deeply underrated Red State. Now comes my toughest challenge yet…Yoga Hosers. This is, give or take Cop Out (I maintain that Jersey Girl is actually underrated), which Smith didn’t write, the filmmaker’s red-headed stepchild. That being said, there’s something here, something that I can’t quite dismiss. Sure, I’ve been labeled a fanboy when it comes to this particular auteur, and it’s not an inaccurate statement, but I see what he’s going for and I think it does sort of work.
Yoga Hosers, like Tusk, started life as a podcast flight of fancy between Smith and his SModcast co-host Scott Mosier. Morphing into a movie, it’s actually a spinoff of Tusk, taking Canadian clerks Colleen Collette (Lily-Rose Depp) and Colleen McKenzie (Harley Quinn Smith), teaming them up with man-hunter Guy Lapointe (Johnny Depp) to deal with an ancient, Nazi-related, evil. Sarcasm, yoga moves, and teenage indifference may be all that stands in the way of utter doom. If it sounds weird in theory, just wait until you see it in execution.
One thing that the film does sport which is undeniable is a hell of a cast. In addition to the Depp and Smith girls in the lead, we have on hand the likes of Adam Brody, Austin Butler (soon to be seen in Elvis), Ralph Garman, Ashley Greene, Tony Hale, Stan Lee, Justin Long, Natasha Lyonne, Jason Mewes, Harley Morenstein, Haley Joel Osment, Tyler Posey, and more, even including both of the Depp and Smith parental units. Everyone is having fun and knows exactly what kind of a project they’re in.
The flick also has a unique style, almost as if it’s Smith’s Scott Pilgrim vs the World. It’s done on the cheap, sure, but there’s a personality on display that sets it apart from almost everything else. Good or bad, it’s one of a kind, that’s for sure. Me? I may be in the minority here, but I think it’s actually mostly good. Traditional? Not at all? Entertaining in a mind-melting sort of way? Totally.
Yoga Hosers has a movie monster you’ve never seen before, and never will again, in The Bratzis. Played in motion capture by Smith himself, they’re an amusing gag that also makes for some fun kills, both when they’re up to no good, and when the girls take them on. There’s also the monstrous Goalie Golem, which feels very Canadian and perfect for this flick. It’s wild touches like that which makes it something that should rightly be a cult classic or midnight movie in the making.
A highlight for me, and maybe me personally, is watching Garman basically put on a comedy impression skit in the film’s third act, when he’s revealed as the big bad. Now, it’s essentially a callback to his podcast with Smith, Hollywood Babble-On (or more recently, his terrific daily show The Ralph Report), but it’s an incredibly random and weird move for a project that’s constantly making those choices.
This film may not be particularly scary, but it’s trippy and bizarre in a way that I think is slept on a bit. This is closer to Smith trying to meld his brand of stoner humor with his dabbling in horror. Red State was pretty close to completely serious, while Tusk played it straight while slyly winking at you. This is much more Smith giving teenage girls their lightly horrific adventure, and I respect that. His heart, as well as his ambitions, are truly in the right place.
Yoga Hosers is a movie that hardcore Kevin Smith fans appreciate more than most, but if you like weird shit, this horror comedy has something there. Next up, we’ll be moving past the True North Trilogy (at least until Moose Jaws eventually gets made) to talk about his anthology fright flick efforts. It’ll be a bit, but sit tight, as we’re not done with Smith’s horror output quite yet…
Stay tuned for another Sunday Scaries installment next week!
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