In ‘Studio 666,’ Foo Fighters Rock Out Against Demonic Forces With Absurd Joy

Alci Rengifo

Back when rock was still dominant in popular culture a few big bands would attempt the transition from stage to the big screen. Pop stars have also made plenty of movies, but there’s something about a rock band that lends itself so easily to buddy flicks or even mockumentaries. The Foo Fighters have decided to bring the rock band movie tradition back with gore-soaked silly spooks. “Studio 666” would have been a perfect drive-in movie a few decades ago. It has no other purpose than the goofy joy of imagining what would happen if the seminal alternative rockers found themselves entrapped in a creepy house with Satanic forces. Never does it take itself seriously, which is part of its oddball fun. “It all began with an idea by Dave Grohl. He came up with an idea while recording their latest album, ‘Medicine at Midnight,’ at the house where we shot at,” director BJ McDonnell tells Entertainment Voice about how the concept of the film came from Foo Fighters frontman Grohl. “Our producers, who I had worked with for a long time, came to me saying, ‘Hey, Dave has an idea. Want to talk to him about it? So they sent me his pitch and I made a ‘look book’ with ideas that would elevate his concept. We talked about horror films that we love. From there, it was just golden.” 

Shot in the style of modern grindhouse, the movie starts with the Foo Fighters feeling the pressure from their manager (Jeff Garlin) to finish their tenth album. Grohl is suffering from lack of inspiration, but knows he wants something with the sort of otherworldly vibe Led Zeppelin would grab when they dabbled in occult inspiration. The manager finds the perfect spot, a mansion deep in Encino with a murderous history. The band, Grohl, drummer Taylor Hawkins, rhythm guitarist Pat Smear, keyboardist Rami Jaffee, bass guitarist Nate Mendel and lead guitarist Chris Shiflett, check the place out. Grohl is instantly taken in by the acoustics while Jaffee is more entranced by an attractive neighbor (Whitney Cummings). The ensuing recording sessions are off to a rocky start as Grohl can’t seem to find an original idea or riff. Frustrated, the singer/guitarist comes across a dark secret in the house’s basement which leads to him being possessed by a hellish entity that brings forth lots of supernatural song ideas but puts the band in mortal danger.

You don’t have to be a devoted Foo Fighters fan to enjoy “Studio 666.” It might even help if you’re more of a low-budget horror devotee who worships the work of directors like Tobe Hooper or early Sam Raimi. McDonnell combines the morbid popcorn style of those filmmakers with the spirit of movies like “This Is Spinal Tap” or “A Hard Day’s Night.” Not surprisingly, “Halloween” director and composer John Carpenter has written the “Studio 666” theme song (and makes a brief cameo). Of course, the more you know about the Foo Fighters the more you’ll appreciate in-jokes like Grohl thinking he’s finally found an original idea, alas it turns out to be the riff to “Best of You.” Will Forte has a hilarious role as a rocker pizza delivery guy who makes the mistake of telling Grohl the Foo Fighters are his “second favorite band after Coldplay.” He also has the required demo tape that he’ll spend the rest of the movie trying to get into the celebrity’s hands. “When you walk into a place with a bunch of guys who have been together for so many years, and you’re the director telling them what to do, you get a little nervous as some point,” says McDonnell, who has directed the horror film “Hatchet III” as well as numerous music videos for the band Slayer. “My whole take to the guys was, ‘Look, we have the script that we have, but in all honesty improv, go off and make this how you would do it. You’re not playing characters in the movie, you’re playing yourselves, so it’s ok to be you.’ What’s really fun about this movie is that you see another side to the personalities of these people that you don’t usually see. Everyone gets time to show who they are.”

The band members do have fun with the idea of playing around with distorting their public image, which is the only one we ever truly get of a celebrity unless you know them personally. Grohl is the egotistic genius everyone follows along with his mad plans, even when his ongoing demon possession makes him demand they record a song that runs past half an hour. Rami Jaffee, the newest member of the band, is sex-crazed while Pat Smear is the more laid back of the group, hilariously facing late night terror in a night cap.  Foo Fighters fans will get the biggest kick out of Grohl’s performance. He has almost too much fun playing a rock star turned monster. Demonic powers let him shred like a beast while he soon gains an appetite for human flesh. McDonnell cheerfully directs moments of absurd gore that are glorious fun like body parts on a grill or one of the Fighters getting annihilated with a chainsaw during a late-night tryst. “We looked at ‘The Exorcist,’ we looked at ‘Evil Dead,’ ‘The Burning,’ just movies we grew up on,” says McDonnell. “Dave Grohl also loves horror films and we looked back at those films and band films where the bands played themselves.” The bloody effects are also a fun throwback to the practical style of past classics. “Most everything we did was practical. My view of special effects, coming from ‘80s films, is that they just look better and look cooler. Anything I’ve ever made, I’ve tried to make it as practical as possible.” 

On a slightly deeper level, “Studio 666” also celebrates the idea that rock used to be dangerous. It seems to be saying that in these times where guitar gods are scarce and the zeitgeist is dominated by pop and hip-hop, maybe a bit of the “Satanic panic” that used to be attributed to bands back in the day would be a welcome dose of rebellion today. The tools used here are hilarious, like cursed ancient books and crucified racoons, which all poke fun at how parents used to tremble at the idea of their kids turning to the dark side thanks to Ozzy Osborne, Alice Cooper or Judas Priest. “I think there’s still plenty of dangerous music out there,” says McDonnell, “you just have to go digging for it. I’m more into black metal. I like things that are very hard and very dark, which is not where most people go (laughs). I always feel like the music I listen to is pretty dangerous and not for most people (laughs). So it’s not even like Foo Fighters.”

“Studio 666” releases Feb. 25 in select theaters.