Studio 666 (Blu-ray + Digital Code) Blu-ray Review

The Foo Fighters made a horror film in secret during the Pandemic and it is pretty good. It reminds us of Rock 'n Roll Nightmare from the 80s.

Studio: Universal
Release Date: February 25th, 2022 (theatrical) / May 24th, 2022 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 46 minutes 30 seconds
Region Code: A
Picture: 1080p (2.39:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Slipcover: Yes
Digital Copy: Yes (Movies Anywhere)
Starring: Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Taylor Hawkins, Rami Jaffee, and Chris Shiflett
Written by Rebecca Hughes and Jeff Buhler
Directed by BJ McDonnell
Rating: R (strong bloody violence and gore, pervasive language, and sexual content)

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Poster

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What's It About?

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.

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Film Review

I am a pretty big Foo Fighters fan. I have been since I was in high school so many years ago. I remember when THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE came out. I was over at a friend's house. We were smoking a lot of weed and he thought that we should go for a walk (which is an awesome thing to do when you are high). There was a forest preserve near his house with a nice walking trailer that took you through the woods, so we went over there. While we were walking, he asked me if I had heard THE COLOUR AND THE SHAPE. Of course, I had! I even knew the lyrics to all the songs. He was a musician so he said that he would play the instruments while I did the lyrics. So, here we were, walking through the woods, singing every song on the album. It was awesome!

Does STUDIO 666, the first Foo Fighters film, measure up to that walk through the woods? No. No it does not. That doesn't make it a bad film though. I like films about the making of something. Films like HUSTLE & FLOW, BAADASSSSS!, and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN are some of my favorite films. There is something comforting about watching people making something they are truly passionate about. Watching the Foo Fighters jamming out to music they are making is truly awesome.

Their first forray into horror is kind of a mixed bag. There is some really impressive effects work going on here that I think a lot of people are overlooking when they talk about this film. Sure, there is some CGI added to those effects, but the majority of the effects are the nice old school practical effects like they used to use and the film gets a pass just based on that. I also liked the interplay between the band members. They are a family and we get to know them a lot throughout the film and I thought that added a lot to the film.

The biggest problem with the film is that this is very familiar territory. If you have seen any demonic possession film (THE EXORCIST and THE AMITYVILLE HORROR especially) then you have seen this film. That doesn't mean it is done poorly. It is done very well. It's just that it feels like a greatest hits of horror films that have come before. The film is also far too long for what it is doing. There is no reason that this film needed to be an hour and forty-six minutes when an hour and a half would have done the film so much better. The lead up to the possession stuff takes forever to get through and it isn't even all that great. We already know the Foo Fighters. We don't need to spend a half an hour with them before anything of note happens. Once the murdering starts, the film picks up and gets a lot better.

STUDIO 666 is a lot better than I expected it to be. I hoped it would have been good, but my brain kept telling me that it wasn't going to be good at all. I kept getting ROCK 'N ROLL NIGHTMARE vibes from the trailer and whatnot and that was not a good sign. I love me some ROCK 'N ROLL NIGHTMARE, but the film is a bore and that is what I thought STUDIO 666 was going to be. In fact, this is the film that ROCK ' N ROLL NIGHTMARE wanted to be. The film is fun and has some great practical effects. Had they cut the film down a bit, I think it would have been a lot better. It's kind of sad that this is probably the last thing we will be getting from the Foo Fighters after the tragic passing of Taylor Hawkins. I am glad the film was made and it is nice to see them all together one last time.

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Video/Audio

STUDIO 666 is a brand new film so you know that it is going to look great and it does. I didn't find any problems with this transfer whatsoever. Detail is high, colors and skin tones are great. Everything is wonderful here.

Same with the sound. The 7.1 is very lively when the horror starts, but it also captures the music very nicely as well.

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Extras/Packaging

Gag Reel (4m 35s, HD, 2.39:1)

I am kind of surprised that there isn't a bevy of special features on this release. The film was directed by BJ McDonnel who has worked on many horror films whose DVDs and Blu-rays have come with more special features than found here, so I expected something along the lines of a making of and a commentary track, but the gag reel is all we get. Maybe the reasoning for not having more is because the film was shot during the pandemic, but that is a pretty flimsy reason.

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Overall

STUDIO 666 is a fun horror flick that overstays its welcome a bit too much, but the film is well made and fun so you tend to overlook these things. The blu-ray is nice in the picture and audio department, but the ball was dropped in the special features department. Still, the film is fun enough to own so I would recommend picking it up.

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Extras/Menus