Tusk (2014) is a body horror comedy movie directed & written by Kevin Smith. Tusk is considered one of the most disturbing horror films for its concept of body violence but as well as it is popular for its unpredictable thrilling plot.

Tusk Ending Explained & Plot Story in Details

* * * Spoiler Alert – If you haven’t seen the movie yet, turn back now! * * *

The movie starts with two friends Wallace & Teddy. They have been hosting a podcast named The Not-See Party. In their podcast, they collect viral & trending videos and make fun of them. They are doing very well and have a lot of followers.

They have a lot of ‘funny’ videos like a Canadian boy accidentally cutting his leg when showing a stunt. So, Wallace & Teddy named him The Kill Bill Kid, of course from the movie Kill Bill. They make fun of the boy and at a moment Wallace says He doesn’t need his feet if he gets that much fame. Can you imagine how cruel he is?

Next week, Wallace goes to Canada to get an interview with the Kid so that he can create another podcast content and obviously can make more fun of him. But in Canada Wallace finds that the boy already committed suicide. His video became viral on the internet and he got bullied several times. That triggers him to end his journey. That’s why I am always against every kind of bully.

At this moment, Wallace becomes sad too; not for The Kid but also for losing money, time & other content. He goes to a bar. There he finds an interesting flyer of an old man. A rent-free room for living & free meal is offered there for listening to strange life stories. The old man is a former sailor so he has a lot of stories to tell and he doesn’t want to die without sharing his bizarre experiences. Wallace’s eyes start shining because this is exactly what he wants – the more stories, the more content.

Wallace calls the old man named Howard Howe and gets his location. He wants to know the distance of the place from the two young female employees of the super shop. They inform him that the place is two hours away. An interesting note here is of the two girls shown here, one is Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp and the other one is the director’s daughter Harley Quinn Smith.

Later we see Wallace arrive at the place and Howard welcomes him from a wheelchair. The house is in a secluded place and full of creepy & bizarre goods. Howard gives him a mug of coffee and starts his story.

In 1959 he travels on a ship to find the great white shark in Siberia. Their ship sank after colliding with a piece of iceberg. Everyone died except Howard. Somehow, he swam to a small island. There strangely a walrus helps him and saves him from the cold. Howard named the walrus Mr. Tusk. Middle of the story, Wallace continues to sway and loses his senses. Before fainting, Wallace realized that coffee was mixed with secobarbital.

When he regained consciousness, he was not completely in his mind. He can’t feel his leg and shockingly discovers that Her legs have been amputated.

Howard tells Wallace that he was bitten by a poisonous insect and its venom began to move toward his heart. So, the doctor had to make a difficult decision. Howard also ensures that Wallace is under good medical treatment with some good medicines. But the reality is different & Wallace can understand that.

Later that night at the dining table Wallace speaks angrily but he should realize that this is not his podcast episode. Howard slaps his face and makes him realize the reality. Then he reveals the plan for Wallace.

Howard says he has a walrus-shaped lather suit made from human skin. With a little change, the jacket will fit Wallace’s body. But the shocking part is that Howard will not change in the jacket. He plans to cut Wallace’s body parts. In an easy tone, Howard wants to make Wallace a walrus. Since walrus don’t have matured hands & legs like humans, Howard detruncated Wallace’s leg. In the future, step by step he also cut off his other body parts to make a complete walrus.

On the other hand, Teddy starts flirting with Alley by giving her sympathy for Wallace.

Luckily Wallace gets a chance to use his phone. He sends a voice message to Alley with his current condition & location as much as he can describe. But Howard comes in a short time and hits him with a stick in the head and warns him by delivering a famous quote.

Your life as you knew it is over, Mr. Bryton. So if you wish to continue living, you will be a walrus, or you’ll be nothing at all.

– Howard Howe

On the other side, Alley & Teddy move to Canada and informs the police. At first, Police don’t want to take any action only for a voice message but lastly convinced them to open an FIR as a missing person. The police officer tells them that Wallace probably didn’t leave the town so it will be easy to find him in a short time. But Alley & Teddy still don’t satisfy so the officer gives him a card of a former police officer who works on a serial killing case. According to the officer, there is no serial killer in Canada. Maybe he doesn’t know about Robert Pickton.

The story cuts to the Walrus Man, where Howard completed his brutal surgery. That means he discreates legs, hands & tongue. He also attached two tusks from Wallace’s leg bone. Finally, Howard completes the ‘modification’ by swinging Wallace’s skin with a walrus suit. Now physically Wallace becomes a walrus.

Howard named him Mr. Tusk.

Read more, The Darkness (2016)

The next goal of Howard is to convert Wallace mentally into a walrus. He treats Wallace as his savior Mr. Tusk. He starts to remember their crisis days on the island but as usual, Wallace can’t remember anything. How could he do that? He wasn’t there at all.

Howard gives him raw fish to eat because this is walrus food by nature. Though at first Wallace didn’t want to eat, later he accepted it. Because he remembers ‘… a walrus or nothing…’

Teddy & Alley meets the officer named Guy LaPointe who has been searching for Howard for the last two years. Guy named this serial killer ‘The First Wife’ because of his killing style. This killer cuts every victim’s leg, hands, tongue & sometimes modified teeth. Guy compares him to a wife who restricts her husband’s every move. Officer LaPointe assumes Wallace is still alive but not the same as before.

Then they go to the super shop where Wallace asked the location. Guy cleverly finds the address and starts moving towards there.

There is an interesting fact I want to share with you. In the movie, Guy LaPointe is played by Jonny Depp. In this super shop scene, Depp asks his daughter about the address and the director directs his daughter. Personally, I like these background things.

Back to the story, Howard reveals the most important question of the movie. Why does Howard want a walrus? What is his motive? Why is he taking human walrus, where he could take the real one if he wanted? Well, the answer is Guilt. In his surviving time, Howard was protected by Mr. Tusk (or the savior walrus). But there was no food on the island in the middle of the sea. So, by accepting ungratefulness Howard killed Mr. Tusk and start eating. After a few hours of the incident, a ship comes to him and rescues Howard. From that moment he felt guilty about himself that if he could tolerate a few more hours then the story would be changed.

Howard tells his tragedy to Wallace. Now he wants his final experiment. Howard allows Wallace to fight with Howard till death. During this fighting period, Howard also wears a walrus suit. So, the fight would be between two fake walruses.

Guy, Teddy & Ally find Wallace’s car in the lake so they are confirmed about his presence. They prepare the gun for entering the house.

Middle of the fight Howard realizes Wallace has come back to life again so he breaks the rules & comes out of the suit to kill him directly. But Wallace brutally kills Howard with his tusks and in one way or another the winner is none other than Howard.

Ally, Teddy & Guy entered the room, and they were all stunned. Wallace completely turns into an animal (a walrus) or maybe his inner animal entity finally comes to light. Guy aims the gun at Wallace.

Here scene cuts to one year later.

Ally & Teddy come to an animal sanctuary where Wallace is now placed. Ally calls him by name but he doesn’t come outside from his cave. But after throwing a raw fish Wallace comes to light and eats. This indicates that he now becomes a walrus both physically & mentally. But we also noticed there are many juice cups near his cave. That means he still drinks his favorite juice. So inside he is still a human. Yeah, a little bit confusing!

It’s good to cry. It separates us from the animals. Shows you have a soul.

– Ally Leon

Ally reminds her of a quote which she told Wallace once. Teddy & Ally leave the place. Wallace cries as they leave the place.

The movie ends here.

Official Synopsis

A chilling horror tale about the perils of storytelling, Tusk follows a brash American podcaster as he braves the Canadian wilds to interview an old man with an incredible past—only to discover the man’s dark secret involves a walrus.

Source: Tusk – A24