Depp killed this movie
It's been a while since I've seen a film sabotage itself this badly. I think Smith must have a fear of success. For the first hour he seems to be trying to prove to his critics that he's a legitimate filmmaker, working hard to show he can take a ridiculous concept and make it credible. His script starts off with what seems to be a sincere effort to keep things from being overly silly and stupid, balancing the humor and absurdity with actual drama and genuinely unsettling horror. Michael Parks is amazing as he transforms onscreen from an enigmatic oddball into a legitimately frightening lunatic with a unique backstory, all the while gleefully spouting creatively deranged dialogue. The acting, the directing and cinematography, even the orchestrated 'Tusk' drum beat in the soundtrack, are all effective at building suspense. I was really getting into the film.
And then, suddenly, just as the story starts to get really interesting and the horror and suspense are reaching surreal levels, BANG! Depp appears out of nowhere playing Inspector Clouseau's retarded brother and the whole thing turns into a campy screwball comedy. Seriously, wtf? I get that Depp is a huge star and Smith was probably reluctant to tell him that his performance was all wrong, but it's almost as if Smith decided that since he couldn't change what Depp was doing, he might as well change the rest of the movie to match. So the camerawork changes and we start getting all kinds of campy gimmicks like Tarantino quick-zooms, the music changes from dramatic drums to accordians and Fleetwood Mac songs, and even Michael Parks, who up until that point has been carrying the film with his amazingly sinister performance, suddenly becomes comic relief as Smith pits him against Depp in a bizarre and unfunny battle of the screwballs. By the time the idiotic ending comes along, the film has managed to piss away everything it achieved during the first hour. Really unbelievable.