Studio 666

Studio 666 is a 2022 American comedy horror film directed by B. J. McDonnell and written by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes, based on a story from Dave Grohl. Grohl stars, alongside his Foo Fighters bandmates Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee. Whitney Cummings, Leslie Grossman, Will Forte, Jenna Ortega and Jeff Garlin co-star. 
Studio 666 is the first non-documentary film to feature the Foo Fighters; the band was previously the subject of Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011) and Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways (2014). The film was released in the United States on February 25, 2022, by Open Road Films, and received mixed reviews.
==Plot==
In 1993 Encino, members of a rock band, Dream Widow, are brutally murdered by their frontman leader at a remote mansion before he mysteriously commits suicide.
Years later, in 2019, the Foo Fighters are hired by their manager Jeremy Shill to create their tenth album as a way to raise money for him to pay off his debts. The group move into the mansion where frontman Dave Grohl becomes fascinated with an interior of the house as a source of inspiration for the tenth album.
Over time, Grohl and his fellow bandmates warm into the mansion but struggle with difficulties in creating the album. One day, Grohl finds a basement containing satanic objects and is soon possessed by the deceased frontman after listening to a demo tape. Under the demon's control, Grohl forces the band to continue production on the album, even going as far as to butcher guitarist Chris Shiflett. 
The band members soon learn of the mansion's backstory and Grohl's possession with the help of a neighbor. To exorcise Grohl, they need to find a book needed to free him of the possession. The neighbor, drummer Taylor Hawkins, and Rami Jaffee sacrifice themselves to distract Grohl while Nate Mendel and Pat Smear retrieve the book from the basement.
The two are successful in freeing Grohl from the possession and the souls of the deceased Dream Widow band members send the demon to Hell. However, Jeremy and real estate developer Barb Weems ambush the remaining members, leading to Mendel and Smear's deaths as well as Barb run over by Mendel. Grohl battles Jeremy only to back down in horror when Jeremy tells him of the album's success and the start of his solo career.
One year later, Grohl, the only Foo Fighter left, prepares for his first performance as a solo artist. The films ends as he shows signs of demonic possession.
==Cast==
Foo Fighters:
* Dave Grohl – lead vocals, guitar
* Taylor Hawkins – drums
* Nate Mendel – bass guitar
* Pat Smear – guitar
* Chris Shiflett – guitar
* Rami Jaffee – keyboards, piano
 
Other:
* Whitney Cummings as Samantha
* Will Forte as Restaurant Delivery Guy (Darren Sandelbaum)
* Jeff Garlin as Jeremy Shill
* Leslie Grossman as Barb Weems
* Kerry King as Krug
* Jenna Ortega as Skye Willow
* Marti Matulis as "The Caretaker"
* Lionel Richie as himself
* Jason Trost as Tech
* Jimmi Simpson as Venue person
* John Carpenter as Studio engineer
== Production ==
In November 2021, it was reported that a film starring the Foo Fighters entitled Studio 666 was shot in secret. The band will star alongside Whitney Cummings, Leslie Grossman, Will Forte, Jenna Ortega, and Jeff Garlin. John Ramsey and James A. Rota produced the film, while the bandmates served as executive producers. Hatchet III filmmaker BJ McDonell directed the film, working from a script written by Jeff Bulher and Rebecca Hughes, based on a story from Dave Grohl inspired by their experiences recording their tenth album.
Filming took place in the same house the band recorded their album Medicine at Midnight. Nearing the end of filming in early 2020, production was shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Production resumed in Los Angeles months later, becoming one of the first films to do so during the pandemic. Six days of filming were planned to finish the film, but it would ultimately span three weeks due to the regulations put in place to film safely. 
According to Grohl, the band recorded a whole album for the in-movie fictional band Dream Widow.
== Release ==
Studio 666 was released theatrically on February 25, 2022, by Open Road Films. The film was held on the world premiere in TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood in February 16, 2022.https://variety.com/2022/music/news/foo-fighters-studio-666-film-premiere-chinese-horror-comedy-1235185106/ According to social media analytic RelishMix, the marketing campaign made 97.9 million interactions online, "in line with horror genre norms".
== Reception ==
=== Box office ===
In the United States and Canada, Studio 666 was released alongside Cyrano, and was projected to gross $2–5 million from 2,306 theaters in its opening weekend. The film earned $1.54 million in its opening weekend. Men made up 58% of the audience during its opening, with those in the age range of 25–44 comprising 53% of ticket sales and those between 18–44 comprising 73%. The ethnic breakdown of the audience showed that 69% were Caucasian, 18% Hispanic and Latino Americans, 3% African American, and 10% Asian or other.
=== Critical response ===
 PostTrak reported 66% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 46% saying they would definitely recommend it.
Megan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting called Studio 666 "an entertaining jam session full of gore, laughs, and endearing moments between the band". In Paste, Matt Donato wrote: "It might run its welcome a bit long and struggle with more juvenile gags, but it’s still a proper midnighter that’ll have you barking (in laughter) at the moon." Ed Masley, writing for Arizona Republic, said it was "plenty gory" and "definitely rocks", but criticized the humor. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film one star, saying it "sadly conforms to the horror-comedy tendency of being neither properly scary nor properly funny". He found it "disconcerting" that the premise involved "violent and horrible things that happened back in the 90s", including suicide.
== References ==
==External links==
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Category:2020s comedy horror films
Category:2022 horror films
Category:2022 films
Category:American comedy horror films
Category:American films
Category:American haunted house films
Category:American supernatural horror films
Category:Demons in film
Category:Films about spirit possession
Category:Films set in 2019
Category:Films set in Los Angeles
Category:Films shot in Los Angeles
Category:Foo Fighters
Category:Open Road Films films
Category:Parodies of horror
Category:Works by Dave Grohl
Category:2022 American films
Category:2022 in film
Category:Stage 6 Films films
Category:Sony Pictures Releasing films