Studio 666 essentially came out of nowhere, after having been filmed in secret at the same place the Foo Fighters worked on their latest album. It's apparently this location that inspired the movie, which comes to us from director BJ McDonnell, who is no stranger to horror or gore, having worked on Hatchet III in 2013. In fact, this is probably the goriest theatrical release to come out in a while. Sadly though, that’s about the only thing worth watching from this (unless of course, you’re a big Foo Fighters fan).

The story is pretty simple: the Foo Fighters (as themselves) are working on their tenth studio album and things aren’t going too well. Their manager (Jeff Garlin) suggests a change of location, so the band ends up moving into a swanky suburban house to work on the album together, but as with any old home in a horror movie, it’s already occupied by either ghosts or demons. In this case, the band is dealing with some shadowy red-eyed demons.

A visit to the basement by frontman Dave Grohl reveals an old unfinished song left by the previous tenants (also a rock band) and once Grohl plays it he’s immediately inspired (or possessed). It’s not long before the band starts cranking out some rockin’ new tunes and at the mere cost of a handful of mutilated corpses (naturally).

While taking obvious cues from the Evil Dead series, the movie also feels like a throwback to the period in the 80’s when the genre saw a slew of flicks that mixed rock (usually bad hair band music) and horror together, which is a plus in my book (I kinda miss those cheesy days). As far as the band itself, I like some of their songs, but I wouldn’t consider myself “a fan,” so any inside jokes or subtle reference to the guys in real life went over my head. That might be why I didn’t really find the movie funny, as the jokes were either too immature or just seemed like something only a fan of the band might get. However, comedy is subjective, so I can’t completely knock the movie for that.

The pacing is probably my biggest complaint, with the running time clocking in at over a hundred minutes. You really feel it during the early and mid-marks since not much occurs aside from Dave Grohl getting spooked out now and then. Actually, it’s mostly Grohl’s movie, with the band not really being a huge focus until towards the end of the second act, despite them all staying in the same house. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of their scenes were cut since the acting is bad at times and some of them reportedly couldn’t (or wouldn’t) remember their lines.

Negative aside, I liked the shadowy look and glowing red eyes of the demons and especially loved all the gory deaths and practical effects, which is where the film really shines and is the main component that kept me watching. Had I been a big fan of the band, maybe I would've enjoyed the movie more, but as it stands it's just a decent effort with some above average deaths/gore.