It's been a year since the shocking death of Taylor Hawkins, the drummer for Foo Fighters and the longtime best friend of its frontman, Dave Grohl. As the band struggles to move on from a member who meant so much to them, it's worth looking back to them as they were. In 2022, just weeks before Hawkins' passing, the Foo Fighters released their own horror film, Studio 666, a silly, gore filled adventure that mocked their celebrity and became one of the last times of the band on video as they were; happy and carefree.
Dave Grohl Came up With the Idea for 'Studio 666'
The film, based on a story by Grohl, came from a simple idea. "We were in this house, making a record in real life," Grohl told Collider in 2022:
"We moved into this house to make the album. Someone had mentioned, 'You guys should make a horror film.' I thought, 'That’s fucking stupid. Why would we ever do that?' And then, after writing and demo-ing the music in this house, I thought, 'Oh my God, we could do this here, in this creepy old house. Just a simple, low-budget slasher. Nothing too involved.' And I thought, 'Okay, the Foo Fighters move into a haunted house to make a record. The house is haunted, I become possessed, kill the whole fucking band, and go solo.' That was the initial pitch. Everyone was like, 'Ha ha ha, that would be funny.' And then, we handed that basic idea to some screenwriters, who then exaggerated and elaborated on the original concept. All of a sudden, there were special effects and a table read and an actual director, and it was a six-week shoot. We were like, 'Oh my God, we’re making a fucking full length feature film.' That is not something we aspired to do. It just played out that way, and we’re still surprised."
That "actual director" was BJ McDonnell, who was a perfect choice for Studio 666. Not only did he have experience in rock 'n roll, working as a director of music videos for Slayer, but he was also at the helm of the ultra-violent slasher Hatchet III. He captured not only some gruesome stellar effects, with blood gushing and bodies cut in half and impaled, but more importantly, he showed us the amazing chemistry of the guys in Foo Fighters. The band is one famously born from tragedy after Grohl's previous band, Nirvana, came to an end with the 1994 suicide of Kurt Cobain. While Foo Fighters had their share of ups and downs long before the tragedy of Hawkins' death, the band thrived on fun. That silliness and ability to not take themselves too seriously can be seen in so many of their music videos, such as 1999's "Learn To Fly." If Nirvana was about pain, Grohl aimed to make Foo Fighters about joy.
Studio 666 is by no means a horror masterpiece, but it is one made from joy. It's a horror comedy, one that, like the band, doesn't try to be too serious, but that doesn't take itself lightly either. Foo Fighters might have a lot of fun in their shows and behind the scenes, but they're also one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Studio 666 isn't made to be a joke. The monsters that attack the group and possess Grohl are effectively creepy. The blood that flows is disgusting and over-the-top in a way that would make Evil Dead fans happy. Even though there are great cameos and small roles from the likes of Jenna Ortega, Jeff Garlin, Will Forte, and even legendary horror director John Carpenter, the acting chops of the band aren't going to win them any awards, still, they really do try. As Grohl told Collider, "A lot of it felt very unnatural and really uncomfortable. No one’s ordering tuxes for the fucking Oscars on this one. We knew, 'Okay, this is something really lighthearted and fun.'" These are just longtime friends in middle age, who have learned that life is about more than fame and money, having a good time. If their acting is a bit wooden, if the tones of the lines isn't always top-notch, so be it. That's not the point.
'Studio 666' Is a Celebration of the Foo Fighters as a Musical Family
The film thrives as a celebration of the band. The Foo Fighters regularly mock themselves throughout, such as when Forte's Food Delivery Guy tells a disgusted Grohl, "You're my favorite band after Coldplay." A common theme in the earliest part of its story is that the band has run out of song ideas. Grohl plays a few tunes for the group, only for them to tell him they're songs they've already done. It leads to the funniest moment of the film, where an out of song ideas Grohl dreams of writing a great song. He sees himself at a piano singing what is very obviously Lionel Richie's "Hello." Richie himself bursts into the dream to tell Grohl, "We all have writer's block, you know, but that's my fucking song... I like that song. I love that song... Get your own song, nerd!"
While Dave Grohl may have come up with the idea and is the household name leading the way, that doesn't mean that Studio 666 is the Dave Grohl show. Everyone in the band is involved. Guitarists Chris Shifflet, Nate Mendel, and Pat Smear all have great moments, but it's keyboardist Rami Jaffee who steals every scene he's in as an airhead horndog. When the band meets with their manager (Garlin), who is angrily looking for a new album, Grohl points at his head and says, "It's all up here," before going around the table, pointing at everyone else, adding, "And in there, and in there, and in there, and in there." When he gets to Jaffee, Grohl says, "Not so much in there," to which Jaffee nods and smiles stupidly. He may be the least-known Foo Fighters member to casual fans, as he's only been an official member since 2017, but he gets the best material, such as when he shows up to a tryst with Cummings' annoying neighbor character clad in a leopard print Speedo. It also leads to him being given the film's most gory death scene.
Taylor Hawkins Shines in the Last Days of His Life
Then there's the performance of Taylor Hawkins. If Grohl is the most loved member of Foo Fighters, Hawkins was a close second. He shines in Studio 666. In a band interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live just over a month before Hawkins' passing, Grohl teased his friend as "the worst actor" and that he "refused to learn his lines." Hawkins added, “It’s not that I’m difficult, it’s that I’m lazy and I’m not much for book learning…It was like, I had a bunch of pages to read.” If Jaffee was the comedic superstar though, Hawkins was the dramatic one. He mostly plays the straight man, the one showing concern for how Grohl is changing as he becomes more and more possessed by demons. Ironically, Hawkins, who could be so wild in real life, is the one who keeps the film grounded, by playing his character mostly seriously, his eyes widening in horror, his tone fearful. Grohl might have joked about Hawkins being the worst actor, but truly, he was surprisingly good as the dramatic center of a goofy horror comedy.
Studio 666 was released in the United States on February 25, 2022. Exactly one month later, on March 25, Taylor Hawkins was gone. His memory is not. It lives on through the band's two-decade-plus-long catalog, countless live videos, and his work outside of Foo Fighters as well. It also lives on in the fun playfulness of Studio 666, a love letter among friends to each other, living life to the fullest in the last days of their family as it was.