‘Butt Boy’ sucks you in to its dark world

Review by Bob Ignizio

I’ve seen a lot of weird movies in my time. Weird is kind of my thing. And I can honestly say I haven’t seen anything quite like BUTT BOY. Maybe the closest comparison would be DAVE MADE A MAZE, but even that’s a stretch. It’s perhaps a kindred spirit to Adam Rifkin’s insane cult classic THE DARK BACKWARD, but while it may be almost as bizarre, BUTT BOY is decidedly its own movie.

So now that we’ve established what it isn’t, what, exactly, is BUTT BOY?

Structurally, this film fits in the neo noir/police procedural genre, with a bit of addiction and recovery drama thrown in. Office worker and family man Chip Gutchell (Tyler Cornack) discovers during his first ever prostate exam that he really likes having things inserted in his butt. And as time goes on, the bigger the better, up to and including small pets and even babies. He tries to kill himself and fails, but eventually seems to get his strange compulsion under control through AA meetings.

A few years later, Chip is asked to be alcoholic police detective Russell Fox (Tyler Rice)’s AA sponsor. At the same time, stress in Chip’s personal life, in particular regarding his marriage to Anne (Shelby Dash), causes his anal urges to return. During “bring your kid to work” day at the office… well, you can guess. And you can probably also guess who gets assigned to investigate the missing person’s case.

Rather than play this as some intentionally “so bad it’s good” piece of forgettable schlock like your average Troma or Full Moon release, director/star Cornack (who also co-wrote, co-produced, and shared composing duties for the film’s soundtrack with Ryan Koch) instead opts for an extremely deadpan approach. It’s still a (very black) comedy, and there are laughs. But everyone involved is so committed to maintaining the film’s grim tone that it almost works as a straight-up thriller.

As much as one admires the balancing act Cornack pulls off here, it’s fair to say the film could have benefited from leaning just a bit more into the comedy. That said, it’s never less than compelling, and just like Chip Gutchell’s mighty sphincter, it pulls you in whether you like it or not. Obviously not for the easily offended, but cult movie fans looking for something new and original will undoubtedly want to check this one out.