Yoga Hosers review by Bobby Blakey

There are few filmmakers like Kevin Smith. Throughout his career he has had his ups and downs like every other filmmaker, but his outspoken nature has made him unique to say the least. He made his career with independent filmmaking and over the last few films has returned to his roots with mixed results from fans and critics. I’ve loved pretty much everything he has done in some way and his turn into the world of horror has been no different. I loved both Red State and the bizarre nature of Tusk and have been eagerly awaiting his Tusk spin-off Yoga Hosers, the second entry in his True North Trilogy. The film features a great cast including Harley Quinn Smith, Lily-Rose Depp, Adam Brody, Tyler Posey, Justin Long, Tony Hale, Natasha Lyonne, Genesis Rodriguez, Haley Joel Osment and Johnny Depp returning as Guy Lapointe, but does it offer up the laughs and usual Smith flair or will it be a pose not worth holding?
Yoga Hosers follows Colleen Collette and Colleen McKenzie, two teenage besties from Winnipeg who spend their lives doing Yoga with their faces in their phones, 'Liking' or 'Not Liking' the real school hottie, the Colleens accidentally uncover an ancient evil, long buried beneath the Manitoba earth. After following Smith’s various interviews and build up throughout bringing this film to life it became clear that Smith was doing something for himself with a specific vibe and he did just that. This is a different kind of film for Smith and that’s a good thing. He clearly did what he wanted like he has been doing and ended up crafting a strange silly film full of fun and silliness. The first half of the film plays like a teen comedy showcasing the usual teen scenarios you would expect from the genre, but as it moves forward it starts looking and feeling like something from Charles Band of Full Moon Studios but with a look of a bigger budget and quality. The cast all do a fine job with both Smith’s real life daughter Harley Quinn Smith and Johnny Depp’s real life daughter Lily-Rose Depp doing a good job carrying the movie. Sure they need a little more time to hone their craft, but they both do a great job with these characters.
The secondary story that we get quick glimpses of initially and then fully takes over in the second half is that of the horror side. Creating a vibe similar to Puppet Master Smith has offered up the most silly, funny and ridiculous new creature like characters in the Bratzis played by Smith himself. This portion of the film is where more of the fun horror comes, offering up a fun fight sequence in the store and bringing the talented Ralph Garman to the forefront and allowing him to bounce in and out of his famed impressions that makes little sense, but creates some hilarious fun. It is still hilarious to me that Depp is involved with this film and Tusk. He is one of my favorite actors with Smith being one of my favorite directors and seeing them working together is awesome. If you hated Depp’s character in Tusk then you will likely not like him much here either, but he offers up yet another hilariously great performance as the character with an all new mole gag that is really funny.
This a film that will not work for everyone and from the reviews likely not most, but if you get what Smith has done then it is a lot of fun. I continue to respect Smith for not only taking these kinds of chances but for standing behind his decisions throughout his career. True filmmaking should elicit an emotional response from the viewer whether it be good or bad and this film will no doubt do that. I not only found this to be a great spin-off from Tusk, but a fun film in its own right and it has me really excited to see what he does with his next film Moosejaws. If you are Smith fan then get out there and support Yoga Hosers, if you aren’t a fan do it anyway to support independent filmmaking so we can get more films that think outside of the box.
In addition to this zany fun film, this release includes a bonus featurette that takes deeper behind the fun silliness of it all. Open your mind and give
Yoga Hosers a chance available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Invincible Pictures.