Tyler Cornack stars, co-writes and directs Butt Boy. Photo : Fantastic Fest

io9 Reviews Reviews and critical analyses of fan-favorite movies, TV shows, comics, books, and more. Prev Next View All

When you hear a movie is called Butt Boy, we all think the same thing. Either it’s a porno or it’s a gross-out comedy. And yet the new film, Butt Boy, is not that. Does it involve butts? Very much so. However, it does so in a way that’s so audacious and silly, and yet is handled so seriously and dramatically, it’s almost unfathomable, in the best possible way.


From director Tyler Cornack, who also co-wrote the film with Ryan Koch, Butt Boy is the story of a man named Chip (also played by Cornack). Chip is married, has a kid, and one day goes for his first prostate exam. It’s then he realizes not only does he like the feeling of something in his butt, he craves it. Needs it. And so begins a slowly growing obsessions with shoving things up his ass which, and here’s where things only begin to get weird, eventually gains the attention of the police.


Enter Detective Fox (Tyler Rice). With the slicked back hair, drinking problem, and long leather jacket, Fox is such a stereotypical movie police detective, the characters even acknowledge it. But his story begins to intersect with Chip’s and, eventually, Fox crafts a theory that’s so gross, so crazy, so wild, it couldn’t possibly be true. Could it?

Tyler Rice stars in Butt Boy Photo : Fantastic Fest

The joy of Butt Boy is how it turns something with so many connotations—sexual, digestive, etc.—and completely ignores them. With its brash lighting, exploration of a variety settings, and hard boiled detective lead, it’s way more of a serial killer detective movie than anything else. Fox plays his role to a tee, making you root for his offbeat but determined manners. And Cornack plays the titular character with such a blank earnestness, the Butt Boy could be any of us.

Even when the film reaches, pun intended, “ holy shit” levels, it goes even further, ending with a third act that, if I described it to you, you would laugh in my face and tell me I was lying.


Butt Boy is a wholly entertaining and engaging film that dashes expectations at every single step. By the end, you may even shed a tear--a nd absolutely won’t judge a movie by its title ever again.

Butt Boy had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2019. It does not yet have a release date.


For more, make sure you’re following us on our new Instagram @io9dotcom.