In this 2014 American body horror film directed by Kevin Smith, an arrogant podcaster travels to Canada for an interview and finds himself at the mercy of an eccentric retired sailor obsessed with transforming people into a walrus. The podcaster eventually has his tongue removed and is surgically altered. What is the title of this film?

The film described is "Tusk," a 2014 American body horror film directed by Kevin Smith. The central premise revolves around an arrogant podcaster, Wallace Bryton (played by Justin Long), who travels to Manitoba, Canada, for an interview that falls through. Seeking a new story, he finds a flyer from an eccentric retired sailor named Howard Howe (Michael Parks) offering free lodging in exchange for listening to his life stories. However, Howe has a sinister obsession: to transform a human into a walrus, a recreation of his beloved companion, Mr. Tusk, who saved him after a shipwreck.

Wallace soon falls victim to Howe's horrifying plan, waking up to find his leg amputated and realizing the true extent of Howe's madness. The film graphically depicts Wallace's surgical alteration, including the removal of his tongue and the grotesque process of being sewn into a walrus suit made of human skin, complete with tusks fashioned from his own tibia bones. This bizarre and disturbing transformation is the core of the film's body horror elements.

The inspiration for "Tusk" came from a discussion on Kevin Smith's SModcast podcast, where he and co-host Scott Mosier discussed a real (though later revealed to be a hoax) Gumtree advertisement. The ad offered free rent to someone willing to dress as a walrus for a few hours a day. Smith was so captivated by the absurdity of the premise that he polled his Twitter followers, asking if they would want to see it made into a film using the hashtag "#WalrusYes" or "#WalrusNo." The overwhelming positive response led to the film's production, turning a strange internet prank into a unique and unforgettable cinematic experience.