How a podcast joke about a police raid inspired a bizarre Nazi-themed horror comedy
In short: Kevin Smith’s 2016 film Yoga Hosers is a surreal spin-off born from a throwaway podcast remark. Featuring bratwurst-based monsters and a vengeful scientist, the movie was panned by critics as a career low point, yet it remains a strange artifact of Smith’s personal and professional creative fusion.
The origins of Yoga Hosers trace back to a 2014 episode of the SModcast podcast. Host Scott Mosier joked about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raiding the home of an Edmonton yoga instructor, imagining them shouting, "Open up, yoga hoser!" Kevin Smith, intrigued by the phrase and the bizarre real-world news story involving stolen art, decided to build his next film around the title. The movie serves as the second entry in Smith’s True North trilogy, following 2014’s Tusk.
The plot follows two 15-year-old convenience store clerks who battle an army of "Bratzis"—one-foot-tall Nazis constructed from bratwurst. These creatures were created by a scientist named Andronicus Arcane, who intended to conquer North America. After a power outage interrupted his cryogenic slumber, Arcane pivoted his mission to killing critics who had disparaged his early artistic work. The film features a cast of family members and friends, including Smith’s daughter Harley Quinn Smith and Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp.
Upon its release in September 2016, the film was met with harsh critical reception. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 26% rating, while Metacritic awarded it a score of 23 out of 100. Reviewers like Justin Chang and Nathan Rabin described the production as undisciplined and self-indulgent, with some suggesting the film’s chaotic energy was only enjoyable for the director’s most dedicated listeners. Despite the negative reception, Smith has stated that the Colleens, the film's protagonists, are set to return in the final installment of his trilogy, titled Moose Jaws.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Yoga Hosers
- Also: Wikidata — Yoga Hosers · CC0
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