Surf, Snails and Cocktails

Last night Volcom premiered their new movie, Creepy Fingers, for a crowd of about 200 guests at the Volcom Boathaus in Costa Mesa, a structure that represents every surf rat’s ideal den of iniquity. Nondescript from the outside, the warehouse’s interior sports all cement floors, surf posters, heat lamps, comfy couches, open bars and two giant movie screens. Basically, it’s a perfect place to spend an evening, and an amazing place to watch a new surf flick, and last night, the show didn’t disappoint.

Like almost everything Volcom does, Creepy Fingers is weird. Well, maybe “perfectly weird” is a better description. It’s funky, interesting and edgy, and a quirky shade of funny, but not a bit overwrought, angst-ridden or immature. How all this is possible isn’t exactly clear, but then again, super-sharp close-up footage of snails eating grass juxtaposed with detritus-laden gutter water and blazing-hot surfing has no real clear connection either, but the movie manages to pull that off too.

The result is yet another Volcom film that’s artful, comedic and bursting with amazing surf and quality clips, and this one even has a nice little message. But, like every good thought that’s worth pondering, they leave you wracked with confliction. They suggest you rage through life and every wave at full speed, but also pause to reflect on your reality and your environment. They give you compassion for that little, creepy, slimy snail wriggling on screen and across the movie poster on the wall, they remind you that even snails are full of life. But they do this after they serve you dinner, and last night, the main course on the menu at the Boathaus was escargots.