Monster Roll (2012)

Monster Roll (2012) – Sushi Chef versus Giant Monsters

Monster Roll (2012) – When sea monsters attack Los Angeles, an underground network of sushi chefs honor an ancient code to maintain balance between man and the sea, by killing only what they eat, and eating all that they kill.

The film is well made technically and, although the CGI creatures are limited in how well they look when placed in reality, they are actually pretty close to the standard you would see in some bigger Hollywood creature features (Deep Rising for instance) so it is not like it is a massive stretch. The main body of the short is the restaurant attack and it is well done with convincing action and was actually pretty tense. The confrontations suggesting a bigger film are all very tough in cheek and I found them very amusing – not sure that this would make for a bigger film that could sustain what it does here without making it too silly, but it worked very well here. Monster Roll is a pretty fantastic short but it definitely leaves you wanting more. The balance of humor and action, the quality of the special effects, and the premise itself all suggest that a feature film expansion would be a great thrillride. With Pacific Rim and a new big- budget Godzilla film on the horizon, the giant monster genre may live again, and Monster Roll will hopefully find its place among this new generation of creature features.

Directed by John Holloway
Starring: Justin Anselmi, Nicholas Bogart, John Holloway, Mimi Meditz