MONSTER ROLL (2012)
It’s hard to determine how many short films are meant as dry runs/pitches for longer features and how many are self-contained. This is difficult to gauge because of the sheer volume being made all over the world (greatly increased with less expensive gear and ability to distribute through the Internet). That is further compounded that some shorts are expanded into full length movies only after the initial project receives a positive reception upon release.
In 2012, writer/director Dan Blank made the six-minute short film MONSTER ROLL based on a really fun idea, but with the stated goal of converting it into a feature. This proof-of-concept established the general plot and tone of what the film would resemble if ever adapted. Nine years later, it still hasn’t led to a feature length version; but the short remains a funny and inspired throwback.
The plot is fairly straightforward built on a simple premise (or joke). When a giant aquatic horror threatens Los Angeles, it’s up to a ragtag group of loose cannon sushi chefs to use their knife skills and marine biology knowledge to stop this mammoth monster before everything is destroyed.
The filmmakers namechecked a few beloved monster films that are hybrids with other genres to convey the tone they sought to capture in MONSTER ROLL:
We sorely miss the tone of those big, fun fantasy movies we grew up with–movies like GHOSTBUSTERS, GREMLINS, and BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. We also want to continue the tradition of more recent movies like THE HOST and DISTRICT 9 where strong story, characters, and humor take priority over expensive VFX sequences.
While there certainly is more attention and energy put towards the performances and script than the F/X, you can still see the effort put into creating the VFX in this BTS video.
MONSTER ROLL is a pretty broad comedy that plays a bit like a mix of SHAOLIN SOCCER and GHOSTBUSTERS, a creature feature populated by comedic “everyman” characters with distinctive personalities (the over eager one, the over serious one, the drunk, Gerald Okamura from SAMURAI COP, etc.). The tentacles are really cool, if a bit too reminiscent of a particularly ignominious sub-genre of porn. You know what I’m talking about.
MONSTER ROLL is a hoot of a short. Blank has moved on to other projects, including his Carrier podcast, but hopefully he can eventually make his comedic Kaiju film.