JP Nunez
On the latest episode of The Horror Obsessive Podcast, my cohost Sean Parker and I talk about one of the best modern kaiju movies most people have never heard of: Monster Seafood Wars. I first got wind of this film when it played at the Fantasia International Film Festival back in 2020, and it got some good buzz from a few critics I follow. I couldn’t wait to check this movie out myself, and now that a copy of it sits proudly in the kaiju section of my Blu-ray collection, I’m super excited to introduce this giant monster gem to all of you.
In many ways, Monster Seafood Wars is just your typical kaiju flick. It’s about a crab, a squid, and an octopus that grow to enormous proportions after exposure to a sci-fi drug called Setap Z. Unsurprisingly, mayhem ensues when these creatures attack Tokyo. However, the film manages to set itself apart from its cinematic peers in one fundamental way.
The monsters lose some of their limbs as they fight, and when people find those severed body parts, they discover that kaiju meat is tastier than they ever could’ve imagined. That little twist makes for an exceptionally unique take on the genre, and it also gives us a whole bunch of laughs that make Monster Seafood Wars one of the funniest giant monster films out there.
In my opinion, this movie is an absolute joy to watch, but (big shocker) Sean disagrees. He wasn’t a fan of the film, so naturally, that dynamic gave us a lot to discuss. Our discussion covers everything from the characters to the story to the fun kaiju suitmation, and as usual, it’s a hoot and a half.
On top of that, we also talk about some of the biggest news to hit the horror world in the past few weeks, like the new Exorcist trailer, the recent release of Talk to Me, and some of our favorite films so far from this year’s Fantasia Film Festival. And as always, if you enjoyed listening to us discuss Monster Seafood Wars, be sure to join us again in two weeks for the next episode of The Horror Obsessive Podcast, when we dissect the psychological ghost thriller What Lies Beneath.
