Serafima Serafimova

When you hear the phrase ‘monster movie’, your mind most likely conjures up images of giant sea creatures, huge, blood-thirsty plants, massive, slimy blobs or enormous, carnivorous insects. The list is endless, but whatever the film premise, the monsters tend to be 1 – on the large side, and 2 – generally not very friendly. Pizzamonster defies both of these unwritten rules by featuring a monster that’s both regular human-sized and rather nice. Has it worked? The proof is in the pudding. Or the pizza monster in this case…

Directed by Kurt Platvoet, Pizzamonster is pretty painful to watch and will have you grimacing and squirming for the entire 12-minutes of its duration. But there are also other flavours Platvoet serves up in his off-beat comedy. There’s surprise in the innovative storytelling, appreciation for its lo-fi practical effects, and delight in the understated humour. Pizzamonster seamlessly blends sub-genres together, and the result is a twisted modern-day vision of a love story that’s possibly not to everyone’s taste. For me though, watching the short film for the first time was like trying a new dish that I didn’t know I loved until I tasted it. In my book, it’s a recipe for success.

“I wanted to tell a small, funny and weird story, with a real emotional core that people could relate to”

Leon’s heart has just been crushed by a note left on the fridge, notifying him that his girlfriend has left him. His grief leads him straight to the takeaway menu and as the days go by, his bachelor pad becomes a graveyard of unwashed dishes, greasy pizza boxes and rotting leftovers. When the mountain of food scraps mixes with Leon’s heartfelt tears, it inexplicably turns into a crusty, cheesy, living and breathing pizza monster, giving Leon a new lease of life and perhaps even hope of finding love.

The film was born from an idea that was sent to Platvoet by a friend of his. It was just a couple of lines but they were enough to spur the director into action. “I immediately knew I wanted to make the idea into a film, because of my second inspiration: I had a couple of relationships in my life, and I know what a joy and what a burden they can be…” – Platvoet shared with S/W – “They change you, relationships, and because of that I think they’re a very fruitful soil to grow a story on. I wanted to tell a small, funny and weird story, with a real emotional core that people could relate to.” 

Benjamin Moen (L) & Sallie Harmsen in Kurt Platvoet’s Pizzamonster

Platvoet’s passion for practical effects is as subtle as Mature Blue Stilton, and getting the monster costume (made by Rob’s Prop Shop) to look exactly right was clearly topping his list of priorities. And whilst the team has done a stupendous job of it (the oozy, crusty chunks falling off were a particularly nice touch), for me, there’s something even more special in the story than the special effects. 

What I love the most about Pizzamonster is the way you start off feeling repulsed by the creature in the film, and end up empathising and rooting for her because she is held captive by the real monster in the film – Leon. There are plenty of stories where people are revealed as the true monsters – Beauty and The Beast, King Kong and Frankenstein to name a few – but they are usually extreme characters that are either deranged or just pure evil. In the case of Leon, we have an extremely loathsome, dull and irritating kind of antagonist and when it comes to being in a relationship, I’d certainly take evil and deranged over that. Any day. 

Pizzamonster makes clever observations about self worth, especially when it comes to relationships, and touches on the notion that people grow and change and this growth often comes with the realisation that you no longer need the person you’re with. It’s a twist on the traditional fairytale, romcom or monster movie, and one that firmly grounds the short in a reality the audience can relate to – no mean feat when you have a pizza monster to work with. Above all, Pizzamonster is hilarious, surprising, entertaining and so much fun to watch. It’s a film that keeps on giving and one that leaves you hungry for more.