RATING: B

A LARJ Studio Distribution/Meyham Films production. Written, produced, lensed, and directed by Robert Parham. Edited by Dennis Blair. 

Stars Gary L. Turner, Freejack, Franklin Correa, Deandre Proctor, D. Brad St. Cyr, Jae Dorsey, Louis Banks, and Cinnamon Maxwell. 

Robert Parham’s latest involves a tornado that hits Hollywood. Only this tornado is full of cockroaches!

Stuntman Harry Slade has just been fired from a gig after talking to the very man he doubled for, Hollywood actor Pad Britt. Dr. Johnson is a scientist who has stumbled upon a remarkable discovery. He has created a formula that allows limb regeneration by just adding water to the mixture. However, when a cockroach finds its way and crawls in and out of the new formula, something bad is about to happen.

The infected roach begins to multiply when it enters a sink pipe, and soon enough, an infestation has hit Hollywood by storm. When a tornado forms and makes its way towards Hollywood, the tornado becomes a “roachnado”. When Johnson accidentally hits Harry’s bike during the chaos, the two head to Johnson’s house, where he soon discovers he may be able to make an anti-formula to stop the deadly infestation, and it is up to him and Harry to make sure Hollywood is safe again. 

Robert Parham, a respected filmmaker and actor whose forte was at one point, indie action films, has been delving in the creature feature as of late. This film serves somewhat as a follow-up to his 2024 film Cocaine Roach and brings elements of VFX as the roaches look believably good, and admittedly uses AI for specific characters (and uses it as a means to poke fun at the use of it, which is forgivable here). One can just imagine if Parham were to team up with Mark Polonia or even Dustin Ferguson to make a creature feature of a little higher budget. 

Not only does the film poke fun at the creature feature genre, but it also makes fun of Hollywood stardom when you have a character named “Pad Britt” (like that’s not a jab..hahaha) who in one of a few running gags, “has a no-contact clause in his contract). Insanely enough, Gary L. Turner has a striking resemblance to said actor and plays both the “diva” or “divo” and his stunt double, or ex-stunt double, Harry Slade. And this is a situation where it’s a bad day for Slade. He loses his job, learns his wife Ava, played by the wonderfully named Cinnamon Maxwell, is cheating on him with Indie World Cinema Hall of Famer Franklin Correa (in a very funny role that is against type to his action films), and now has the “roachnado” to deal with.

As mentioned, there are some running gags in the film. Aside from the aforemention “Pad Britt” line, there’s a bar owner who constantly asks if the customer wants beer as opposed to what they asked for; and D. Brad St. Cyr’s meteorologist Chuck Storms decked out in a different outfit each time you see him and he ends his part of the news with “it will be a good day to take a stroll out in Hollywood”. And for a 45-minute film, the gags don’t exactly wear themselves out. An AI character is used as a running gag too as it comes in the form of the young Mayor’s mature secretary, who gives him a briefing before offering him some personal services constantly. This is where Parham seems to poke fun at the AI if not using some green screen for the roachnado and victims themselves as well. And if that’s not crazy enough, stay for the post-credit scene because if what is seen is real, we could see another Parham creature feature on the horizon sooner than expected.

Roachnado makes use of its only 45-minute runtime. Nothing needs to be fleshed out. The AI clearly serves as a gag at times but the VFX are quite nice to see. The running gags are a hoot and don’t weat themselves out. And see Franklin Correa in a role like never before. 

The film is coming soon!