Doctor Strange composer Michael Giacchino directs Patton Oswalt in this wacky Japanese game show short

Dire, confusing times always call for occasional moments of levity and today it comes via a highly amusing short film featuring fan fave Patton Oswalt, written and directed by Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino. This hilarious gem, titled Monster Challenge, originally premiered at last year's Fantastic Fest and is now available to watch online for the first time as a perfect Sunday respite. 

Giacchino is not normally accustomed to being behind the camera, but is much more at home in recording studios writing and conducting the scores for numerous genre films like Up, Inside Out, Star Trek, Star Wars: Rogue One, The Incredibles, Doctor Strange, Zootopia, War For the Planet of the Apes, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and next year's The Batman.

Credit: YouTube

Here he directs Oswalt, Ben Schwartz, and Dermot Mulroney in a wacky scenario involving the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor visiting Japan while shooting a project that quickly goes astray. He's then offered another brief gig for $500 and ends up dressed in a kaiju costume for a kooky Japanese game show celebrating the country's love of giant monster flicks, where he's shoved into a mounting series of outrageous challenges and humiliating antics before finally being tranquilized and getting pummelled by a second rampaging creature.

Have a peek and don't deny you'd watch an actual game show executing this wild concept!