During WWII, a Japanese prisoner transport is torpedoed at sea. Two convicts, one Japanese (Dean Fujioka), the other British (Callum Woodhouse), are washed ashore on a deserted island. As the two adversaries are suddenly equalised by circumstance and nature, they immediately embrace conflict and, eventually, mutual understanding, in a manner not too dissimilar to the start of Kong: Skull Island or countless episodes of Star Trek.
The begrudging friends soon come to realise they are not alone on the island, as first thought. Several other officers from the prison ship also find themselves marooned, and more worryingly, there is a particularly vicious lizard man living on the island. Known in folklore as Orang Ikan, the scaly beast has a bad temper, some razor-sharp fins, and a proclivity for tearing people’s heads off. The two men team up in an attempt to stay alive in their increasingly hostile new home.
Monster Island settles on a serious tone, which stands it in good stead for the most part, and although it doesn’t bring anything groundbreaking to the table, it manages to do a fair bit with very little. Woodhouse and Fujioka are likeable in the lead roles, and the creature is a fun, razor-toothed fishman that — aside from the overt Creature from the Black Lagoon energy — brings to mind exploitation obscurity The Suckling.
The trailer suggested Monster Island might give us something along the lines of Hell in the Pacific meets Humanoids from the Deep, but it actually plays out a lot like Predator, with the odd scene (and general plot) ‘paying homage’ to Arnold’s classic jungle adventure. This is no bad thing, of course, because if you’re going to borrow something, borrow from the best.
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On the downside, the final act shifts the tone in a somewhat mean-spirited direction, particularly if you consider the Orang Ikan to be an animal defending its home. Unfortunately, rubbery effects can’t lighten a certain nastiness that leaves a bit of a sour taste.
On balance, though, Monster Island is solid enough viewing. It entertains where it needs to and doesn’t outstay its welcome at a very reasonable 83 minutes. So if you’re a monster movie fan and not averse to a spot of low-budget Predator worship, you could do a lot worse than hoist the main sail and plot a course for Monster Island.
