Review: MONSTER ISLAND is a Practical Effects Showcase with Little Else

It’s a shame. Monster Island sounds rad on paper. A little Kong: Skull Island, a dash of Creature From The … Tropical Pacific Island Lagoon (an Asylum knockoff in the making). Mike Wiluan writes and directs a World War II creature feature that turns enemies into allies, but it’s never an impressive culmination of influences. It’s a bit like The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot—grabby concept, but with an underwhelming follow-through. Aside from some noteworthy special effects, like the Gill-man’s second cousin twice removed, Monster Island is a restrained take on what’s promised via the ominous title.

Indonesia’s luscious rainforest foliage and cascading cliffside waterfalls play backdrop to a fight for survival, which starts when Saito (Dean Fujioka) and Bronson (Callum Woodhouse) wash ashore on an unknown island. They’re chained together: Saito, a Japanese traitor, and Bronson, a British prisoner of war. The only survivors of a sunken “Hell Ship” transporting captives back to Japan for slave labor, now shackled and alone. Well, not completely alone. There is an amphibious creature that attacks Bronson and starts stalking the duo, which probably isn’t featured in the tourism brochure.

The name “Monster Island” is a bit cheeky because one could infer there might be more than one variation of creature. Spoiler alert, there isn’t. The film’s international title, Orang Ikan, is more descriptive and straightforward. The term refers to “fish people,” aquatic, spiked primates mentioned by Japanese soldiers in the Kei Islands during World War II. Alan Maxson stars as the “Orang Ikan,” in full scaly prosthetics, amphibious cosmetic makeup, and head-to-toe costumed glory. There’s a Universal Monsters charm to the design, since we can tell there’s a man beneath the caked-on materials and webbed features, yet one can also appreciate the retro comforts of the effects department’s craftsmanship. If you’re going to have one “monster,” make it count—which Wiluan does.

That said, Monster Island is lethargic about its Predator riff-off. The story’s pacing falls victim to doldrums as Saito and Bronson are tracked from afar, shielding Orang Ikan behind leafy flora or under crashing waves. Wiluan attempts to tell a nationalistic story of brotherhood and human compassion as the two military men reconcile battlefield differences, but their buddy-buddy demeanor never reaches authenticity. Fujioka and Woodhouse aren’t wrong for the roles, but 1942’s period aesthetic and their transformation into World War II participants read more as historical cosplay than cinematic immersion. Where something like Godzilla Minus One or Overlord meticulously recreates their chosen eras, Monster Island doesn’t have the means. It’s scrappy, well-intentioned, and spirited, but the quality on screen still matters.

There’s a clear line between the movie Monster Island wants to be and the movie Monster Island has to be. When a few surprise survivors from the opening wreckage make landfall, Orang Ikan flashes a violent streak that tears bodies into bloody pieces. It’s almost comical how brutally the fish-thing dismembers its enemies, but it lets Wiluan lean into the pulpiness of his concept. Excitement rides high, but then we’re forced to compare these action-heavy upticks to sleepier stretches of hide and chase. Saito and Bronson uncover mysteries about the Orang Ikan, but it’s all boilerplate creature-feature beats. Plot advancement proceeds with a manufactured clunk as gears turn, whether that be effortless camaraderie or emotional ploys that don’t pack an oomph given an overall flattened enthusiasm.

It’s hard to disengage from the teeter-totter nature of Monster Island. The Orang Ikan looks aces in the dark, swiping its claws from the shadows, but loses its menace when shown in full sunlight, even when mauling a (very fake-looking) gator or croc. Saito and Bronson have their endearing interactions, but we inevitably comprehend where their journey is headed. Monster Island has a ceiling about its ambitions, and you can feel the production continually bumping its head when trying to stand too tall. It frequently wants to go all-in but sits as the short stack (in Texas Hold ‘Em terms), playing conservatively in favor of surviving until the end.

You take the good with the bad in Monster Island, but in the end, it’s the most generic version of what could be. Something like Sweetheart manages to generate and sustain tension as its characters encounter a menacing creature while stranded, whereas Monster Island adheres to bland formulas. Kudos to the Orang Ikan design squad and shout-out to the practical effects when they work, because that’s ultimately what’ll keep viewers engaged. The problem is, there’s hardly any thrill to the hunt. “Oooohs” and “Ahhhs” are fleeting, while the majority of Monster Island darts around a gorgeous island, taking in the scenery. It’s a welcome to the jungle, alright—the ordeal just lacks fun and games.

Movie Score: 2.5/5