Monster Island review
Enemies must work together to survive the throwback creature on Monster Island.
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Monster Island
Directed by Mike Wiluan
Written by Mike Wiluan
Starring Dean Fujioka and Callum Woodhouse
Monster Island Review
Monster Island was briefly touched upon within our House on Eden review. It was released on the Shudder streaming service the same day that House on Eden began its theatrical run. We could dive into how Shudder chooses what gets put where and when…but it would require a deep dive into how it acquires and labels its films. It’s not that interesting. Basically…Monster Island is a Shudder Exclusive…which means they picked it up to be a streaming debut…exclusive to streaming. House on Eden is an RLJE Production. They partner with Shudder but usually debut their movies in theaters…or VOD…or sometimes directly to Shudder. Or two of them at the same time. Like I said…it’s not that interesting.
What matters is that Monster Island is a better movie than House on Eden and you can watch it from your living room couch right now if you want to. It’s doesn’t rise above the level of “good” and mostly settles for “pretty good” …but, given the recent output from the once powerhouse service…pretty good is very good right now. Each new recent Shudder release has sounded the warning bell a little louder about the overall quality of the service’s content. Monster Island stems the tide for a moment (if you can ignore that a bad future Shudder release hit theaters the very same day).
Set during World War II, Monster Island sets a pair of should-be enemies on an island where they have no choice but to work together. Or…try to work together. A language barrier exists between them. Thankfully (or unfortunately), monsters are a universal language. And the island the pair wash up on…has a monster. More accurately…a creature. One that you might find at home in a Black Lagoon…if you catch my meaning. Monster Island isn’t shy about its creature influence. It’s a movie that wouldn’t feel out of place as a follow up to Universal’s famous monster movie.
It’s also a fairly simple and straightforward piece of business. It moves quickly…and doesn’t let itself get dragged down in subplots. Saito (Dean Fujioka) and Bronson (Callum Woodhouse) survive an explosive shipwreck that leaves them stranded on the island. Saito is a Japanese soldier. Bronson was a British prisoner who was being transported on the ship. Trust is hard to come by given their backgrounds…but quickly develops once they realize the nature of their situation.
The friendship that develops between Saito and Bronson is one of the stronger parts of Monster Island. Both actors do a fine job conveying their growing kinship despite never being able to directly understand each other. Eventually, other soldiers show up and Bronson has to contend with remaining hidden while also evading the creature. The creature is the biggest threat. A wonderful old school rubber suited menace with the strength to tear an alligator in half.
Monster Island has a great setting. The island is flush with green foliage (that the movie could have used more to mask the creature’s location, honestly). There are ponds and caves and…it feels like a spiritual successor to what Universal was doing seventy years ago. It’s a fast-paced film with some fun moments, a cool monster and a couple of strong characters. It doesn’t try to do a lot…but it doesn’t overstay its welcome or bog itself down with tacked on sequences. The kind of lean, somewhat mean, creature feature that your parents (or grandparents) grew up watching…slightly updated for a new generation.
The main takeaway from Monster Island is how much this subgenre of film has been missing of late. Yeah…we get giant monster movies like Jurassic Park and Godzilla…and werewolf movies are always popping up…but this kind of throwback creature design, setting and story…we don’t see it nearly as often as we should. I doubt that Monster Island is going to inspire many to dust off their rubber suits and grab their cameras…but, after watching a stripped down, simple version of it here…I truly wish they would.
Scare Value
Monster Island sets out to feel like a lost sequel to Creature from the Black Lagoon. Or…prequel given it’s set before that Universal Monster movie came out. As long as you set your expectations accordingly (namely that Creature from the Black Lagoon isn’t all that great), Monster Island can provide some rubber suited monster fun. The production quality is high…the lead characters are strong…it doesn’t overstay its welcome. It has everything you’re looking for in a Sunday afternoon monster movie to watch on the couch…where it is already available.
3/5
Monster Island Link
Streaming on Shudder
