What’s It About

May, 1942. WWII rages across a world divided. Sailing across the sea, a Japanese Hell Ship transports prisoners of war (POWs) to occupied territories for slave labour. Onboard the ship is Saito, a traitor to the Japanese who is being sent back to the motherland to be sentenced to death. As further punishment, Saito is shackled to another POV, a British soldier named Bronson who holds nothing but hatred for Saito because of his Japanese nationality. When the Hell Ship is torpedoed by Allied submarines, Saito and Bronson are thrown overboard and wash ashore a deserted island. But they are not alone. Bronson and Saito are hunted by a monstrous creature- the Orang Ikan- who will stop at nothing until both men are dead. Bronson and Saito must put aside their hatred for one another to survive the island and kill the creature before it kills them first. The film which is supported by the Singapore Film Commission (SFC), is due to start production in October 2023 at Infinite Studios in Batam, Indonesia – one of the largest production service facilities in Southeast Asia and in West Java.

 MOVIESinMO REVIEW

Imagine watching a movie where two enemies team up to defeat a terrifying fish-man during World War II. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Well, that’s exactly what Monster Island wants you to do, although it isn’t quite as cool as you would hope. Monster Island is an Indonesian film that starts in the year 1942, when an Allied Attack blew up a Japanese prison ship. Onboard were Saito, a Japanese defector, and Bronson, a British prisoner of war. Wouldn’t you know, these characters are literally chained together at the ankle – bad luck! When the ship sinks, they wash ashore on an undisclosed island in the Pacific. But, spoiler alert! The island is not deserted, as the locals know of a beast lurking in the water, which apparently did not come from a pet shop. The inhabitants of the island refer to the beast as Orang Ikan, which translates to fish person in Indonesian. You are invited to imagine a Creature from the Black Lagoon version, but this fish-man is potentially angrier and has sharper teeth. The whole setup sounds awesome on paper. You’ve got World War 2 drama, you’ve got a monster movie, and you’ve got enemies working together to survive. It’s a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a tropical island; mix together Saving Private Ryan and Jaws. Director Mike Wiluan seems to have a love for monster movies and is trying to replicate that old creature feature outside somewhere feeling. Here is the kicker. The monster isn’t bad, actually. They did not take the lazy route of cheap computer graphics, like almost every film today; they took the old school road and put a guy in a suit. Obviously, you can tell it’s a guy, which is also the whole point. It drives home the original charm that the early Universal horror films all had. The Orang Ikan has scaly skin, sharp claws, and a mouth full of pointed teeth that would make any dentist nervous. The creature doesn’t mess around either. When it shows up, people die in pretty brutal ways. We’re talking about heads getting ripped off and hearts getting torn out of chests. The special effects department spared no expense with the blood and gore, and really, that’s probably the best part of the whole film. Dean Fujioka plays Saito, the Japanese soldier who has lost faith in the war. He is tired of seeing people die for no good reason and has completely given up on the whole “glory in battle” thing. Fujioka really manages to make you care about this character despite being the enemy. Saito becomes the moral authority of the movie; you root for him through thick and thin, through all his issues. On the other hand, you have Callum Woodhouse as Bronson, who is the British prisoner, who still believes in fighting the good fight. Bronson, as a character, is rough and skeptical, as well as anticipating the worst possible behavior from everyone. Woodhouse nails the attitude of a hard-bitten soldier. The interesting thing is watching how these two characters slowly start to trust each other as they realize they need to work together to survive. But here’s the thing: The film never really does anything interesting with this premise. You can pretty much see where it is going from the outset. Two enemies become friends, they fight the monster, and someone more than likely dies in the final act. It is extremely predictable and a tad bit annoying, especially since it feels like there is so much more potential in this idea than what the film offers. Also, the pacing felt really unbalanced! There are long stretches where not much happens except the two guys walking around the jungle talking about their feelings. Then suddenly the monster shows up, kills somebody in a really violent way, and disappears again. The movie can’t seem to figure out if it wants to be a thoughtful war drama or a blood-soaked monster movie, so it tries to be both and doesn’t really succeed at either. The island location should have been ideal for creating tension and atmosphere. Stifling jungle, things to be afraid of, and uncertainty about what might be just out of sight. But the creators don’t take advantage of any of it. Everything looks decent, but it doesn’t feel real fright or threat. You never get that sense of being trapped in a hostile environment that makes the best survival movies so effective. Another big issue is that once you see the monster in full daylight, it loses a lot of its scary factor. In the dark, with just glimpses of claws and teeth, the Orang Ikan is genuinely menacing. But when the sun comes up and you get a good look at the whole costume, it’s pretty obvious you’re watching a guy in a rubber suit. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if the movie embraces it, but Monster Island seems to want you to take it seriously. The movie runs about 83 minutes, which should be perfect for this kind of story. But somehow it still feels too long. There’s just not enough actual story to fill even that short runtime. The characters do not develop much beyond their basic setup, and the plot progresses exactly how you think it will. What bothers me most about Monster Island is that it’s able to be something read-worthy. The World War II time period is interesting, the monster design is good, and the concept of enemies working together is always interesting. But, the execution just fell flat.It’s kind of like a recipe where they had good ingredients, but forgot to add half a cup of salt. Full credit to the movie for trying to do something different with the creature feature formula! The monster isn’t bad, actually. They did not take the lazy route of cheap computer graphics, like almost every film today; they took the old school road and put a guy in a suit. Obviously, you can tell it’s a guy, which is also the whole point. It drives home the original charm that the early Universal horror films all had. Final Verdict: Monster Island tries hard to combine war drama with monster movie thrills, but it never quite succeeds at either. While the practical effects and creature design show real effort, the predictable plot and flat characters make this one easy to skip. Save your time for something with more bite.

OUR RATING – A FISH MONSTER 4