Orang Ikan

Monster Island is a World War II-era creature feature that swings for the fences with a bold genre mashup: part survival thriller, part war drama, part folklore-fueled monster flick. Directed by Mike Wiluan (Buffalo Boys), and inspired by Malay mythology and classic films like Creature from the Black Lagoon, the movie feels like a love letter to mid-century horror wrapped in the rugged grit of a wartime survival tale.

The setup is promising. A Japanese soldier and a British POW are marooned on a remote island during WWII, forced to put aside their hatred and histories to survive. But it's not just each other, or the encroaching Japanese military they have to worry about. Something hungry stalks the jungle, able to camouflage itself like a chameleon, striking from the shadows with lethal precision. Think The Defiant Ones meets Predator, with a splash of Southeast Asian folklore.

It's a clever concept, and the film wears its influences proudly. The callbacks to The Defiant Ones aren't subtle, nor are the nods to classic monster movie tropes: the slow reveal of the creature in the dense jungle. When the film leans into its atmosphere, it works. There are stretches where you feel the tension between the two men just as much as the threat lurking in the trees.

Unfortunately, the execution doesn't always live up to the potential. The CGI creature design is interesting-drawing on mythical elements instead of going full Hollywood-but the visual effects themselves are... well, rough. The monster too often looks like it belongs in a Syfy original from the early 2000s, standing out awkwardly from the environment rather than blending in. That disconnect pulled me out of the experience, and while I try not to judge a film solely on its visual effects, they do matter in a creature feature... especially one built on stealth, camouflage, and primal terror.

Storywise, it's serviceable. The relationship between the two leads carries enough emotional weight to keep the film moving, and the pacing never drags. There are a few solid gore moments, but nothing that will shock seasoned horror fans. The ending, while not bad, lands right where you expect it to a little too safe for a film that tries to position itself as something unique.

For fans of offbeat monster movies or those with a soft spot for war-horror hybrids, Monster Island is a solid watch. It might not break new ground, but there's enough here-folklore inspiration, tension between enemies, turned-allies, and a cool creature concept to justify its runtime. For me personally, the movie didn't quite hit the right notes. I love a good creature feature, but I'm easily turned off by poor CGI and uneven tone. Still, there are many flavors of horror, and this one might just be the right bite for someone else.

Watched this on Shudder and it was really good - a canny little story with silly monsters. Acting of the two main characters was believable - if you have watched The Durrells, well the English actor was the lad who played Leslie Durrell.

It doesn't take itself too seriously which made it an enjoyable movie. If you do the Nightmare on Film Street "31 days of Horror Movies" in October, this one's great for a Creature Feature movie.

Great action, great suspense, great script, great practical FX, great creature design (although of course, based on the original), great story, great acting, great pacing, great location, great cinematography, great editing, great gore.

This movie is so goddamn fun! From the opening frames, to the somewhat heartfelt final moments, it's such an enjoyable ride. The film makers here set out to do one thing - make a fun movie - and that's EXACTLY what they accomplished. A nearly perfect escapism film that will have you enthralled the entire run time.

Absolutely recommended! Won't disappoint.

The title "Monster Island" is awfully generic and does not promise much, but I am a huge fan of creature features and therefore had to give this a try. We follow a Japanese soldier and a British prisoner of war who are stranded on a deserted island during World War II and have to put their differences and hatred aside to survive a creature that is hunting them.

The movie is somewhat of a mixture of Predator, since the creature is rather smart and can even heal itself during the hunt, with a design that resembles The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The effects were overall fine considering that this is a low-budget production, but it was clear that beneath the creature there was just a person in a suit, which took away some immersion at times. However, the design itself looked pretty good and there were also some really enjoyable gory moments with decent effects.

The premise sounds very interesting, but unfortunately the movie handled its themes rather shallowly and did not do enough with its unique character setup in my opinion. It is still enjoyable, and we get to see both of our protagonists shift their attitudes toward each other in order to survive and fight the real threat. The film also had some choppy editing that made certain scenes a little hard to watch and sometimes confusing, and the pacing was not always perfect.

Still, for a low-budget creature feature B-movie, this was certainly enjoyable, and if you like this kind of film you will probably find something to enjoy here, even with its awful title. [5.7/10]

Despite of never having heard about the 2024 movie "Orang Ikan" (aka "Monster Island"), of course I opted to watch it as I had the opportunity here in 2025. I am a big fan of all things horror after all.

The storyline certainly sounded interesting as served through the synopsis, however I have to say that the actual movie itself, well not so much. Sure, it was watchable, and there was potential, but ultimately it was a tedious and generic movie.

I was not familiar with a single actor on the cast list. The acting performances were not particularly outstanding or memorable, which was a shame, as the movie had a very small cast ensemble, and thus was depending on the acting performances to carry a certain weight of the movie.

The effects in the movie were okay, and I did like the creature design and the way that they made the aquatic creature look. It definitely helped keep the movie afloat, pardon the pun.

Ultimately then "Orang Ikan" is not a movie that I would recommend you to waste 84 minutes on watching.

My rating of writer and director Mike Wiluan's 2024 movie "Orang Ikan" lands on a generous four out of ten stars.