Monster Island – Movie Review | Shudder (2/5)

MONSTER ISLAND on Shudder is a new Creature Feature with sparse dialogue and a story based on actual Malay folklore. It’s set in the Pacific in 1942 and has glorious practical effects. Read our full Monster Island movie review here!

MONSTER ISLAND is a new Shudder horror movie addition. It’s a multinational production with the original title of Orang Ikan. This is also the name of the creature at the heart of the movie. It’s based on Malay folklore, and as a creature feature, I loved the use of practical effects.

Sure, there is CGI as well, but with a movie taking place in 1942 during WWII, I am fine with some CGI being used for various battle scenes and explosions as well. The runtime is just 1 hour and 23 minutes, but I’m sorry to say it was still a tad too slow for me.

Continue reading our Orang Ikan / Monster Island movie review below. Find it on Shudder from July 25, 2025.

Meet the Orang Ikan

In Monster Island, which I have to say is a dreadfully generic title (though it works), we begin on board a Japanese ship. We’re in the Pacific in 1942, so WWII is only about halfway through. The ship is transporting prisoners of war (mostly British soldiers) to occupied territories for slave labor.

Before they get that far, their ship is torpedoed, and all bets are off. A Japanese soldier and a British POW make it onto the nearby island. Very lucky indeed, as the two had just been handcuffed to one another. The Japanese soldier was clearly out of favor as well.

After arriving on the island, they soon discover that something else lives here as well. It’s a creature the British POW, Bronson, doesn’t know. However, the Japanese soldier, Saito, seems to have an idea of what this ferocious mythological creature could be.

It’s the Orang Ikan. A creature not too different from The Creature of the Black Lagoon or the one from The Shape of Water. In other words, a human-fish hybrid of some sort.

While they are very worried about this creature, they spend virtually no time securing drinking water. Now, I’m no Wilderness Queen, but I’ve watched enough Naked and Afraid to know that you need to make sure you have water to drink.

In Monster Island, this is never an issue, and it bothers me. Especially as these two men are sweating profusely and constantly in the middle of some sort of action. They eat something, but water is never on their mind.

The cruelty of “human nature”

There’s no doubt that I wanted to like Monster Island much more than I actually did. From the practical effects of the creature to the multinational production and the plot based on folklore, this movie had a lot going for it.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t crazy about the characters or the overall storytelling. In fact, I really disliked part of the ending. I know it’s a creature feature (so are the Jurassic Park and Kaiju franchises), but I still don’t like it when we humans fail to respect the life of any animal.

MY ANIMAL LOVER REFERENCE…

As much as I loved this movie, I cannot bring myself to watch it again >>>

Whether creatures of an unknown origin or cute little mammals. I felt there was a lot of unnecessary macho BS, and while the bromance (which is very close to being an actual romance as I experience it) worked well, I wasn’t thrilled with the movie as a whole.

Watch Monster Island on Shudder

Monster Island comes from writer-director Mike Wiluan, who previously made the horror mystery Motel Melati (2023). That one was also made in Indonesia, so he has clearly found a niche working on genre movies there while keeping some English in his films.

Of course, subtitles are a good idea for anyone not strong with British dialects. There isn’t too much dialogue overall with Callum Woodhouse (Raven’s Hollow) as Bronson speaking English, and Dean Fukjioka (Fullmetal Alchemist) as Saiti speaking Japanese.

I liked Dead Fukjioka as Saito, while the character of Bronson never did much for me. In the end, I was rooting for the Orang Ikan, and I don’t think that was the intention of the filmmaker.

Again, I can’t let go of that hydration notion, which still bothers me now as I write this. Maybe I’ve just watched too many reality wilderness survival shows because I kept thinking: Forget about the creature, you’ll die of dehydration before it ever catches you!

Monster Island (org. title: Orang Ikan) is streaming on Shudder from July 25, 2025.

Details

Director: Mike Wiluan
Screenwriter: Mike Wiluan
Cast: Dean Fujioka, Callum Woodhouse, Alexandra Gottardo