Monster Island (2025) is the BEST Shudder Release of 2025! – Movie Review

Monster Island (2025) is the BEST Shudder Release of 2025! – Movie Review

[Music] What’s going on everybody? Welcome back to the channel. Hope you’re all doing well. And as usual, thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to click here on another video. And today we’re going to be talking about a new creature flick that’s going to be hitting Shudder on July 25th that I got to check out just a little bit early. And that film is called Monster Island, written and directed by Mike Wheelan. This film stars people like Dean Fujioka, Callum Woodhouse, Alan Maxon, and more. And before we get too far into this video, I just want to say a big thanks to those kind folks over at Shudder for sending me over an early screener for this one. When I first saw the poster, I was pretty intrigued cuz it kind of reminded me of the creature from the Black Lagoon. And then I saw the trailer and it felt very much like that. It pretty much felt like a modern-day Creature from the Black Lagoon. Obviously with a different premise, but in terms of the look of the character. And the original title for this film that’s in Indonesian I believe is actually called Orurang Eken which I from what I understand from reading online translates over to fish man. So Gilman fish man creature from the black lagoon. This is clearly inspired by it with a new kind of premise built around it. A fishlike man creature monster that these characters in the film now have to deal with. So with all that I was pretty excited. And the film is coming to Shudder like I mentioned earlier on July 25th. So again a big thanks to them. definitely excited to always check out any of their movies early, whether I enjoy them or do not enjoy them. And when it comes down to Shudder this year, I won’t lie, I haven’t been a huge fan of the films that have come out that are Shutter originals. I like a lot of the films that they have on their platform that they get licensed for their platforms. But when it comes down to the ones that actually have Shudder kind of like as part of the marketing for the film or that’s the, you know, the studio that created it or they purchased it and they’re releasing it as their own movie, it’s a little hit or miss. Some movies can be really good and some movies can be some stinkers for sure. So, before we get into my thoughts on the film, as usual, let’s get into what the film is all about. Set during World War II, a Japanese ship carrying British PWs is torpedoed. This ends up leading to two sworn enemies becoming stranded on a Pacific island together, only to soon realize that their true threat is something far more terrifying, which is the mythic Orurang Ekan, a creature that’s lurking in the jungle. So, as I already mentioned in the intro, Creature from the Black Lagoon. I mean, that’s a film I love. I covered it here on the channel. I haven’t covered the sequels, but when it comes down to the Gilman, the creature from the Black Lagoon, I’ve always enjoyed the aesthetic of that character, the idea of that character, and I’m not really afraid of any of those monsters. I think most people aren’t. They’re typically more like action characters nowadays when they appear in things. They’re not really scary characters to the modern audience. But the Gilman was always one that still freaked me out even watching those older movies because even though they’re cheesy, I think part of the thing for me is I’m I’m afraid of the ocean. I’m afraid of the water. The creatures that live in the ocean or in the waters freak me out. I just am not a fan of it. And so, a monster that is could be watching over you in the water and come for you has always been something that’s terrifying to me. And so, when I saw that this film was very clearly inspired by the Gilman, I was excited to see what they would end up doing. And I’ll start this off by saying that in terms of the technical elements of this film, I think it’s a pretty sound film. I think that there is a little overediting at times, and we’ll get into that in just a little bit. But when it comes down to the cinematography, I thought it looked good. As well as the fact that the film actually is filmed in the jungles of Indonesia. So, you have a great practical location they’re filming in, which added to the scenery, which added to the atmosphere of the film. It gives you that sense of ambiance that you want. And I really enjoy the overall aesthetic of this film. Being able to be near actual oceans and mountains and trees and rivers and being able to put this Gilman character, the fish man, the Orurang Incan in these situations, I thought really elevated the experience and definitely added to the physical visual part of the film, which in turn, I got to praise this film also for its practical effects around our creature in the film. As a sucker for a good creature feature, I think the costume that they use here for the Orurang Econ is pretty solid. I really enjoyed the look of the character. I thought he very much looked like a modernized version of the Gilman, which was really cool to see. There are a couple of moments in bright light, especially during like sunny scenes in the film where it looks like a costume, but specifically when they’re able to kind of use him in the water or specifically in dark sequences. I think for the most part, this character looks really cool and really elevated the experience. And most of the stuff done around him, including a lot of the blood squibs and just blood in general, is practical. There are a couple of moments of digital effects that definitely kind of show the budget and how majority of the budget clearly went to the costume for this monster, but I do appreciate that the film utilizes practical locations, has pretty solid cinematography, and has a practical monster in the film that isn’t overly reliant on CGI. I don’t think there’s a single moment where you see the monster in this film that is CGI. There might be one moment when he’s in the water in the earlier part of the film where he’s CGI, but as far as when we’re actually seeing this monster alongside our characters, he is a practical guy in a practical suit. That looks pretty good. So, I got to give the film praise where I can. And in terms of the performances, I think for the most part, our two lead actors in the film that are Dean Fuji and Callum Woodhouse do a good job. Like I mentioned before, they play a Japanese soldier and a British P who now are stuck on this island together. Initially wanting to kill each other. Of course, they’re feel fearful as they’re in the midst of World War II, but ultimately end up having to realize they need to work together. And I think a film that has the premise of having two lead characters that don’t speak the same language oftent times could do some pretty interesting things allowing the performers to really have to sell us on these characters utilizing more than just dialogue and a lot of times allows the film to have a lot of you know visual storytelling which is very much adds to the overall experience. However, with all that said I do have some gripes with this film when it comes down to its story because it’s ultimately paper thin. This is a call back to old monster creature flicks and is by no means a film I would say you would ever go into for narrative depth. So in turn, the two characters that we focus on in the film are pretty one-dimensional. I think the performers are fine, but this is definitely a situation of the script and the dialogue that they are given kind of working against them because I don’t necessarily know that they’re given anything to really be able to chew on to and make these characters likable or memorable. These are two characters that when I think about them weeks or months down the line, I’ll honestly just be like, “Yeah, those were characters.” I won’t really have anything to say incredible about them. I don’t think they’re terrible characters. I think there are charming, endearing moments between the two characters in the film, but they’re by no means characters that you’re going to remember after you watch this film weeks or months down the line. And I think by the time you get to the end of the year, they’re definitely not going to be characters that you’re like, “Oh, those were standout film characters of 2025.” Not by any stretch of the imagination. I think this is the film that very much relies on its practical effects and its cinematography, its overall filmm and just the kind of straightforward old school storytelling kind of format of telling a creature flick. This is more about the people surviving this creature than it is kind of telling a story. And that’s going to work for some people. This is definitely a film that I think is kind of a throwback. It’s a nostalgic piece in a lot of ways in terms of just being about characters dealing with a monster and less so of taking that idea and modernizing it with, you know, modern storytelling and and being able to kind of elevate the material a little bit. I think this is a film that is going to fall into forgettable for a lot of people. But I do think people like myself who are a sucker for a good creature feature and enjoy practical effects and monsters and monster designs in general will definitely have something to enjoy in this film. But as somebody who critiques film here on YouTube, I have to be honest in saying that this film isn’t anything incredible. In a lot of ways, this film as a monster movie is serviceable. It’s fun. It’s enjoyable enough, but it’s by no means incredible. But as a narrative, it’s pretty flat. There isn’t an abundance to this film narratively. And as a horror film that’s going to be releasing on a horror streaming service like Shudder, it’s definitely not scary. The scary element of it at all would be maybe moments of some loud jump scares. But outside of that, I can’t imagine anybody actually being scared of the monster itself, unless you’re a really young kid. Any seasoned horror fan is just going to feel like this is more of an action horror film or an action, you know, monster movie, less so than it is actually just a horror film in any way, shape, or form. Though, again, I did appreciate a lot of the practical effects. I appreciated that there is actually some practical blood in the film as well. somebody gets decapitated in the film and that’s all practical as well. So, as a fan of slashers, as a fan of practical horror makeup, this film definitely leans into that. The costume of the monster is really cool. And the two main characters we follow give solid enough performances for you to enjoy them enough. I just didn’t care about them by the time we got to the end of the film. There was nothing about the story that ever really grabbed me. And there are moments near the end where you can tell they maybe want you to feel as they’re doing a couple flashbacks to a couple of these charming moments between the characters. But since those charming moments were so few and far between, it just feels like they only are able to kind of grasp at those moments to be like, “Hey, remember these nice moments between the characters and less so because they’re like key moments amidst a fairly fun journey between two characters.” And I do think one big part that holds this film back besides its budgetary restraints clearly would specifically be its length. The film is only like an hour and 23 with credits. And honestly, in a world where a big criticism people have of films these days is we could put probably could have cut off 15, 20 minutes or 30 minutes depending on the length of the film, this is one of those situations where I feel like an extra 20, 30 minutes could have really helped flesh out these characters and made them more exciting to watch and root for because I do think you can tell good stories with characters that aren’t saying much to one another but are able to kind of build a bond and camaraderie and kind of work together in a very highstakes scary situation. In the end of the day, this film has a moment near the beginning where these two are not really working alongside each other. Then they realize what their threat is amidst all this. They kind of are fighting it off, running away. Then there’s a couple of moments as they’re trying to figure out ways they could fight off the creature leading up to one big final showdown with said creature. And while those moments are enjoyable, I do think there are sections of this film that feel like they meander. And ultimately, I feel like the film’s shorter length just didn’t give us enough time for me to really feel like I care for these characters or root for them. With all that said, frankly, this is probably my favorite film to come from Shudder this year, which isn’t really a high bar given the fact that I haven’t really loved their films so far this year. But I think if you’re a horror fan who specifically wants a horror film or something that’s creepy or scary, I don’t know that this film is going to do it for you. But if you are a creature fan, if you like a good monster movie, there’s something enjoyable to be had here simply on its more throwback storytelling kind of roots and the fact that it has some great practical effects specifically around the monster. But if you’re going into this thinking, I’ve always wanted to see a modern-day creature from the Black Lagoon with a good story. Well, you will get a modern-day creature from the Black Lagoon looking creature and some cool moments with said creature, but not really a film that gives you a rich story that it’s going to be memorable down the line. I unfortunately feel like this will probably just fall into the forgettable category again within the world of shutter releases. But for me, not really having loved what they’ve released this year thus far and being a fan of the idea of a fish man creature monster that calls back to the creature from the Black Lagoon, I ultimately found myself enjoying it enough. I ultimately felt like, yeah, that was fun. You know, it was all right. Nothing crazy. Nothing terrible. There’s worse ways to spend my time. And so, I think it’s really going to be dependent on you whether or not you enjoy this film. I can see some people just like being like, yeah, this isn’t great. And then I can see some people being like, “Oh, I look I like a good Creature Fleeer a little bit more than you do, so this is a little bit more up my alley.” And I honestly don’t know that this is going to be the kind of film that wows a lot of people, but I’m sure there will be people who enjoy it enough. So, that’s going to be my thoughts on Monster Island. What did you guys think about this film? Did you like it? Did you not like it? Where does this kind of rank for you in the realm of modern-day shutter releases? Whatever the case may be, leave any and all comments down below. And also maybe what’s your favorite creature from the Black Lagoon movie? Or maybe most fun, what is your favorite movie that’s clearly inspired by creatures from the Black Lagoon? Something about some sort of monster or creature that lives in the ocean or the waters or the rivers or whatever. I definitely want to hear what you guys have to say about that. So, leave some comments down below. And more importantly, thank you so much for taking the time to click here on another video. I’ll see you guys in the next one. Bye-bye.

My review for Monster Island (2025) – Directed by Mike Wiluan – Starring Dean Fujioka, Callum Woodhouse, Alan Maxson, and more!

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