Monster Island

In 1944 a battered Japanese soldier and a British POW end up stranded on a deserted Pacific island after their ship is sunk. Cut off from any rescue, they must contend with a hostile landscape and a massive, predatory creature that hunts them through jungle and shoreline. Old enmities and wartime wounds make cooperation awkward, yet hunger, injury, and the monster's relentless assaults force them to work together to survive. The story stays tightly focused on immediate threats, fractured trust, and short flashes of wartime memory, and it shifts between quiet dread and violent bursts.

Directed by Mike Wiluan and released in 2025, Monster Island stars Dean Fujioka and Callum Woodhouse, with Alan Maxson as the creature, and practical stunt work highlighted in early promotions.

Critical response has been mixed, the average rating near 5.9 out of 10 from early voters. Viewers praised the creature work and visceral action, while some critics pointed to thin character development, and period detail got varied reactions. Themes touch on wartime enmity, reluctant cooperation, and the thin line between hunter and hunted.

Within horror and monster fan communities Monster Island sparked talk about its throwback creature design and claustrophobic island set pieces. Though not a mainstream phenomenon, it found a niche online audience who highlighted Dean Fujioka's performance, the film's blend of period drama with pulpy monster thrills, and fan art.

Monster Island had a limited theatrical release and modest box office presence, gaining most attention through streaming windows and festival screenings rather than blockbuster ticket sales or wide international distribution. It later found life on VOD platforms worldwide.