This B-monster movie debuted on Shudder at the end of July. I came across it the other day and thought it might be some scary fun to watch it.

Set during the last days of World War II, a Japanese Hell Ship, which was transporting POWs, was sunk by an American ship. Saito, a Japanese soldier and Bronson, a British POW end up stranded together on a mysterious island. In their attempt to survive on the island despite their differences, they come across a mythological monster from Malay folklore called Orang Ikan.

Orang Ikan means “Fish Man” in Malay and this monster (played by Alan Maxson) looked like a combination of the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Sleestak from Land of the Lost. This Orang Ikan then went about a Predator-like hunt with the two men, as they struggled to survive.

It was really odd with the film since Saito did not speak English and there were no subtitles on the screen. We, as audiences, were every bit as uncertain about what was happening as Bronson was. You had to watch the way Saito carried himself and his body language if you wanted to see what kind of man he was.

His actions immediately showed that Saito was someone who you could trust and, despite the language differences, would be a friend in this situation. We do find out that Saito had been on the ship and chained together initially with Bronson because he was being returned to Japan to be put to death for being a traitor to Japan.

Dean Fujioka played Saito and Callum Woodhouse played Bronson. Both did a decent job in this clearly low budget film.

The film was short and moved along briskly. I did find myself engaged by the survival attempt by the two men and I did like that the film took some time to build the relationship between them. It was more than just fighting for their lives that brought them together but a little bit of character development.

It was an okay movie that was worth a watch on Shudder. The Orang Ikan may not have been as slick as most horror movies these days in appearance, but the film’s practical effects were appreciated.

3.2 stars