Are you a sucker for creature features too? If you are, and especially if you’re a Creature from the Black Lagoon fan, mark July 25 on your calendar. That’s the day Monster Island drops on Shudder. (Included with an AMC+ subscription, which I get via my Amazon Prime membership.)
The second I saw the trailer, I saved the date. I’m a total sucker for creature features. Monster Island‘s trailer instantly made me think of the movie that made me fall in love with the genre: The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Like when I wondered if a real-life true crime inspired the original Friday the 13th movie, Monster Island made me contemplate something too: Did a mythical creature inspire the one in Black Lagoon? If so, is it the same creature in Monster Island?
Black Lagoon’s Creature vs. the One in Monster Island
The movie’s synopsis answered what influenced it and what kind of creature the monster is.
Based on Malay Folklore and drawing inspiration from ‘Creature From the Black Lagoon,’ this creature feature is set in World War II. A Japanese ship transporting prisoners of war to occupied territories for slave labor. After being torpedoed by allied submarines, a Japanese soldier and a British POW are stranded on a deserted island and soon discover that they’re being hunted by a ferocious mythological creature, the Orang Ikan. Both the soldier and POW realize that they must work together to survive the unknown, despite their differences. Starring Dean Fukjioka (‘Fullmetal Alchemist’) and Callum Woodhouse (‘All Creatures Great & Small’).
But what exactly is an Orang Ikan? Is that what the Creature from the Black Lagoon was, too? I did some digging and here’s what I turned up.
The Gill-man
It soon became clear that the creature in Monster Island differed from the one in the movie that inspired it. But it may be a cousin of sorts.
According to Britannica, the inspiration for the Gill-man came from the Amazon. Creature from the Black Lagoon‘s producer, William Alland, was attending a dinner party thrown by Orson Welles when Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa shared a story about “a mythical fish-man that supposedly lived in the Amazon region and abducted women from nearby villages.”
The Lunatics Project identified “three main Central American mythological creatures that most historians point to when they look at films like The Creature from the Black Lagoon or Shape of Water.” They include the:
- Ipupiara (also spelled Igpupiara)
- Iara (or Lara)
- Yacuruna.
Interestingly, Ipupiara is a place in Brazil. (Which, yes, is considered South America, not Central.) Specifically, it’s in Bahia, a state in the northeast region of Brazil. But it’s not located near the Amazon River or rainforest.
The description on the Lunatic Project of an alleged Ipupiara that a Portuguese commander caught and killed in the 1500s was intriguing. “The river creature was described as over 15 feet long, hair covering the body and long bristles around the mouth. And a mustache and fin that could hold the body upright.”
Hair instead of scales? And did something get lost in translation? How would a mustache help hold the body upright? That must’ve been some kind of ‘stache!
Renderings of Yacuruna, water-dwelling humanoid creatures, look much more like a Gill-man. But are interpretations influenced by the movie monster’s appearance? (I think yes.)
The Orang Ikan
To me, the creature in Monster Island looks like Gill-man, with a modern-day makeover, even though it hails from a different part of the world entirely. Malaysia instead of the Amazon.
In Malay, “orang” means “people” and “ikan” means “fish.” There are other “orang” creatures in Malay folklore, like Orang Mawas (a Bigfoot-like creature) and Orang Minyak (a ghost-like shadowy creature also known as “Oily Man”). However, as far as I can tell, the Orang Ikan is a mythical creature concocted for the movie, not one that truly exists in Malay folklore. But if I’m wrong about that, please leave a comment with your insights.
Monster Island: A Black Lagoon prequel we’ve been waiting for?
Mostly, I’m very excited to see this movie, which I’m afraid will be confused with a 2019 movie of the same name that was a stinker.
One that it won’t be confused with is The Shape of Water, which focused more on the Beauty and the Beast side of Creature from the Black Lagoon. Based on the trailer, I think Monster Island ignored the romance aspect.
I mean, that was part of Black Lagoon‘s charm, but it’d be okay if it were absent in this case. I’m hoping it’s more like Godzilla Minus One. A reimagining and reinvention of a classic creature feature. We’ll find out come July 25.
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What’s your favorite creature feature?
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.
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