As someone who has always been captivated by the interplay of history and horror, I am utterly thrilled about Mike Wiluan’s upcoming masterpiece, “Orang Ikan”. The trailer alone is enough to send chills down my spine, as it seamlessly blends elements from timeless classics like “Creature from the Black Lagoon” and “Predator”, while also paying homage to the Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One”.
In an already thrilling twist, director Mike Wiluan is adding WWII soldiers as adversaries for his upcoming horror movie “Orang Ikan”. The film, which recently released its first trailer, is a blend of classics like “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), “Predator”, and the award-winning “Godzilla Minus One”. “Orang Ikan” will debut this week at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Featuring Dean Fujioka from “Fullmetal Alchemist” and Callum Woodhouse from “All Creatures Great and Small”, “Orang Ikan” tells a tale of two soldiers – one Japanese, the other British – stranded on an enigmatic jungle island after a shipwreck. Initially antagonistic towards each other upon regaining consciousness, they find common ground when they encounter a dangerous beast inhabiting the island. Faced with this threat, they must momentarily suspend their hostilities and collaborate in order to stay alive. The storyline is summarized as follows: two enemies forced by circumstances to become allies in a struggle for survival on an unknown island.
1942, in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. A Japanese solider and a British captive find themselves marooned on an uninhabited isle, pursued by a terrifying beast. Enemies bound by circumstance, they must put aside their animosities to confront the unknown and survive together.
The initial preview for the film “Orang Ikan” hints at a terrifying humanoid entity. This beast appears to be a fusion of the “Creature From the Black Lagoon” and the Predator, or a more menacing variant of the Missing Link from “Monsters Vs. Aliens“. Equipped with razor-sharp fangs and elongated talons, it swiftly dismembers and consumes its prey. A glimpse into the creature’s activities is provided in the trailer, where it is shown hunting a stranded Japanese soldier at sea. As reported to Deadline, Mike Wiluan stated that the creature is a combination of the Gill-man from Jack Arnold’s iconic horror movie, as well as mythical creatures from Malay folklore.
Orang Ikan is an Asian adaptation that explores the creature concept amidst the somber backdrop of World War II events. Beyond the terror, it emphasizes the theme of brotherhood and human spirit in the face of the harrowing struggle for survival – a theme reminiscent of John Boorman’s 1968 film Hell in the Pacific.
Why War & Monster Movies Are a Perfect Combination
There’s an unique appeal to historical monster movies. Modern-day ones can undoubtedly be terrifying, but the thrill in these films lies in the fact that the characters have limited technology and knowledge, which significantly increases the tension. However, our fascination with war-themed monster movies runs much deeper and is closely tied to our instinctive responses to conflict itself. Monster movies challenge humanity as a whole by making us confront our own mortality. Whether it’s a global threat like in Cloverfield, or a single predator as seen in Predator, the concept of an advanced creature that outmatches humans has always intrigued storytellers, and this is why fantasies often revolve around dragons.
The threat of imminent death in monster flicks is also an allegory for the devastating nature of war. Monster movies saw a sharp surge in popularity during the Cold War in the 1950s, and Japan started producing dozens of popular creature-based action and horror films after World War II — the most famous of which is Godzilla, who gets the WWII-set monster movie treatment in the recently released (and absolutely phenomenal) Godzilla Minus One.
Orang Ikan
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2024-10-29 19:02