Director: Shixing Xu, Simon Zhao
Year: 2020
Country: China
Alternate Titles: Ju e dao
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
After a plane crash, a group of survivors find themselves stranded on a deserted island and try to regroup and find a way to get off the island alive, but when they discover the place is inhabited by a massive crocodile and a race of gigantic spiders, they must band together to escape the creatures.
Review:
Overall, the film serves well enough as a generally inoffensive cheesy creature feature. One of the film's bright spots is the fact that it manages to play such a ludicrous and inherently silly story into being as straightforward and serious as it is. The scenario about the plane landing in the area as a result of the magnetic forces at play in the location and being stranded has some merit to it, with the background on the area being responsible for the multitude of ship and airplane disasters over the years. It also serves well to explain the presence of the giant creatures, as the crocodiles and spiders are shown to have survived unscathed on the island due to their existence. This allows for some fine subplots as well once they get stranded on the island, as the chance for the father to reconnect with his daughter while they're trying to find a way off the island, with their build-up as the realization to let her grow up and be more independent, is an expected but still enjoyable aspect.
However, where this shines is in the relentless and cheesy creature attacks. The CGI for the swarms of creatures there makes the action they're required to perform seem all that much more over-the-top and unnatural, as the attacks here become quite fun. From the opening ambush on the escaping pilot, the beach attack on the survivors and the subsequent chase into the islands' interior, the series of attacks on the group stopping at ponds or lakes for water, and the big chase at the end to get his daughter back after being accidentally abducted in a prior ambush, the crocodile is involved in a nice variety of action scenes here. As well, the inclusion of the spiders in the storyline as a further obstacle to overcome makes for a nice diversion and includes some more action as well, with the creatures hunting the survivors in the forests of the island. This all comes together nicely enough to provide plenty of solid creature action for some positive features here.
While there are a lot of positives here, this one does have some missteps holding it down. The main aspect here is the aforementioned abject cheesiness on display, which makes the whole thing feel like a made-for-TV genre effort. The ludicrous story we're being asked to take seriously and the quality of the effects are the biggest factors of this, where the whole storyline just takes on one goofy twist after another with the means of getting stranded on the island, the presence of both the spiders and crocodiles and the later discovery of the WW II-era firepower left behind all seeming like the type of cheesy setups they are. Likewise, the CGI effects here carry that tone throughout, ranging from the passable involving the giant spiders to the ridiculous, such as the croc attacks, and the outright laughable, which is reserved for the spectacle sequences involving objects crashing or exploding. These are in line with the atmosphere established with the storyline and help to make the film feel even more like that kind of genre outing.
Overview: ***.5/5
Cheesy and silly in general and very comfortable in that space, this one is yet another in a long line of goofy Chinese creature features and pretty much leaves itself in that space without much deviation. Those who appreciate this kind of creature feature or are fans of the style will be the main target for this one, while just about every other out there should heed caution.
This review was originally published on Asian Movie Pulse and is gratefully reprinted with their cooperation.
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