I kinda expect someone like Carmen Electra to appear in a made for MTV piece of nonsense like Monster Island, but I was surprised to see Mary Elizabeth Winstead's name in the credits - it just goes to show that we all have to start somewhere. The presence of the lovely Miss Winstead was the impetus I needed to watch this movie, but to be fair, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the whole thing, regardless of Mary and her marvellous midriff.
The film is set on the eponymous island, located in the Bermuda Triangle, where MTV competition winner Josh (Daniel Letterle) and his classmates arrive for the recording of the channel's Tropical Weekend Getaway, the host of which is Carmen Electra. Unfortunately, as Carmen is performing a musical number in front of her fans, she is whisked away to a nearby mountain by a giant flying ant. In order to impress his ex-girlfriend Maddy (Winstead), Josh declares that he will rescue Carmen; he is accompanied on his quest by several others, Maddy included.
This deliberately cheesy film boasts deliberately cheesy performances (Adam West as Dr. Harryhausen being the hammiest), and features plenty of deliberately cheesy scenes with deliberately cheesy special effects, although, having said that, fans of stop-motion animation will almost certainly get a kick out of the film's massive praying mantises, which are far better than expected.
B-movie fans will also probably enjoy the silly 'man in a rubber suit' monster Piranha Man, who emerges from a swamp to attack the group, and the oversized ants at the mountain (which turns out to be a giant nest). In addition to the giant critters, the film features plenty of eye-candy: Carmen Electra wears a skimpy animal skin outfit, Winstead doesn't (but still looks hotter), and Chelan Simmons as Josh's ditzy blonde sister Jen is also appealing.
Monster Island is by no means a great film, but those who enjoy dumb creature features should still derive a reasonable amount of enjoyment from the crazy monsters and the general silliness of the whole thing.
