Following the enormous critical and financial success in the local theaters, the release of “The Meg” started a wave of similarly-produced creature features and animal-attack films to capitalize on its release. That has led to a steady stream of cheap, goofy creature features that remain popular to this day, including this effort from 2020 that is now available on digital and DVD from WellGo USA.
The area around the Devil’s Sea is also known as the Bermuda Triangle of Asia. Due to electromagnetic interference, aviation accidents occur frequently in the area. Lin Hao (Gallen Lo) and his daughter Yi (Liao Yinyue) were passengers on Flight GZ261. While flying over the Devil’s Sea, the plane malfunctions, causing an emergency landing on Crocodile Island. Hao and the other passengers encounter a large crocodile and spider and engage in a battle for survival. When Yi is captured by a giant monster, Hao struggles to save his daughter on the dangerous island.
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Overall, “Crocodile Island” 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 by writer Ni Minming 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. For example, the chance for Lin Hao to reconnect with Yiyi while they’re trying to find a way off the island, while their build-up as the realization to let her grow up and be more independent is an expected but still enjoyable aspect.
However, where “Crocodile Island” really shines is the relentless and cheesy creature attacks. The CGI for the swarms of creatures makes the action they’re required to perform seem all that much 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 Yiyi back after being accidentally abducted in a prior ambush, the crocodile is involved in a nice variety of action scenes. 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.
While there are a lot of positives here, “Crocodile Island” does have some missteps holding it down. The main aspect 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 one goofy twist after another. Starting 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, this ends up 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.
Cheesy and silly in general and very comfortable in that space, “Crocodile Island” is yet another in a long line of goofy Chinese creature features 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.
