The Water Monster (2019)

"The fear of men makes them the perfect prey of the devil"

Water Monster was a taut 78-minute monster thriller with very little filler. No slapstick comedy, no overwhelming CGI, just a fishing village trying to find a way to survive a lethal water monster attack.

Shui Sheng witnessed the Water Monkey killing his father a decade before. Now the creature is back and Uncle San, the village elder, declares they must once again sacrifice a virgin to save the village. After the death of her father and brother, Xiang Lan is willing to die, but her love interest, Shui, is not going to let that happen. He gathers a small force to face the village and the monster which at this time is difficult to differentiate between. Shui saves Xiang Lan. Then the heroes confront the Water Monkey and after a fierce, deadly battle cage it. Uncle San refuses to let them kill it thinking the creature to be a god. With that fateful mistake the village suffers even greater losses and must now confront not only the Water Monkey, but their fears and mistakes of the past.

Water Monster went where few guys in rubber suits movies dare to go. The body count of familiar characters was extremely high. Old beliefs were faced head on. Shui Sheng dared to call the village elder’s self-protective action as murder. Anytime someone in a movie says, “Please don’t blame us,” nothing good or righteous follows. Why is the guy who decrees someone must be sacrificed never volunteers himself? In a world where women are devalued, why not sacrifice a virgin male or the village chief as a more valuable “gift”? Chief Liu’s eyes were finally opened and he realized that “begging, sacrifice, and wishful thinking” only strengthened the monster and weakened them. It was time to unite and face death.

The atmosphere was perfectly dark and foreboding. The music and some of the lighting were reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean. Every time the familiar “bong pulse” rang out I wondered who had a piece of the Aztec gold. The monster costume looked like an updated version of the Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), a movie that gave me nightmares when I watched it on the late, late-night show on tv at a childhood slumber party. The Water Monkey really would have given me nightmares as he was fast, extremely flexible and possibly a kung fu master. The fights were fierce, bloody, and deadly. An abundance of inventive weapons were created to stop the seemingly invincible foe.

The Water Monster kept the action coming at a thrilling pace. I was invested in several of the characters despite the limited amount of time devoted to them in this short movie. The village not only had to face the vicious monster, but also their fears and responsibility for their own safety. For what looked like a low budget horror movie, these still waters ran deep.

10/24/23

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