History Main / IsleOfGiantHorrors

* "Fanfic/IsleOfSheBeasts": The island Spike is stuck on not only have beastman hybrids, but it also has monstrous chimera-like beasts that are the size of tractors and the apex predator on the island is a colossal dragon-like beast named Ēferno

* ''Franchise/MarvvelUniverse'': First appearing in ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', Monster Isle is near Japan in the Okhotsk Sea of the North Pacific. The network of tunnels that run beneath it lead to the Earth’s core. The monsters of Monster Isle were mutate creatures created by Kro, warlord of the subterranean Deviant race.

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* Rusukaina, an island in the world of ''Manga/OnePiece'', contains many enormous beasts that the main protagonist Monkey D. Luffy must battle and survive against in order to get stronger. Some of these beasts include a giant gorilla not unlike King Kong, and a gargantuan elephant.
* ''Manga/KaijuGirlCaramelise'' has the "Kaiju Island" that [[SpoiledSweet Manatsu]] brings Kuroe and Rairi to in an attempt to summon [[{{Notzilla}} Harugon]]. She says that there are local legends about a {{Kaiju}} that ate all the islanders. Turns out the island is home to {{Malicious Monitor Lizard}}s the size of the extinct ''Megalania'' that try to eat the girls when they wander too far into the interior. [[spoiler:It later turns out that there ''was'' a species of kaiju that lived there and have mostly died out. Not only is Kuroe one such specimen who was brought to Tokyo as an egg by Rinko Akaishi and mutated to have a humanlike form most of the time, there's also a second egg from the same nest that hatches into the flying monster Akae.]]
* ''Manga/TheIslandOfGiantInsects'' has [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin giant insects]].

* An issue of ''ComicBook/{{Planetary}}'' that's a homage to the ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' films has the team exploring an island somewhere in the vicinity of Japan that is home to a variety of giant prehistoric monsters, all of which have supposedly died out. Emphasis on supposedly.

* Dark Horse brings us ''Monsters,'' a compilation containing one story of an isle of giant horrors. The island's fauna make quick work of the explorers who have landed there, but one of them manages to escape, although [[spoiler: he's pursued by the island itself, which looks rather hungry...]]

* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'' has Solgell Island and the rest of the Mu Archipelago as this continuity’s equivalent of Monster Island, with the exception that the {{Kaiju}} choose to live there. The islands serve as the HomeBase of the [[Characters/TheBridgeTerranDefenders Terran Defender faction]], and are home to several other neutrally-aligned kaiju. Furthermore, [[Film/{{Mothra}} Infant Island]], [[Film/KongSkullIsland Skull Island]], [[Film/Godzilla1954 Odo Island]], and New Birth Island are mentioned and important in the lore.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* The island of Colossa from ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'', which is populated by [[{{Cyclops}} cyclopes]], {{roc|Birds}}s, and [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]].
* ''Film/JulesVernesMysteryOnMonsterIsland'': It's an island of monsters. [[spoiler: Not really. The hero's uncle [[ScoobyDooHoax manufactured them]] to give his nephew an adventure]].

* ''Literature/{{Fragment}}'': Henders Island is a remnant of an ancient supercontinent from the Precambrian era, where everything has been evolving separately for 570 million years and the inherent savagery of life has been turned up to eleven; an orgy of violence where the food chain is thrown out the window and ''[[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou everything eats everything]]'' - the dominant lifeform being a land-going species of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp mantis shrimp]] capable of single-hand(claw?)edly shredding and devouring '''tanks.'''
* In ''Literature/TheIslandOfTheSkog'', the mice who land on the island assume that the Skog is a terrifying monster, and it seems they were right, until [[spoiler:it turns out to have been a ScoobyDooHoax by the actual Skog, which is the same size as them]].
* In ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'', the first uncharted island the ship visits is inhabited by a dragon.

* In "The Quest for Blank Claveringi", a blood-curdling short story by Patricia Highsmith, biologist Avery Clavering is in search of a new species to make his reputation. He hears about a remote tropical island supposedly inhabited by an unknown species of giant snail, so he travels there in hopes of killing or capturing one. Unfortunately, the "giant snails" turn out to be ''really'' giant, with shells taller than he is. They're also quite willing to eat anything that crosses their path, including a biology professor foolish enough to land alone on an unknown island. Then it gets worse: Clavering finds that while he can easily walk away from the voracious snails, he has to rest... but the snails don't.

* As a ShoutOut to ''Film/KingKong'', in an episode of Nelvana's ''Literature/{{Babar}}'' animated series titled "Conga the Terrible", the young elephant king and his friends get shipwrecked on an island that's home of a giant KillerGorilla that dwarfs even the elephants. [[spoiler: In a subversion, the gorilla turns out to be quite friendly once they get on his good side]].

** Played with in "Treehouse of Horror III"'s "King Homer", where Mr. Burns plans to go to Ape Island to capture King Homer. His employees would rather go to Candy Apple Island, which also has apes, they're just not as big.

* ''Film/JurassicPark'' is an abandoned dinosaur theme park on a tropical island, inhabited by reanimated dinosaurs.
* ''Franchise/KingKong'': Skull Island is an island teaming with horrific beasts and dinosaurs, with the titular giant ape [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership reigning as king of them]].
* In ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', it's revealed that Skull Island is actually located on top of a rip in the Earth's crust where giant monsters (such as the reptilian "[[BigBad Skullcrawlers]]"), are able to emerge from BeneathTheEarth.
* The famous ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' film series gives us Monster Island, which [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin as its name suggests]], is home to many of the {{kaiju}} that appear in the films, including the titular King of the Monsters.
** In the original ''Film/Godzilla1954'', the title character seems to make his home around remote Odo Island, though he quickly moves to the Japanese mainland.
** Most portrayals of Mothra - including [[Film/{{Mothra}} her debut film]] - have her living on a remote island where she is worshiped like a god by the native people.
* ''Film/MysteriousIsland'' is about a group of castaways who find an island populated by giant animals like crabs, chickens and bees. They were all the work of [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]] as a solution to world hunger.

* The island of Colossa from ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'', which is populated by [[{{Cyclops}} cyclopes]], {{roc|Birds}}s, and [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]].
* ''Film/JulesVernesMysteryOnMonsterIsland'': It's an island of monsters. [[spoiler: Not really. The hero's uncle [[ScoobyDooHoax manufactured them]] to give his nephew an adventure]].

* In one episode of Hanna-Barbera's cartoon adaption of of ''WesternAnimation/TheGodzillaPowerHour'', appropriately titled "The Horror of Forgotten Island", the crew of the Calico found themselves on an island surrounded by a force field which imprisoned a mutant {{cyclops}} that could turn [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]].

* ''WesternAnimation/PopeyeTheSailorMeetsSindbadTheSailor'': Sindbad lives on a TurtleIsland where he keeps many dangerous beasts as pets, such as lions, tigers, snakes, apes, dragons, [[RocBirds a roc bird]] and a two-headed giant.
* As a ShoutOut to ''Film/KingKong'', in an episode of Nelvana's ''Literature/{{Babar}}'' animated series titled "Conga the Terrible", the young elephant king and his friends get shipwrecked on an island that's home of a giant KillerGorilla that dwarfs even the elephants. [[spoiler: In a subversion, the gorilla turns out to be quite friendly once they get on his good side]].
* There is a Monster Island in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998'', source of all the {{Kaiju}} that attack Townsville from time to time. Turns out they do it for the honor of fighting the Girls.
* In ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries'', Monster Island is where the military keeps all monsters that have been captured over the course of the series (barring those that need a TailorMadePrison instead).
* Several appeared in ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'', with the beasts that inhabited them usually the result of a MadScientist.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "Raiders of the Lost Harp", when Scrooge discovers the lost city of Troy and the eponymous harp, the [[OurMinotaursAreDifferent Minotaur]] statue that was guarding it [[LivingStatue comes to life]] and [[SuperPersistentPredator follows Scrooge all the way to Duckberg to get it back]].
** In [[WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017 the 2017 reboot series]], [[RevenantZombie the Bombie]] is imprisoned on an island named Falcon Island. When Louie takes over Scrooge's company, he shuts down the magical defenses of the island, unwittingly letting the monster loose.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In [[Recap/AdventureTimeS8E9MysteriousIsland "Mysterious Island"]], the island is full of giant version of various animals, most of which are hostile.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E8LisaOnIce Lisa On Ice]]" subverted this. When Lisa is told she's failing gym, she has an ImagineSpot in which it costs her the presidency and she's sent to "Monster Island". She's told "It's just a name", but ends up [[FalseReassurance getting chased by monsters anyway]].
-->'''Lisa:''' He said it was just a name!\\

* ''Film/KingKong'': Skull Island is an island teaming with horrific beasts and dinosaurs, with the titular giant ape [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership reigning as king of them]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E8LisaOnIce Lisa On Ice]]" subverted this. When Lisa is told she's failing gym, she has an ImagineSpot in which it costs her a government position and she's sent to "Monster Island". She's told "It's just a name", but ends up [[FalseReassurance getting chased by monsters anyway]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' subverted this in an ImagineSpot. When Lisa is told she's failing gym in one episode, she imagines that it costs her a government position and she's sent to "Monster Island". She's told "It's just a name", but ends up getting chased by monsters anyway.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_gigantism Island Gigantism]], as Wikipedia states, is "a biological phenomenon in which the size of animals isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to their mainland relatives." Results in things like the Madagascar Elephant Bird (a flightless bird twice the size of an ostrich) and the Giant Tortoise of the Galápagos. Komodo Dragons were originally believed to be a result of this, but recently discovered fossils revealed that the species was originally evolved in Australia and spread through Indonesia several million years ago, with Komodo and its neighboring islands instead being merely the final refuge of a once-widespread species.

* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_gigantism Island Gigantism]], as Wikipedia states, is "a biological phenomenon in which the size of animals isolated on an island increases dramatically in comparison to their mainland relatives." Results in things like the Komodo Dragon (probably the closest thing to a RealLife example of this trope), the Madagascar Elephant Bird (a flightless bird twice the size of an ostrich), and the Giant Tortoise of the Galápagos.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

** Another episode during the OI season has Meowth and Pikachu [[ChainedHeat tied together]] in the middle of Fairchild Island, an island containing giant Rhydon and Pidgeot who attack anyone that comes near.

* ''Manga/KaijuGirlCaramelise'' has the "Kaiju Island" that [[SpoiledSweet Manatsu]] brings Kuroe and Rairi to in an attempt to summon [[{{Notzilla}} Harugon]]. She says that there are local legends about a {{Kaiju}} that ate all the islanders. Turns out the island is home to {{Malicious Monitor Lizard}}s the size of the extinct ''Megalania'' that try to eat the girls when they wander too far into the interior.

* Fanfic/TheBridge has Solgell Island and the rest of the Mu Archipelago as this continuity’s equivalent of Monster Island, with the exception that the {{Kaiju}} choose to live there. The islands serve as the HomeBase of the [[Characters/TheBridgeTerranDefenders Terran Defender faction]], and are home to several other neutrally-aligned kaiju. Furthermore, [[Film/{{Mothra}} Infant Island]], [[Film/KongSkullIsland Skull Island]], [[Film/Godzilla1954 Odo Island]], and New Birth Island are mentioned and important in the lore.

* Fanfic/TheBridge has Solgell Island and the rest of the Mu Archipelago as this continuity’s equivalent of Monster Island, with the exception that the {{Kaiju}} choose to live there. The islands serve as the HomeBase of the [[Characters/TheBridgeTerranDefenders Terran Defender faction]], and are home to several other neutrally-aligned kaiju. Furthermore, [[Film/Mothra1961 Infant Island]], [[Film/KongSkullIsland Skull Island]], [[Film/Godzilla1954 Odo Island]], and New Birth Island are mentioned and important in the lore.

* Fanfic/TheBridge has Solgell Island and the rest of the Mu Archipelago as this continuity’s equivalent of Monster Island, with the exception that the {{Kaiju}} choose to live there. The islands serve as the HomeBase of the [[Characters/TheBridgeTerranDefenders Terran Defender faction]], and are home to several other neutrally-aligned kaiju. Furthermore, [[Film/Mothra Infant Island]], [[Film/KongSkullIsland Skull Island]], [[Film/Godzilla Odo Island]], and New Birth Island are mentioned and important in the lore.

* Fanfic/TheBridge has Solgell Island and the rest of the Mu Archipelago as this continuity’s equivalent of Monster Island, with the exception that the {{Kaiju}} choose to live there. The islands serve as the HomeBase of the [[Characters/TheBridgeTerranDefenders Terran Defender faction]], and are home to several other neutrally-aligned kaiju. Furthermore, [[Film/Mothra Infant Island]], [[Film/KongSkullIsland Skull Island]], [[Film/Gojira Odo Island]], and New Birth Island are mentioned and important in the lore.

Usually, these types of creatures are the island's dominant species or ruler, [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority lording over the place because they are the biggest and strongest]]. In some cases though, they are [[MacGuffinGuardian guardians protecting]] [[BuriedTreasure something residing on the island]]. Of course, there's also the possibility that the creature is [[TheAlcatraz trapped on the island]], being surrounded by water on all sides [[SealedEvilInACan makes it]] [[TailorMadePrison a good prison]], in the event the creature [[SuperDrowningSkills cannot swim]] or [[WeaksauceWeakness is weak]] [[KillItWithWater against water]].

* ''Film/KingKong'': Skull Island is an island teaming with horrific beasts and dinosaurs, with the titular giant ape [[AssKickingEqualsAuthority reigning as king of them]].

* The [[NamesTheSame similarly named]] [[Creator/TheAsylum Asylum]] movie ''Film/MonsterIsland2019''. The titular island is home to one {{Kaiju}}, who battles another kaiju that comes out of the sea.

Can be an IslandOfMystery if those that land are unaware of the creature residing on it at first. Usually used in a TrappedWithMonsterPlot, especially if the island's visitors are marooned. Different from TurtleIsland, which is where an island is a creature, although it is not impossible that the moving island has a beast imprisoned on it. Similar to BeastInTheMaze where a creature resides in a labyrinth instead of an island. If there is more than just one giant beast on the island, a BehemothBattle is likely to happen between them. If the creature has a large stash of treasure, that is a DragonHoard. For a wider variety of monster dwellings, see HomeOfMonsters.

* In ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'', while on the Isle of Bronze, Hercules inadvertently awakens the LivingStatue of Talos [[NiceJobBreakingItHero when he steals from the crypt he was guarding]]. Though the Argonauts manage to defeat Talos, [[LaserGuidedKarma Hercules' best friend Hylas was killed during the battle]].

* The [[NamesTheSame similarly named]] [[Creator/TheAsylum Asylum]] movie ''Film/MonsterIsland2019'' surprisingly averts this. The titular island is home to only one {{Kaiju}}, who battles another kaiju that comes out of the sea.

* In "The Quest for Blank Claveringi", a blood-curdling short story by Patricia Highsmith, biologist Professor Clavering is in search of a new species to make his reputation. He hears about a remote tropical island supposedly inhabited by an unknown species of giant snail, so he travels there in hopes of killing or capturing one. Unfortunately, the "giant snails" turn out to be ''really'' giant, with shells five feet across and quite willing to eat anything that crosses their path, including a biology professor foolish enough to land alone on an unknown island. Then it gets worse: Clavering finds that while he can easily walk away from the voracious snails, he has to rest... but the snails don't.

* There is a Monster Island in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', source of all the {{Kaiju}} that attack Townsville from time to time. Turns out they do it for the honor of fighting the Girls.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has an island with dinosaurs as random encounters.

* In one episode of Hannah-Barbara's cartoon adaption of of ''WesternAnimation/TheGodzillaPowerHour'', appropriately titled "The Horror of Forgotten Island", the crew of the Calico found themselves on an island surrounded by a force field which imprisoned a mutant {{cyclops}} that could turn [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "Raiders of the Lost Harp", when Scrooge discovers the lost city of Troy and the eponymous harp, the [[ALoadOfBull Minotaur]] statue that was guarding it [[LivingStatue comes to life]] and [[SuperPersistentPredator follows Scrooge all the way to Duckberg to get it back]].

* ''Literature/{{Fragment}}'': Henders Island is a remnant of an ancient supercontinent from the Precambrian era, where everything has been evolving separately for 570 million years and the inherent savagery of life has been [[UpToEleven turned up to eleven]]; an orgy of violence where the food chain is thrown out the window and ''[[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou everything eats everything]]'' - the dominant lifeform being a land-going species of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp mantis shrimp]] capable of single-hand(claw?)edly shredding and devouring '''tanks.'''

** ''Series/UltraGalaxyMegaMonsterBattle'' takes it UpToEleven with Bolis, an entire ''planet'' of giant horrors. Naturally, the story is that the main characters are stranded on the world in a space expedition and have to survive all the {{kaiju}} (all pulled from previous series) that do nothing but attack anything they see.