Line #69 Main/IsleOfGiantHorrors


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12	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/GodzillaRulersOfEarth https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7c61808e_7488_4956_b561_edbbd7b77c3f.jpeg]]]]
13	[[caption-width-right:350:Oh give me a home, where the daikaiju roam,\
14	Where the beasts and the Gargantuas play...]]
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20	A deserted island which is not-so deserted. Somewhere on the island is a horrific [[DireBeast giant beast]]. The telltale signs that it's there are usually [[GiantFootprintReveal giant footprints in the sand]] along the beach, [[BadVibrations the rumbling of footsteps]] or the clattering of trees being knocked down, and of course, a [[MightyRoar horrifying roar]].
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22	Usually, these types of creatures are the island's dominant species or ruler, [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership 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]].
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24	The type of creature that is usually the island's inhabitant can range from creatures from [[PrehistoricMonster prehistoric times]] to everyday animals of [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever the giant variety]], especially [[GiantEnemyCrab crabs]], [[GiantSpider spiders]], and [[BigCreepyCrawlies insects]]. [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch]] or {{Animalistic Abomination}}s are not excluded from this. In some cases, the island can even be a domain of {{Mechanical Monster}}s. Of course, the visitor of the island might not even see what the beast is, due to perhaps being an InvisibleMonster or perhaps just to invoke NothingIsScarier.
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26	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. Usually a kind of LostWorld.
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29	!!Examples:
30	[[foldercontrol]]
31
32	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
33	* ''Manga/TheIslandOfGiantInsects'' has [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin giant insects]].
34	* ''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.]]
35	* 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.
36	* ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'':
37	** After surviving the sinking of the St. Anne, Ash's party and Team Rocket end up stuck on an island made up of malfunctioning giant animatronic Pokémon, separated from their Pokémon.
38	** Another episode during the Orange Islands 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.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Comic Books]]
42	* The Centre from ''ComicBook/DCTheNewFrontier'', a HiveMind of prehistoric beasts.
43	** Similarly, Dinosaur Island is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an island full of dinosaurs]] who will readily attack anybody who visits.
44	* ''Franchise/MarvelUniverse'': 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.
45	* Dark Horse brings us ''ComicBook/{{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...]]
46	* 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.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Fan Works]]
50	* ''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.
51	* ''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
52	* ''Fanfic/MossflowerOdyssey3'' takes place on an island inhabited by giant snakes, deadly natives, and is guarded by a GhostShip.
53	[[/folder]]
54
55	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
56	* The island of Colossa from ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'', which is populated by [[{{Cyclops}} cyclopes]], {{roc\|Birds}}s, and [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]].
57	* At the end of ''Film/DeepRising'', the remaining survivors have escaped to a beautiful sunlit island, only to hear a terrifying monster roar. The camera pulls back to reveal the island is host to an erupting volcano and ''[[NothingIsScarier something]]'' tearing down trees as it makes a beeline for the beach where the protagonists are. Cut to credits as the hero asks with exasperation, "''[[OhNoNotAgain NOW]]'' [[HereWeGoAgain what?]]"
58	* 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 is killed during the battle]].
59	* ''Film/JulesVernesMysteryOnMonsterIsland'': It's an island of monsters. [[spoiler: Not really. The hero's uncle [[ScoobyDooHoax manufactured them]] to give his nephew an adventure]].
60	* ''Film/JurassicPark'' is an abandoned dinosaur theme park on a tropical island, inhabited by cloned dinosaurs.
61	* The Creator/{{MTV}} MadeForTVMovie ''Film/MonsterIsland'' takes place on an island in the middle of TheBermudaTriangle, populated by ants the size of cars, mantises that can hold their own against bulldozers, spiders big enough to eat humans and a humanoid fish monster named Bruce.
62	* The 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.
63	* ''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.
64	* ''Film/{{Sweetheart}}'' has a shipwrecked woman on a DesertedIsland, which turns out to be in the territory of a huge, [[SharkMan bipedal shark-like creature]]. A variation in that the amphibious monster doesn't actually live ''on'' the island, but in an EldritchOceanAbyss nearby.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Franchises]]
68	* 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.
69	** 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.
70	** 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.
71	** In Hanna-Barbera's cartoon adaption of of ''WesternAnimation/TheGodzillaPowerHour'', Godzilla and the crew of the Calico encounter this kind of enemy several times:
72	*** In the appropriately titled episode "The Horror of Forgotten Island", the heroes found themselves on an island surrounded by a force field which imprisoned a mutant {{cyclops}} that could turn [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]].
73	*** In "Island of Lost Ships", the Calico runs aground on the titular island which is under the command of the mythical Sirens. While there, Godzilla does battle with a gigantic Chimera.
74	*** In "Beast of Storm Island", a huge snake-like monster with a god complex brainwashed anyone who came to its island into its slaves.
75	*** In "Colossus of Atlantis", the heroes stumble upon the legendary island of Atlantis, which is under the control of the titular HumongousMecha which went haywire in the cataclysm that sunk Atlantis.
76	** 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).
77	* ''Franchise/KingKong'': Skull Island is an island teaming with horrific beasts and dinosaurs, with the titular giant ape [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership reigning as king of them]].
78	** In the island's and Kong's Franchise/MonsterVerse debut, ''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 the HollowEarth.
79	*** In the [=MonsterVerse=] animated series ''WesternAnimation/SkullIsland2023'', it's revealed that there's ''another'' monster island approximately twenty miles away from Skull Island. This second island is where the giant, ferocious, pitbull-like Dog came from, and where [[WildChild Annie]] (who named it [[GiverOfLameNames Annie's Island]]) was cast away for ten years.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Literature]]
83	* ''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.'''
84	* 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]].
85	* [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] in ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies''. Most of the boys think there is a physical beast and by the end of the book start to almost worship it, but there is no "real" beast. The idea of the beast is actually used to represent of humanity's innate evil.
86	* The UrExample is ''Literature/TheOdyssey'', where Odysseus and his crew dock on an island inhabited by a {{Cyclops}} named Polyphemus, who imprisons them in his cave and eats them two by two. They defeat the monster by [[EyeScream stabbing his eye out with a stick]].
87	* In "The Quest for Blank Claveringi", a blood-curdling short story by Creator/PatriciaHighsmith, 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.
88	* The title character of ''Literature/SinbadTheSailor'' often ends up on one of these during his travels, including one where a {{Roc bird\|s}} nests, and another inhabited by a man-eating giant (who's basically an {{Expy}} of Polyphemus from ''Literature/TheOdyssey'' and gets defeated [[EyeScream in a similar manner]]).
89	* ''Literature/TheVoyageOfMaelDuin'':
90	** Exploring island no. 5, the voyagers discover a large plain with many hoof marks, and each mark is "as large as the sail of a ship". They also see nut shells of unusual size and a lot of "plunder". They become scared and go back to their ship; as they sail away, they observe a crowd of gigantic people approaching the island over the sea, who proceed to put on a horse-race (with equally gigantic horses) on the island. There is no explanation for these happenings, except that the voyagers feel sure that the giants are demons, and accordingly [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere make off as fast as they can]].
91	** The voyagers refrain from landing on several islands they discover because the islands are occupied by large monsters whose behavior suggests that they want to eat the voyagers. On island no. 4, there is a huge creature looking like a horse with claws; on island no. 8, there is a bizarre "twisting beast" fenced in by a stone wall going around the island; both of these monsters hurl stones at the voyagers as they are leaving. There is also an island with hungry [[BigCreepyCrawlies giant ants]], and one with hostile giants who forge iron, and who try to sink them with a mass of glowing iron.
92	* In ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheDawnTreader'', the first uncharted island the ship visits is inhabited by a dragon.
93	[[/folder]]
94
95	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
96	* The ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' has featured a couple over the years.
97	** One of the first and best-known episodes of the original ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' was "The Lawless Monster Zone", in which the Science Patrol visits an island populated by various giant monsters like the dinosaur-like [[BreakoutCharacter Red King]], the bat-like Chandler, and a giant burrowing reptile called Magular. Another one appeared in their MultiPartEpisode, this time home to relic dinosaur and EnsembleDarkhorse of the franchise Gomora.
98	** In ''Series/UltramanEighty'', UGM finds an abandoned island resort where an evil alien monster called Gimyra has hypnotized everyone on the island to drink their blood and turn them into its giant monster minions.
99	** In one episode of ''Series/UltramanDyna'', Super GUTS visits an island populated by several monsters they have previously met. It soon turns out that the creatures are clones being used as practice targets for a MadScientist-made monster called Neosaurus.
100	** Subverted with the Kapuya Islands of ''Series/UltramanCosmos''. While the archipelago hosts a variety of {{kaiju}}, the place is meant to be a sanctuary for them, having been created by EYES as a home for monsters subdued by Cosmos. Besides, most of the creatures on the island are {{Gentle Giant}}s like the GiantFlyer Lidorias, the mole-like Mogrudon, and the energy-eating reptile Bolgils.
101	** ''Series/UltramanMax'' homaged the original example in a two-part episode featuring Red King, as well as two new monsters -- a giant newt called Salamandon and a gliding reptile called Paragler. [[spoiler:It's later revealed that the island is actually a dimension-hopping prison for Red King built by Atlantis, and the other two monsters are its guards.]]
102	** ''Series/UltraGalaxyMegaMonsterBattle'' [[ExaggeratedTrope exaggerates this]] 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.
103	[[/folder]]
104
105	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
106	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' module [=WG6=] ''Isle of the Ape''. As a ShoutOut to ''Film/KingKong'', the title island is home to a giant (30 feet tall) ape with gargantuan stats (288 HitPoints, can do up to 104 HitPoints of damage with his attacks).
107	** Long before that, module ''X1: Isle Of Dread'' features a LostWorld island ''a la'' Skull Island, complete with a massive wall built by natives to keep the giant monsters out of their village.
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Video Games]]
111	* Both ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireI'' and ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireII'' feature an island at the northern end of the map that has giant versions of common enemies which are much tougher to defeat.
112	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has an island with dinosaurs as random encounters.
113	* In ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', in the Shandor Island level, there is a huge Sloar which is not only the source of all of Shandor's experiments, but also the final node guardian, making it the BossBattle.
114	* The fourth world of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' is an island with giant versions of regular enemies.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Western Animation]]
118	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': In [[Recap/AdventureTimeS8E9MysteriousIsland "Mysterious Island"]], the island is full of giant version of various animals, most of which are hostile.
119	* In one episode of Nelvana's ''Literature/{{Babar}}'' animated series titled "Conga the Terrible", as a ShoutOut to ''Film/KingKong'', 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]].
120	* 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]].
121	** 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.
122	* Several appeared in ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuest'', with the beasts that inhabited them usually the result of a MadScientist.
123	* ''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.
124	* 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.
125	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
126	** 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.
127	** The episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E8LisaOnIce Lisa On Ice]]" subverted this. When Lisa is told she's failing gym, she has an ImagineSpot in which [[FelonyMisdemeanor 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]].
128	--->'''Lisa:''' He said it was just a name!\
129	'''Man:''' [[ExactWords What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a peninsula]].
130	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Mask Island is not only the home of the beastly [[InvisibleMonsters Invisible Gem Monster]], but was also the battlefield for [[spoiler:Malachite]].
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Real Life]]
134	* [[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 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.
135	* Inverted with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_dwarfism insular dwarfism]], in which large animals become smaller due to the limited resources available. This has occurred with elephants, hippopotamuses, dinosaurs, and even a species of prehistoric human. Such creatures can often be found in the same environment as examples of the phenomenon's opposite.
136	[[/folder]]

Context Main / IsleOfGiantHorrors