Review: Fantasy Island

Release date: February 14, 2020
Running time: 110 minutes
Starring: Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, Charlotte McKinney, Portia Doubleday

Fantasy Island is a remake of the 70s TV series of the same name.  As you would expect from a Blumhouse film, the 2020 remake has a strong horror aspect.  In the film, five strangers win a trip to Fantasy Island, where their deepest (and darkest) fantasies can come true.  However, they quickly realize that their fantasies are going farther than they thought, and many have a decidedly dark turn to them.  

I don't think anyone was clammoring for a Fantasy Island remake, but I appreciate what Blumhouse did.  They took a property that was not on many people's minds and remade it in their image.  It reminds me of Visceral Games and their attempt to make an action game centered on Dante's Inferno.  Fantasy Island is creative and different, and has some solid suspense for the first part of the movie.  The five strangers each have very different desires, and it is fun to see their different fantasies come to fruition.  The fantasies also begin to cross into each other, and seeing this chaos is enjoyable.  

And these fantasies are all beautifully shot.  The tropical scenes are gorgeous and the island scenes make you feel like you are on a tropical paradise.  Additionally, the fantasy scenes are imaginative and varied.  One fantasy is in a giant party, another is in a torture dungeon, and another is at a high end restaurant.  Each of these is different enough that it adds variety to what could have been a fairly homogeneous film.  However, as with many horror films, Fantasy Island takes an unexpected turn late in the movie.  It pivots very quickly and leads to an unsatisfying ending that seems rushed.  I understand the story, but some of the decisions don't seem to fit with earlier choices the characters make.  It is definitely a surprise ending, but it doesn't make much sense as a wrap up.  However, despite the generally poor reviews, it is still a fun journey and one that I would recommend you see at home.

Fantasy Island is a creative and different remake of the 70s TV series, one that takes the general idea and puts its own dark twist on it.  

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