‘Fantasy Island’ as a film adaptation of a popular 80’s television show with a horror twist is an interesting idea. However, it quickly goes off the rails and gets bogged down in its own excess.
In Blumhouse’s new spin, the charismatic and mysterious host Mr. Roarke makes the dreams of his lucky guests come true at a far-off island resort. What starts off as wish fulfillment to-the-extreme for the guests quickly turns nightmarish. The guests soon realize that they need to get off the island fast, but will they survive in the attempt?
I remember the TV show was strange in a ‘Twilight Zone’ kind of way. And it had its scary moments. So having a horror twist to it is no real surprise. However, there is too much going on and the story quickly devolves into a bit of a mess that’s not hard to follow yet gets hard to watch as it moves along.
The ending presented a few twists and turns, and [it] was like watching the old Scooby-Doo cartoon where the villain explains [all their actions]. When you get done and realize what’s going on, you’re left saying to yourself, “Umm, okay???”
All in all, ‘Fantasy Island’ had a good premise but the execution was poor, along with all the things that went on that made no real sense in a movie where suspension of belief is already necessary. It’s a movie-going experience that’s hard to recommend.
GRADE: D |THIS
[Written by Leland Wyrick | Follow THIS on Twitter @THISENT1]
