South Parkreturned with its 27th season last month, and it has already kicked it off with a political bang in its first two episodes. Between satirizing certain American figures and organizations, the second episode, “Got a Nut,” throws in a pop culturereference to a classic ’70s TV showthat saw tourists visit an island where their fantasies came true, just not in the way they expected.Fantasy Islandis the embodiment of “be careful what you wish for,” a notion that makes this drama series ripe for a horror adaptation. In 2020, Blumhouse Productions jumped at the opportunity andproduced a horror version with the same name that fleshed out the lore of this mysterious island and darkened its themes. So, after watching thatSouth Parkepisode, if you wanted to see the fantasies at the resort pan out in a more morbid, sadistic fashion, definitely reach forFantasy Island.
‘Fantasy Island’ Found a Second Life Through Blumhouse
The 1977 show may have introduced the idea of an island where all your dreams come true in twisted ways to pop culture,but Blumhouse’sFantasy Islandgave the idea a second life for newer generations. In the original show, we meet the owners of the island, the white-clad Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalban) and Tattoo (Hervé Villechaize), who greet unwitting guests and lay out the rules for the extravagant experiences they paid for.Mr. Roarke, in particular, makes clear that he is not allowed to intervene in the fantasies, and they must play out to their conclusion, though he does often try and prevent death from occurring if the scenarios go truly awry.
When it was adapted, Mr. Roarke isplayed by an enigmaticMichael Peña, and Tattoo is essentially replaced by Julia (Parisa Fitz-Henley), a character with her own elusive backstory. The start of the film plays out with familiar beats as the characters,winners of a competition rather than paying guests, indulge in their picture-perfect fantasies, including full-blown debauchery, doling out revenge, or having second chances to reverse their regrets - yet the atmosphere still has undercurrents of doubt and anticipation. The film hosts an impressive cast that plays the said guests, includingLucy Hale,Maggie Q,Austin Stowell,Jimmy O. Yang, andRyan Hansen.
In both the show and the film, the guests come to realize the fallacies in their pipe dreams, but the show mainly operates within the realm of drama, as guests usually had morality lessons and sometimes faced mortal peril. In comparison, when the cracks in the fantasies in the adaptation started to form,what follows is a schlocky maelstrom of supernatural and survival horror. This is where the adaptation diverges from the source material, as it tacklesthemes of grief, regret, and second chancesin this manner, all while expanding on the supernatural lore of the island, something that was left ambiguous in the original. In theory, it sounds like a great premise for a re-imagining of the show, but, as the story goes, the reality didn’t quite live up to the fantasy.
2020’s ‘Fantasy Island’ Was a Critically Panned Adaptation
Unfortunately,Blumhouse’sFantasy Islandlanded witha dismal RT score of 9%, with much of the criticism revolving around the confused tone of the film. Sometimes, it delivers a goofy, schlocky take on horror, whereHostel-like torturers, eyeballs in black goo, and zombie-like creatures cater to its PG-13 rating: it isn’t too gruesome, but it’s still a horror film. Yet even as it cultivates this air of not taking itself too seriously, there are times the suspense and jump scares ramp up in grueling cat-and-mouse hunts and dark, bitter deaths, which then become jarring. Other times, it roams into sci-fi/supernatural explanations and questionable histrionics, especially during the absurd plot twist that has been thoroughly lambasted by critics, all leading to a kitchen sink of ideas.
Many critics acknowledged that the original premise ofFantasy Islanddoes have the potential for a horror adaptation, but it was almost unanimously agreed that this wasn’t it. The reason the 1977 show worked so well was that it had genuine discourse around the fantasies and subsequent lessons in morality that each guest experienced, all with nuanced characters to tell these stories.If Blumhouse’sFantasy Island’stone andgenre-bending was too much, then its characters had too little to offer, which was a disappointment considering its talented and stacked cast.
All that being said,Fantasy Islanddoesn’t deserve to get totally written off. If you don’t take it too seriously or expect it to live up to the original,it’s a film you can turn your brain off to and get some enjoyable moments out of. There are also occasionally bittersweet or heartfelt moments thrown in there that compensate for some of the laughable conceits. It’s definitely a bold, fantastical endeavor that missed the mark, but if anything, it’s a good gateway to the original show, which promises the fantasy you originally asked for.
Fantasy Island
