tek's rating:

Fantasy Island (PG-13/unrated)
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This 2020 film (also known as "Blumhouse's Fantasy Island") is loosely based on the 1977-84 TV series of the same name. It did very poorly with critics, but was moderately successful financially. I can definitely understand why some people would like it less than I did, but I can't understand why so many critics liked it so much less than I did. It has its flaws, but I really enjoyed it. Before watching it, I thought I'd put my review under "supernatural horror", but after I watched it I decided that I consider it primarily a psychological horror movie. (I'll still link to it in both sections, though.)

It begins one night with a woman who has been kidnapped and brought to a mysterious island running for her life, before finally being captured. In the next scene (presumably the next day), a plane arrives on the island carrying five people who have won a chance to have their fantasies fulfilled. They include Gwen Olsen, Patrick Sullivan, step-brothers J.D. and Brax Weaver (Brax is technically just along for J.D.'s fantasy), and Melanie Cole. They're greeted by Julia, the assistant of the guy in charge of the island, Mr. Roarke. Um... I guess I don't want to spoil the nature of any of the fantasies, except to say that Melanie wants revenge on a childhood bully named Sloane Maddison. None of the guests thought their fantasies would turn out to be real. For example, Melanie thought the woman she was torturing (remotely, by pressing buttons on a machine) was just a hologram, but she eventually realizes it's really Sloane (the woman from the opening scene), and helps her escape from the torture chamber. The two of them meet a man named Damon, who has been trapped on the island for awhile, and has a plan to escape.

Anyway, everyone's fantasy turns bad, in various ways. And they all start intertwining. I'm not sure how many people had been brought to the island to take part in the fantasies, as the guests interacted with people who they assumed were actors. However, it turns out that most of them had (I think) just been created by the island itself. Though some of them may have been real, and the island sent the guests back in time to meet real people from their pasts. But eventually many of the people start turning into black-eyed zombies, or whatever. I dunno, it's all rather confusing. And there's a plot twist I have very mixed feelings about, which I won't spoil. I will say that not every guest makes it out alive, but the others have a relatively happy ending. I do think it's pretty weird that Mr. Roarke is seemingly absolved of his part in facilitating all the horrors that his guests went through. He really is a villain, despite his motivation.

And I guess I don't know what else to say, except that I found the movie reasonably interesting and unsettling.


psychological horror index
supernatural horror index