Review
Fantasy Island (Adventure, Horror) (2020)
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Writers: Jillian Jacobs, Cristopher Roach, Jeff Wadlow
Stars: Michael Peña, Maggie Q, Austin Stowell, Kim Coates
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Fantasy Island, A tropical resort and a dream location for anyone to visit. Mr Roarke (Michael Peña) takes that dreamy location to a whole other level, where you can relive your life in the best way possible or fulfil a fantasy life you’ve always wanted. However, as in typical horror movie tradition, it all goes wrong.
Several strangers travel to Fantasy Island having filled in forms of what the fantasies they want to experience are, and one by one shortly after coming to the island they get introduced to their fantasies made real. From reliving life and making different decisions as Maggie Q’s character (Gwen) does or experiencing a blowout party in a huge mansion-like, Ryan Hansen and Jimmy O.Yang’s characters (Brax and J.D.). Everyone’s fantasy starts perfectly, and In some cases, quite surprising and strange introducing people, they knew into the fantasies almost like they’re actors. And other’s being oblivious and go with the fantasy.
A great premise based on a TV Show from the ’70s/’80s and it’s all quite promising... Michael Peña is a great pick for a bad guy with the façade of being this hospitable host. Besides that, the cast is decent with the highlight of Maggie Q. At the start honestly, it wasn’t great but since the premise was something I quite liked I gave it the benefit of the doubt and was curious to see where it went. It feels like a light horror, nothing really scary happens, and there is no use of jump scares, which is always good in my opinion, because it’s a pretty lazy hook to use some loud sound and show a scary face or a moment of intensity. Horror should be eerie, spooky and all things like that. Quite well done in this movie and at the right intervals. I mentioned Maggie Q, She and Peña show that they’re good at their jobs and they’re a delight to see. The other actors, certainly not bad but the script, it makes me shudder and then laugh, laugh... A lot. Laughter not induced by the jokes they made in the film but by the horrendous story. It’s baffling the way they introduce plot twist after plot twists getting the story lost and not making any sense at the end. And it’s not like they’re subtlety introduced throughout the movie; Instead, they just push them all through at the end.
With a story that could be quite interesting ruined by a script like this, it’s a blemish on the records of the actors playing in it and the director as well.
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Verdict:
Horror unintentionally turned into a comedy
4.2
