Brian Welk of The Wrap isn’t kidding when alluding to the fact that this version of Fantasy Island is going to be much, much different than the show that so many people remember. In fact you could say that this is going to be almost nothing like the show that a lot of people watched back in the day, since the horror aspect is going to blow people out of the water most likely. Right from the get go when looking at the trailer it becomes obvious that something just isn’t right with this island. The fact that the show didn’t spring for a shorter person like Herve Villechaize makes little sense considering that it might have actually added to the horror vibe. But in this era of ‘wokeness’ it seems that shows can’t do this any longer since it would seem insensitive to actually give someone a job and make them somewhat famous for a role that was one of the most memorable parts of the original program. But given that it would work from a scary, creepy vibe sense it doesn’t seem as though it would be something that people would just let go. Instead we have a beautiful woman of color that is going to be announcing that the plane has arrived with a level of excitement that seems to border on pleasure and a strange sense of calm that almost gives the feeling that she’s drugged half of the time.
Michael Pena is a great addition to many projects since he can be deadly serious, dramatic, or comedic in a big way that makes the whole thing take on a different note. But in this appearance it does seem as though he’ll be going from welcoming and calm to absolutely psychotic in a very short time. So far it’s kind of hard to root for anyone in the movie since the lot of them either feel like spoiled, entitled tourists that are on a vacation of a lifetime and expect a great deal, or are unrepentant psychopaths that are there to torment the guests in their own special ways. In a sense this is shaping up to be a movie that’s going to shock the audience and possibly divide them when it comes to who they’re going to want to see make it out. The idea that everyone gets one fantasy that they get to live out is great and all, but it definitely shows a sign of the times when the guests want something that is either capable of causing them great pain, allows them to be destructive, or allows them to be as petty and vindictive as they can possibly be. It is insanely interesting to think that their fantasies are going to be turned back on them in a sadistic manner so as to actually punish or torment them, or both, before the final act, but it does make a person wonder yet again why bad guys in a movie don’t just end it once they’ve had their fun in order to keep anyone from getting away. Ever notice how that happens? It already seems to be telegraphed in this movie who will die and who will possibly live and it would seem that the one person that probably deserves a violent end might not get it. Tony Sokol and Joseph Baxter from Den of Geek! have more to say on this subject.
Overall this movie might be worth watching once it hits Netflix or whatever platform will want to pick it up, but in the theater, on the big screen, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be worth all that much largely due to the fact that it almost seems like it’s going by a set formula that’s going to set people up and then knock them down in turn as the audience will be able to predict just what’s going to happen at each turn. Granted, there might be a few surprises here and there, it would have to happen just to keep people interested, but these days, as it’s been for a while, a lot of stuff can be predicted and plotted before the second act even comes around. And why do people continue to pay for stuff like this? It’s familiar, it’s comfortable, and it doesn’t challenge them or their sense of what is supposed to happen in a movie. Elliot Grove of Raindance can tell you more about the familiar formula that horror movies tend to employ. The creators have taken a great idea and a so-so cast, apart from Pena, and set up an island that is looking more and more like a dreary cross between Saw, Hostel, and Club Dread, and are making it seem as though no one is going to get out alive, when you can easily guess that someone is going to survive, or there will be an ending that shows the final survivor being given the Jason Voorhees ending, meaning you’ll think they’re safe and then something or someone will come along to ruin that illusion.
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