Be careful what you wish for in this trailer for Fantasy Island
by Craig Risi
What if you could live out and explore your wildest fantasy? It’s something which most of us could only dream of – but something that seemingly becomes a reality for these guests who are invited to a remote, tropical resort where they can make their secret dreams and desires come true. At a cost, as the island’s mysterious owner, Mr Roark (Michael Peña), warns them.
Soon what turns into the idyllic opportunity of a lifetime seems to go horribly awry. Sounds like a bit of a rehash of an overused premise – but one that holds a lot of promise if this new trailer is anything to go by:
The premise here looks enticing, though give the genre, I have fears it will just fall into the typical horror tropes and descend into more of a slasher flick than a twistingly clever thriller. There is enough sense of mystery in this trailer though to give me hope, however slim that hope might be.
Fantasy Island is directed by Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2, Truth or Dare) from a script he co-wrote with Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach. The series is based on an original TV series from the 70s and 80s, though that was more of a drama series than all-out horror, plus this movie does away with the character of Tattoo.
Wadlow’s Truth or Dare was also a movie with an exciting premise that was wasted on cheap scares but was still profitable for the studio – let’s hope he can pull off the latter without sacrificing the overall quality of the film this time around. Fantasy Island is scheduled for release in on Valentine’s Day. How romantic.