Dream On

 

I'm a mark for pretty movies. Tropical islands with blue water and forest green trees and beautiful people in small amounts of clothing generally add up to something that doesn't even have to be good to be aesthetically enjoyable. 

A Perfect Getaway is obviously the gold standard for this, a twisty thriller stacked with a hot, talented cast in a postcard-ready setting. Few movies (in ANY genre) will ever top it, and based on all the horrible things I heard about Fantasy Island when it came out back in 2020, I was doubtful this would be one. But when on Hulu...

Quick Plot: After winning a contest, a batch of immediately awful strangers lands on the titular Fantasy Island. The concierge guides them to their luxury rooms and cocktail hour, whereupon the smooth Mr. Roarke appears to confirm the reason for their visit: the island will make their dream come true. 

Brothers JD and Brax start it off with a spring break-like pool party, while the more mature Gwen revisits her chance to accept her ex-boyfriend's marriage proposal. Melanie gets to enact extreme revenge on her middle school bully and Patrick gets to finally play soldier, the dream he's had since his father died heroically on duty. 

It's all fun and games until they all realize, at right the same moment, that the fantasies are indeed too real. 

Fantasy Island is directed by Jeff Wadlow, who also made the Lucy Hale-starring Truth or Dare (not to be confused with the other movie that told the exact same story with the same beats and was also titled Truth or Dare but did not contain a Pretty Little Liar). Here's what I had to say about that film back in my original watch:

The film was savaged by critics when it came out in theaters, but as a two-years-later Hulu watch, it's exactly the kind of hot-people-in-peril horror flick that I tend to enjoy.

And here we are again! 

Great cinema? No. Fully watchable? Absolutely! On Hulu, yes, that too.

Lucy Hale gets to be dynamically snarky. Ryan Hansen and Jimmy O. Yang create an adorably dumbly funny brotherly dynamic that works (at least for me). Michael Pena has fun as island master Mr. Roarke, and Maggie Q helps to lend a little humanity to the whole affair. There's even a Michael Rooker gone rogue subplot. Why did horror fans hate this?

Sure, there was some kerfuffle over the film's late decision to edit down for a PG13 rating, but honestly, there was really no need to go any harsher. Granted, as someone who has their own, I don't need to see what were apparently digital bikini top-covered breasts, nor did I find any of the violence (which ranges from grenade explosions to electrocution torture) lacking in the level of intensity required. 

This is knowingly dumb, high concept horror fluff that wants to have a good time and look good doing it. I was buying what it sold.

High Points

Many thought the big plot twist was stupid. I'm not saying they were wrong, but for me, it gave a fun boost to an already silly story and shuffled character dynamics around in a way that felt fresh

Low Points

Obviously, the fact that every other person who watched this movie hated it has SOME merit, and if Fantasy Island's goal was on a horror scale, then I can easily agree that there's nothing that comes close to being scary

Lessons Learned

According to dorks, LARPing is fun

Most fantasies are painfully unimaginative and involve lots of sex stuff

A hero's a guy who's too stupid to stay alive

Rent/Bury/Buy

I often find myself the lone defender of PG13 horror, so if I've sold you on these before and you found yourself disappointed, I can't say for certain this will be different. I found this an incredibly entertaining summer watch. The 8% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes suggests MOST wouldn't agree. Make of that what you will! I've never claimed to have good taste.