Believe it or not, the lack of any real moral message behind Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island renders it forgettable and dry.
Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island Synopsis
What is your greatest fantasy? If given the chance to live through such a fantasy, would you see it through till its natural conclusion, no matter the surprises that comes along with it? Five strangers offered this opportunity discover the task is way easier, and deadlier, than it sounds.
Snappy Review
Fantasy Island, the ABC TV series, was a staple on Singaporean television in the early 80s.
The truth, though, I’ve never watched a single episode of it in full. All I remember about the series was that it had a pretty okay opening theme, with lots of seaplanes shots, and a lead/host who was always an elderly looking guy in a white suit.
Yeah. It wasn’t until the days of Wikipedia and YouTube that I learnt what the series was all about. That the premise was exactly as the name says.
This, in various ways, strengthened my immunity to the failings of this movie reboot. In other words, I’m more inclined to forgive since I’m not aggressively comparing as a fan. On what I liked: disorganized as it might feel to some viewers, the mishmash of storylines and characters appealed to me. Briefly, I even felt this was intentional and meant as a tribute to horror movies genres, and survival horror video games, of sorts
The many, MANY plot twists in the second half intrigued as well, although sadly, over-enthusiasm in including these twists ultimately rendered the climax lame and inexplicable. (VERY inexplicable, I emphasize)
In summary, my biggest gripe with this reboot is that despite so many twists and turns, there’s no real substance, no real moral message behind everything. I know that sounds dated but for stories of such nature, don’t you think the end message, the “hey Kenny, what have we learnt today?” is what gives weight?
I’d go to the extent of saying the entire movie wraps up like it was all but an inconsequential dream too. Peña’s Roarke, the anchor for such a tale, also lacks any real charisma or mystery.
Read my other Snappy Movie Reviews.
