At the start of this film I had some issues with it and thought it was being a bit too over the top, however, as the story continued it became so much better.

Fantasy Island follows five people who have won a contest to go to an island where their biggest fantasies can come true. For some that is being able to see their father again who died in battle or to get revenge on a high school bully or even just have a wild party night with models and lots of drugs.

But as the film goes on and, as expected, not everything is as it seems and these people will soon realise that their biggest dreams that have now become reality are actually nightmares, and soon they realise they either have to get off the island to save themselves or they will die.

The one aspect that surprised me with this film was the twist at the end. Now if you rewatch the film or think back to it you can see all of the small subtle hints that lead up to the twist scattered within the film, which is really cleverly done, and in some ways could be seen as inconsequential when you first watch it. But seeing it all come together in the end was really fascinating and added a new depth to a film that could be quite one note. I did find the use of jump scares a bit ridiculous at times, when the terror comes from the suspense and the foreboding the jump scares weren’t needed. During the second half of the film I understand adding that extra element, but at the start when you’re slowly building up what this island is and what these people have got themselves into, I don’t think they were needed and took away from the horror of what we were seeing on screen already.

I loved how we followed each of the five peoples’ fantasies and we could see how each of them grew and changed throughout the film. You can also see a lot of references in this film, at least that I have noticed, including Friday the 13th, the game Payday, Harry Potter and so many more. These may not be direct references but watching this film immediately made me think of them and I wonder if others have seen them too.

I don’t think it’s the best horror in the world, it could be done better because, as I have already said, the jump scares really make it seem a bit silly and ridiculous at times. However the overarching storyline was fantastic and if they just treated it as more of an artsy, dark, foreboding piece of work rather than Hollywood jump scares I think it could be even better than what it was. I definitely recommend it and I do believe that you have to let it grow on you to be able to fully enjoy it as the first half isn’t the best, but the film does get there in terms of good storytelling, and I do believe I would happily watch it again and recommend it to friends and family who I also believe would be into this sort of film.

What do you think of Fantasy Island?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding