Fantasy Island is now a horror movie. The 1977 scripted television series has been singled out for the big screen by Blumhouse Productions, and their version releasing on February 14, 2020 is a lot scarier than you’ll remember.
The original concept, which transitioned to TV after the success of its two-part miniseries in 1977 and 1978, starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his sidekick, Tattoo. Over the course of 154 episodes, the series explored many different aspects of guests’ personal fantasies, traveled through history, unraveled many links to the supernatural, and crafted mysteries surrounding both the island and its enigmatic director.
“Ze plane! Ze plane!” is one of the series’ most iconic lines, which was uttered by Tattoo in announcements which signified a new group of guests had flown onto Rourke’s private island, ready to pay the price so they’d have an opportunity to live out their wildest fantasies. Looking back, the show was a unique blend of Love Connection, Gilligan’s Island, and Westworld. Yet, it worked, and has since inspired a sinister twist for the reboot.
Fantasy Island Was A Strange TV Show
Despite a relatively simple, direct premise, Fantasy Island had some strange twists and turns like other scripted series of the same era, such as Dark Shadows. Guests who traveled to Mr. Rourke’s island came with fifty-thousand dollars to live out their fantasies on a private, secluded paradise. Though he never seemed to have insidious intentions toward his guests, and came across as a hospitable, cultured type of gentleman, there was a particular aspect of Rourke which could lend itself rather well to horror: he frequently gave grave warnings to guests that there might be some sort of risk or cost associated with chasing fantasy depending on their particular desires.
In some ways, Rourke was even charitable, giving away trips to the island as prizes on occasion or even waiving the fee entirely for certain guests who he believed deserved a chance to fulfill their hearts’ desire. Throughout the series, Rourke displays a strong moral code and sense of ethics; he also frequently showed mercy to guests who got in above their heads. The show also speculated that he might be immortal, given episodes that explored his past with prominent historical figures. Rourke also is familiar with both ghosts and mermaids, which digs deeper into the series’ supernatural potential. Montalbán revealed that his imagined backstory for the character was that Rourke was a fallen angel whose vice was pride and he was charged with leading his guests through Purgatory (the island).
There were a few episodes that were notably dark, including one where a woman was obsessed with Jack the Ripper and fascinated by his crimes; she ended up traveling back in time to Whitechapel and almost became a victim of the murderer. She would have surely perished if not for Rourke coming to her rescue in the nick of time. Another episode has a woman who wishes to fall in love with her dream man only to end up as his sex slave in a bizarre twist.
Fantasy Island Makes Sense As A Horror Movie
Director Jeff Wadlow’s take on Fantasy Island doesn’t seem to feature a benevolent version of Rourke and Tattoo, but the concept lends itself tremendously to a horror film. Though the trailer definitely features a lot of the island’s sinister underbelly, it’s still unclear as to what road it’ll take in the direction of execution. Will it be a supernatural story, or something more wickedly human with a technological bend to the island, like we’ve seen with movies like Cabin in the Woods. Rourke could potentially even be an agent of something much darker, despite him being the series’ ringleader. Fantasy Island’s details may still be shrouded in plenty of mystery, but one thing is for certain: Tattoo won’t be coming back to the island this time around.
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