“Fantasy Island” was released in 2020 when there were still a lot of corona restrictions. Still, the horror film from hit producer Jason Blum made a solid worldwide gross of $48 million (on a budget of just $7 million). Really not bad!
However, the film only really took off two years later, when the film appeared in the Netflix program in April 2022 – and immediately stormed the daily Netflix streaming charts.
Now there could even be a larger audience, because “Fantasy Island” is celebrating its German TV premiere tonight on ProSieben – at prime time at 8:15 p.m.!
A horror film at 8.15 p.m. – of course the alarm lights flash immediately, that the film may only be broadcast in a cut version. But Pustekuchen: The uncut theatrical version of “Fantasy Island” has actually been released in Germany from the age of 12 – and so it can already be broadcast in prime time without having to cut the scissors.
However, we would recommend you to go for the longer ones instead Unrated Cut from “Fantasy Island” – because at least a bit of blood in a horror movie is certainly not the worst thing:
» The unrated cut of “Fantasy Island” on Blu-ray at Amazon*
Even then, the question still arises as to whether “Fantasy Island” is worth it at all…
“Fantasy Island” is based on the cult series of the same name, which first aired in 1977. Ricardo Montalban (“Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan”) plays the island owner Mr. Roarke, who is always able to fulfill even the most difficult wishes of his guests. So far, so normal – after all, there are a dime a dozen cinema films based on series. The special: The “Fantasy Island” series has fantastic elements, it is anything but horror, but rather a Sunday morning series for the heart and the whole family. So how the hell did the producers come up with the idea of turning this template into a horror film of all things?
Unfortunately, the answer to that doesn’t really become clear when you watch the film either. Of course, the premise is similar, because the multi-millionaire Mr. Roarke (Michael Peña) once again grants five guests (including Lucy Hale and Maggie Q) their wishes – only this time they quickly tip into the nightmare. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in “Fantasy Island”. deep – still exciting, which is perhaps not too surprising in view of the low age rating aimed for.
Horror on the back burner, which only develops a noteworthy potential for guilty pleasure if you appreciate it as a nostalgic pop culture reference slingshot…
*The link to the Amazon offer is a so-called affiliate link. If you make a purchase through this link, we will receive a commission.