Nightmare Island

6/10 - despite overwhelmingly negative reviews, I was thoroughly entertained by the this off-the-walls BSC thriller even though I could have easily reduced a substantial amount of the runtime (unnecessary and dragged out storylines)

A group of guests arrive at the Fantasy Island, a paradisiacal tropical resort hosted by the mysterious Mr. Roarke (Michael Peña) and his staff, with the promise that their secret fantasies or dreams come true in the island. He interviews each new arrival to make clear that their fantasies just end when concluded and to confirm each wish. Gwen Olsen (Maggie Q) regrets the day she said no to the proposal of her boyfriend. Melanie Cole (Lucy Hale) seeks revenge on her high-school mate Sloane Maddison (Portia Doubleday). Patrick Sullivan (Austin Stowell) dreams on being a soldier like his father. The gay Brax Weaver (Jimmy O. Yang) and his brother J. D. Weaver (Ryan Hansen) just want to party. But soon they realize that there is a price to pay to the island for the wishes come true.

"Fantasy Island" is a highly entertaining fantasy film with good twists. The Metascore and the IMDb User Rating are ridiculous, misguiding the viewers. The plot is a combination of "The Twilight Zone" with the franchise "House" (1985) and not a horror movie. Fortunately, I did not read the reviews in IMDb and I look forward waiting for a sequel. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil: "A Ilha da Fantasia" ("The Fantasy Island")

Why is it we keep having these tired and convoluted attempts to recreate great movies and series from yesteryear instead of creative and original attempts at something new; its very sad if this is the state of affairs and there are no writers left or directors who can make something great when there are so many possibilities in comics like 2000AD or Tornado or Starlord from the 80's if they cannot come up with original writers and forsake truly modern and creative directors like Neill Blomkamp directing shorts and commercials.

How was it possible in the 60,70,80's and even 90's we had original movies with good stories and direction from greats like Carpenter, Ridley and we end up with turgid efforts like this, it is very sad for the movie industry if this is what we are left with, very sad indeed.

The original was a classic and nobody could replace Ricardo Montalban or even Tattoo so why try?

Pointless remake with such a deeply contrived storyline that it beggars belief they thought audiences would fall for it. No just NO!

Nothing in this movie makes sense. the plot overly convoluted and filled with holes. the movie contradicts it's own rules. odd things happen that are never explained or brought up again. this movie is straight madness. and it wasn't a tiny bit scary. plus there were numerous parts where they telegraph what's about to happen. anyone who has seen movies before knows exactly what's coming next.

the only reason i didn't give it a one is because i found some entertainment value from it. there were one or two cool ideas. and there was one conversation between two soldiers that really worked for me (1 viewing, 7/1/2020)

The imdb ratings here do not make this film justice. I believe that, like me, a lot of the viewers were intrigued by the promising beginning and severely disappointed by the really bad ending.

The story is about a group of strangers coming on a mysterious island where they are each promised to live their biggest fantasy. Here we get a sense of how confused were the makers of the movie: goofy comedy, akin to Scooby Doo, with dark and ominous hints, like a horror story, a distinct video game feel like the Jumanji reboots, but also the promise of emotional catharsis and a deeper lesson at the end. This could go in a variety of directions, some of them really good. Unfortunately the film continues to remain confused until the very beginning, where a completely artificial and nonsensical twist pretty much destroys every premise of the story.

Bottom line: the film was entertaining, the acting good, but the plot was a confused mess.