Fantasy Island: Exclusive Interview With Lucy Hale and Michael Peña

(02/14/2020)

A movie about a trip to a beautiful, remote island is perfect for Valentine’s Day, right? Perhaps not exactly in the traditional way when the movie in question is FANTASY ISLAND, which twists a wish-fulfillment premise into thrilling horror. Lucy Hale and Michael Peña star in the twisted thriller; we spoke to the actors about their roles.

The name "Fantasy Island" might sound familiar. That's because the movie is a reimagined adaptation of the 70’s hit television show by the same name. On the show, the enigmatic Mr. Rourke welcomes guests to his fabulous island where they can live out their fantasies — and learn a life lesson or two in the process.

In the movie, Michael Peña plays a slightly different version of the character. His guests can live out one fantasy of their choosing. A person's wildest dreams might come true at the tropical resort... but at a severe cost. The guests must try to unravel the mystery of the island if they want to escape.

“Usually fantasies will be about like love and sex or other people," Hale told us, "but these are heavy — they want to rewrite the past.”

"I play Melanie and her wish is to get revenge on a childhood bully. I think for a lot of people they’ll be like ‘really?' but you can tell that the bullying has had long term effects on Melanie’s life. She’s really traumatized, and she wants justice."

Director/producer/co-writer Jeff Wadlow felt it was important to throw some nuggets in the movie that were odes to the original show.

“We identified the hallmarks of Fantasy Island and we made sure they’re present in the film,” he said. “Mr. Roarke in the white suit; The plane arriving; Someone has to say the plane; Mr. Roarke has to say smile, everyone smiles. So we were very aware of it but we also gave ourselves the freedom to try new things.”

Watch our full video interview with the cast and crew of FANTASY ISLAND:

FANTASY ISLAND is in theatres now!

All images courtesy of Sony Pictures.