Jeff Wadlow returns with another chilling Blumhouse feature in Fantasy Island, which premieres on February 14. The director, who also co-wrote the script, takes the premise of the 70s television series to its logical and terrifying extreme in his latest film. With various interconnected stories of human longing on display, there are plenty of desires for him to twist onscreen.

Offscreen, though, Wadlow chats happily with Screen Rant about how the original Fantasy Island came to be and how he used the dreams in that version as a jumping off point for his film’s nightmares.

First of all, congratulations on the film. Fantasy Island was a television series back in the day. How much research did you do into the show? And it used to be family friendly. Why did it lend itself so well to be a horror film?

So fascinating. I had no idea about that. Were there any old episodes that you took inspiration from for this version of Fantasy Island?

Jeff Wadlow: I did a lot of research into the show. Have you heard the story how the show was created? It’s amazing.

Aaron Spelling, legendary TV producer, was in the office of the president of ABC networks at the time. TV movies were big business back in the 70s. He pitched, like, 10 ideas. President ABC passed on all 10. Aaron Spelling gets frustrated and says, “What’s it going to take? A movie about an island where you can go and do whoever you want.? And the President ABC said, “Well, that sounds interesting.” And he went and hired Gene Levitt, wrote Fantasy Island, and that’s where the show came from.

So, the show is very much rooted in human desire and how it can be perverted and twisted. And I actually would say the show is not that family friendly; that it often had some darker moments, and that’s what lends it to becoming a scary film.

Out of the fantasies that we saw, which one would you would want to have lived in? 

Jeff Wadlow: You know, we looked at the plot lines of all the episodes, and we talked about them a lot. Ultimately, we decided come up with our own. They all sort of inspired us, because they’re all very much a “Be careful what you wish for” kind of scenario: you get something, but then it gets twisted, it gets perverted, it gets played with. And so we always follow that structure with our fantasies. We try to do it at different moments to surprise the audience, so they don’t get too used to the rhythms of it.

I was more inspired by the structure of the show. The fact that you meet the guests when they get off the plane was really important to me. It was suggested that maybe we would meet them before they leave, and I said, “No, I want to do it just like the show. I want to see them for the first time as they emerge from the airplane.” And also, I wanted to mimic the structure of the show, where you have standalone fantasies which are intercut before I had them crashing together.

If you were to be trapped on Fantasy Island or the Lost island. Which one would you rather be trapped on?

Jeff Wadlow: Oh, that’s a good question. I’m not sure any of them, because they all get a little twisted. I mean, there’s appeal to each fantasy. There’s Maggie Q’s fantasy, which is a sort of a time travel fantasy. There’s Austin Stowell’s, which is an action movie fantasy. There’s Jimmy O. Yang and Ryan Hansen, who get to be ballers. There’s Lucy Hale, who gets to get revenge on Portia Doubleday. So, I understand the appeal of all of them, but I know how they go and I’m not interested.

You re-teamed up with Lucy. You obviously did Truth or Dare with her, and this was a completely different role for her. Can you talk to me about why Melanie was so perfect for her?

Jeff Wadlow: I think Fantasy Island, honestly. Because at least you get something nice up front. In Lost, they were just stuck on that beach and then it got bad.

More: Lucy Hale Fantasy Island Interview

Jeff Wadlow: Lucy Hale is perfect for Melanie because Lucy brings so much humanity to every role she plays. And it was really important for Melanie - who has a little bit of a dark fantasy; this revenge fantasy - to still feel relatable. And Lucy is is just so relatable. You just look at her, and you feel for her. And it really is a testament to her power as a as an actor, to connect to an audience in that way.

  • Fantasy Island Release Date: 2020-02-14