How the old ‘Fantasy Island’ TV show was retooled as a modern horror movie – USA TODAY

Guests at a tropical resort have their deepest desires turned against them in "Blumhouse's Fantasy Island," a horror spin on the old TV show. USA TODAY

Back in the late '70s and early '80s, ABC'sSaturday night double feature of The Love Boat followed by Fantasy Island was a big deal for TV viewers the latter especially for a young Jason Blum.

I always felt like there was a little bit of the Twilight Zone feeling in Fantasy Island,' the scary-movie guru says. It always kind of got under your skin.

Blumhouses Fantasy Island is a reboot of the old small-screen concept of a tropical resort where lucky guests are gifted with their deepest desires.Though theres still a Mr. Roarke (Michael Pea takesthe Ricardo Montalban role) and other signature bits from the show, producer Blums horror reimagining definitely leans into a darker take in which peoples fantasies turn quickly into nightmares in paradise.

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The whole moral of the movie is: Be careful what you wish for because it just might come true,star Lucy Hale says. There's something about watching people go to a remote island and get tortured that we love watching. It's set in the most beautiful location, but the most twisted of things are happening.

Here are four ways Fantasy Island reinvents the old TV series for a new audience:

Ricardo Montalban, left, and Herve Villechaize became household names as the stars of ABC's classic "Fantasy Island" TV show.(Photo: ABC)

The TV show (which aired from 1977 to 1984) seems a little goofy in retrospect, but the movie's co-writer/director Jeff Wadlow reminds that, especially in the early seasons, Fantasy Island leaned into myths, the supernatural and other weirdness Roddy McDowall appeared as the devil in multiple episodes trying to win Mr. Roarkes soul.

As in the best horror movies, the core concept of Fantasy Island allows for a revelation and examination of character, Wadlow says. You can take that sort of Monkeys Paw dynamic and apply it to this story where its already kind of inherent in its DNA.

The enigmatic Mr. Roarke (Michael Pena, center) welcomes guests (Austin Stowell and Lucy Hale) to a gorgeous locale where secret dreams become nightmares in "Blumhouse's Fantasy Island," horror guru Jason Blum's supernatural take on the old TV show.(Photo: CHRISTOPHER MOSS)

Therell be some familiarity in the new movie for the TV fans: The first line is The plane, a throwback to the catchphrase of Mr. Roarkes diminutive assistant Tattoo (Herve Villechaize).In thinking about how to introduce younger generations to Fantasy Island, Wadlow looked at how film versions of comic book superheroes take what works about the underlying material, but then they feel free to adapt and explore and riff.

For example, though you can see human muscles in older versions of the Iron Man armor on the page, Robert Downey Jr.s version looks like he's a walking Transformer, but they honored the icons on it, the red and gold colors, Wadlow says. The audience wants us to respect the original material, but then they also want us to offer something new and not just do a slavish rendition.

Michael Pena plays a mysterious version of Mr. Roarke in "Blumhouse's Fantasy Island."(Photo: CHRISTOPHER MOSS)

Pea was a fan of the original show as well: Tattoo was a favorite when he was a kid, and as an adult, Pea appreciatesMontalbans almost Shakespearean Mr. Roarke. He just kicked a hole in the sky with his performance. Though he wears the white threads in his more mysterious take on the island host, Pea avoidedporing over old episodes so as not to psych myself out too much.

Instead, Pena based his character more on Montalban the man. He researched how the actor studied the Bard and hailed from Mexico City, the hometown of filmmakers such as Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro Iarritu. Those guys all fall within the same circle, and when you have a conversation with them, you feel like you just went to a class in college, Pea says. So (the new Mr. Roarke) was much of the same.

Lucy Hale stars as a tech-savvy millennial who finds her fantasy goes in a decidedly sinister direction in "Blumhouse's Fantasy Island."(Photo: CHRISTOPHER MOSS)

Wadlow wanted the guests in the new movie to reflect themes of regret and wanting to do things over and being stuck in the past.Among the personas in the new Fantasy Island, Hales character, Melanie, is the most modern, intending to document her fantasy on her phone until she discovers that the revenge she wants against an old bully (Portia Doubleday) takes an unexpectedly sinisterturn.

Melanie is the resident super-snarky, tech-savvy millennial just trying to get WiFiand post her latest Instagram photo, says Hale, whose character'sfantasy explores bullying in the cyber age. Not that I would ever do what Melanie is doing to this girl in the movie, but I definitely had to pull from childhood experiences where I'm like, OK, that definitely hit close to home.

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