The plane, the plane!
Jeff Wadlow’s latest project, the film adaptation of the popular television series Fantasy Island, has confirmed a PG-13 rating ahead of its Valentine’s Day release. The description hits all the high notes, as it is for “violence, terror, drug content, suggestive material, and brief strong language.”
The film stars Lucy Hale, Maggie Q, and Michael Pena as the enigmatic Mr. Roarke, and sees the visitors attempting to solve the mystery of the titular island, or face the perils and nightmares that lie on its shores.
In my article Horror Hype, where I picked out 8 horror films to look forward to in 2020, I pointed out the Banana Splits Movie, which threw the kid gloves directly into the trash and notched an R rating. While I’m mildly disappointed that Fantasy Island didn’t follow suit, this isn’t necessarily a death knell for the film. After all, Jeff Wadlow’s previous effort, Truth or Dare, was rated PG-13, and it was competent while managing to be commercially successful, making a box office of $95 million on a $3.5 million budget.
Even if the Valentine’s Day release date doesn’t do it any box office favors, perhaps an extended, would-be R-rated cut of the film exists that could make its way to home video, much like the aforementioned Truth or Dare. At the bare minimum, Fantasy Island will have the chance to introduce the concept of the original Gene Levitt series to a modern audience, through the powerhouse that is Blumhouse.
