At FANTASY ISLAND be careful of what you wish for, you might just get what you deserve

Written by Hayashiforest.

Palm trees, waterfalls, sandy white beaches and white suits. The ultimate place that grants your greatest fantasies, albeit for a price. Remember the wise old saying, “Be careful of what you wish for?” Somehow, there is an eerie ring to it that lends itself well to the element horror making FANTASY ISLAND ripe for a horror movie adaptation.

Fantasy Island Origins 

The origins of Fantasy Island is as uncanny as its plot. The series hails back from the 1970s and was created by Gene Levitt for the ABC television network. It starred the late Ricardo Montalban as the enigmatic and mysterious Mr. Roarke and Herve Villechaize as his assistant Tattoo.

The original Fantasy Island's Mr. Roarke (left) played by Mexican actor Ricardo Montalban with his assistance Tattoo played by Herve Villechaize.

According to the producer Aaron Spelling, the series was unintentionally "pitched" to the executives as a joke. During a pitching session that was not going well, an exasperated Spelling exclaimed, “What would you like me to do? Put some guy on an island and have him grant wishes to people?!”

Aaron Spelling, the producer of the show.

Although it was sarcasm, the network was sold on the idea. Spookily enough, the series became a hit that spanned for 7 seasons from 1978 to 1984.

What made the series so alluring? 

  

As the name implies, Fantasy Island has a mysterious element that borders on the surreal and supernatural. The presence and roles of Mr. Roarke and Tattoo were left open to interpretation. For those of us old enough to remember, the series will open with the ringing of the bell and crying of, “De plane! De plane!” by Tattoo atop the bell tower, announcing the arrival of new guests to the island. What the island truly represents and why do fantasies magically happened are never explained in the series.

Tattoo atop the bell tower yelling, "De plane! De plane!"

Each episode featured two guests with their fantasies that will play out during their time on the island. When a fantasy manifests, the guests must see it through to its conclusion. That is where the fantasy often unexpectedly takes on a dark twist. If the guests survive the fantasy, the episode will conclude with a moral lesson. Fantasy Island is best described as a cautionary tale that leans towards dark undertones similar to The Twilight Zone.

Welcome to the new Fantasy Island (2020) by Blumhouse.

Michael Pena as the new Mr. Roarke.

With Blumhouse at the helm of the new 2020 reboot, it will not stray far from the classics. It is still set on an exotic island and will still feature the host Mr. Roarke (now starring Michael Pena) who warns his guests with the classic line that guests must see their fantasy through to its final conclusion. Fans will be able to recognise the icons that honours the original series including the white plane flying into the island bringing a set of new guests.

See the trailer for the movie below;

  

The cast lineup that will be the island's guests are all established actors including Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars, Truth or Dare), Maggie Q (Nikita, Mission Impossible III), Austin Stowell (Dolphin Tale), Portia Doubleday (Carrie 2013) and Michael Rooker (Guardians of the Galaxy). Jeff Wadlow the director himself has directed films like Truth or Dare and Cry Wolf.

The new cast of Blumhouse's Fantasy Island (2020).

FANTASY ISLAND (2020) at a Glance

Directed by: Jeff Wadlow
Written by: Jeff Wadlow & Chris Roach & Jillian Jacobs
Based upon the television series created by: Gene Levitt
Produced by: Jason Blum, Marc Toberoff, Jeff Wadlow
Executive Producers: Couper Samuelson, Jeanette Volturno
Cast: Michael Pena, Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Jimmy O. Yang, Portia Doubleday, Ryan Hanswen and Michael Rooker

The film's official synopsis:

In Blumhouse's Fantasy Island, the enigmatic Mr. Roarke makes the secret dreams of his lucky guests comes true at a luxurious but remote tropical resort. But when the fantasies turn into nightmares, the guests have to solve the island's mystery in order to escape with their lives.

Find out more about the movie at its official website here. And read what actress Maggie Q has to say about her role as Gwen on Fantasy Island.

If you are a fan of Blumhouse horror cum slasher films and relish on plot twists, be sure to watch Fantasy Island. The movie was released on Valentines Day in the United States as a horror date movie. However, it is still not too late to do that here in Malaysia. You can still bring your date to watch the movie available in Malaysian cinemas nationwide now from 27 February 2020.

Fantasy Island Promo in Malaysia 

In Malaysia, a promotional stint for Fantasy Island was carried out during Comic Fiesta in December 2019. A "vacation resort' booth was setup welcoming convention attendees to visit Fantasy Island. After viewing the movie trailer, potential guests were invited to join contest to win Movie Premiere invites by sharing their fantasies. It was not all fun games though as a creepy character inspired from Fantasy Island gave Comic Fiesta visitors warnings to the guests to expect the unexpected.

Mr. Roarke's Malaysian representative inviting attendees at Comic Fiesta 2019 to Fantasy Island.

But beware your fantasies may not turn out as expected.

Staff at Fantasy Island booth ready to serve your fantasies.,

Welcome to the Movie Premiere!

This week, Fantasy Island opens in Malaysian cinemas nationwide. And some fans took the opportunity to dress-up at the Movie Premiere in TGV 1 Utama.

The staff of Fantasy Island out for a movie night at the TGV Cinemas.

They wanna watch Fantasy Island... just making over 18 years old to enter R18+ movie.

Movie Premiere guests taking opportunity for photos with the Fantasy Island staff.

"Who's fantasy is this creepy slasher guy?"

Check out movie review by Star2 here then book your tickets to Fantasy Island at a cinema near you. Just "be careful what you wish for..."

Official music video for Fantasy Island "Don't Wish Your Life Away" by Jared Lee.

#FantasyIslandMovie #MYfantasyisland #NeverComingHome

Disclaimer: Fantasy Island and associated trademarks are copyright to Columbia Pictures / Blumhouse Productions, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.

Into the Spider-Verse offers fan-gasms with the Ultimate Spider-man Team-Up

From the animation studio that brought The Smurfs to cinemas as well as cutesy monsters of Hotel Transylvania, Sony Pictures Animations now bring Marvel's friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler in animated form to cinemas with Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse. As movie goers may be aware, Sony Pictures currently holds the rights of Spider-man on film since Y2K and has produced six live-action movies to-date which ranks at the 10th highest grossing film franchise of all time at over USD4.8 billion. With such a lucrative property, Sony retains a super-strength grip onto the Spidey film rights and which includes associated Marvel characters such as Venom, Morbius, Black Cat, Kraven, etc. This Sony Universe of Marvel Characters (SUMC) has already paid off gruesomely in the standalone movie Venom released this October and ranking in over USD845 million worldwide.

The Peter Parkers to-date (left to right): Tobey Macguire, Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland.
Source: Time.com

Since the 1970's, live-action films of Spider-man has featured Peter Parker as their main protagonist, being the secret identify of the namesake superhero. The current Peter Parker is portrayed by Tom Holland and, through mutually profiting agreements with Marvel Studios, has been incorporated into the massively successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise since 2016's Captain America: Civil War. So with Peter Parker temporarily exported from the live-action SUMC, here comes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse introducing Mile Morales as the new lead protagonist in the namesake role.

Official movie synopsis:

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider-Man Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask.

Team Spidey GO!

The movie is directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey (Rise of the Guardians), and Rodney Rothman. Voicing teenager Miles Morales is Shameik Moore and Jake Johnson as Peter B. Parker. Forming the Spider Team are Hailee Steinfeld (Ender's Game, Bumblebee) as Gwen Stacey, Nicholas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, Kimiko Glenn as Peni Parker, and John Mulaney as Spider-Ham. Other supporting cast to note is Liev Schreiber (X-Men Origins) as Wilson Fisk, Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage), Brian Tyree Henry and Lily Tomli.

Let's take a closer look into the different Spider-man of the Spider-Verse:

 MILES MORALES – The all-new Spider-Man

Miles Morales is a young teenager and a Brooklyn native. He’s a bright kid who’s been thrust into a new school and is having a hard time adjusting to a more rigorous academic environment. But he’s having an even harder time adjusting to his entirely new and unexpected life as a Spider-Man.  With the help of some surprising new friends, Miles learns to unlock the hero inside himself.

 PETER B. PARKER – Miles’ reluctant mentor 

He may look like Peter Parker, but he is older and the years of superhero life have taken a toll on his body. His experiences have left him world-weary and cynical. Peter never wanted to be a mentor, but training Miles Morales to be Spider-Man helps him to regain his original enthusiasm for that identity and reclaim the spirit of selflessness for which Spider-Man stands

SPIDER-GWEN – A super-cool Spider-Woman 

An intelligent and quick-witted teenager, Spider-Gwen is the Spider-Woman of her world, an excellent fighter who can swing and flip with the grace of a trained dancer. Although tough and brave when she’s fighting the bad guys, Gwen has suffered a loss in her universe that’s made her afraid to get close to people, even to an open-hearted kid like Miles. Once she learns there are others like her, she has the opportunity to let down her guard and become part of a team who have overcome their own tragedies to become the protectors of their worlds.

SPIDER-MAN NOIR – The Spider-Man of 1933

Spider-Man Noir, a Peter Parker from another century as well as another universe, is a more hardened version of Spider-Man who fought crime during the Great Depression in 1933. Unlike most Spider-People, Spider-Man Noir is only seen in black and white and has the 1930s perspective to match, which makes it harder for him to adjust to Miles’ modern (and colorful) world.

PENI PARKER and SP//dr – A half-Asian school girl from the future 

Peni Parker is a classic anime character, a school girl from an alternative universe with a psychic link to a spider. She’s an emotional, expressive vigilante who doesn’t wear the typical Spider-Man suit – instead, she has a mechanical, robotic Spidey suit that only responds to her DNA.

SPIDER-HAM – The comic relief

Meet Spider-Ham, aka Peter Porker… a cartoon pig! Spider-Ham is always the first one to crack a joke, but despite behaving like the ultimate ham, he takes his job as a Spider-Hero very seriously and fights alongside the others with own his special kind of cartoon fury.

AUNT MAY - A Pillar for all Spider-People

Aunt May has been very involved in her nephew's Spider-Man world, creating gadgets and providing tactical support for his superhero adventures. When May learns that there are Spider-People from other universes who need her help, she’s ready to provide coffee and web-shooters. She even wields a baseball bat to fight along side them when the villains arrive.

WILSON FISK aka KINGPIN – The ultimate crime lord 

Kingpin is the king of organized crime in New York. His climb to the heights of power has been built on decades of shady deals and ruthless violence, backed by an almost superhuman will. Kingpin blames Spider-Man for a loss so great that he is willing to risk the lives of every person in every universe to get back what he lost.

The Spidey team-up we've been waiting for is finally in cinemas!

The real thrill for Marvel fans would be to see this team-up amongst the different Spider-heroes. The animation style is very much inspired by its comic book origins, chock full of visual delights and “easter eggs” aplenty including the world's most famous cameo actor in animated form. But as aesthetically pleasing as a movie may look, it's core story must resound with the audience and this one most certainly strikes home.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has received raving reviews and even scored a perfect 100% by Rotten Tomatoes. Here's how it compared against the preceding live-action movies by Sony on the Tomatometer:

Even before it's US release, the movie already been nominated in the Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture – Animated, up against The Incredibles 2 and Ralph Breaks the Internet.

For more in-depth review, read what Star2.com has to say or watch opinion video by IGN:

Malaysia's Movie Premiere for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was held on 4 December 2018 at TGV 1 Utama and attended by our very local-verse of Spider-heroes:

Can you name each Spider-man in this group shot?

Cosplayers from Into the Spider-Verse with the exception of Spider-Ham.

Femme fatales Spider-Gwen, Mary Jane and Peni Parker.

Spider-men of the MCU.

Peter Parker: "I don't feel so good..."

Waiting patiently for the Marvel must-watch end-credit scene(s).

Once again, the Outpost Movie Recon Team (M.R.T.) has compiled the following intel of Spider-Verse promos from our local cinemas. Starting with TGV Cinemas, customers purchasing at least two tickets will be able to redeem a limited edition Spider-man phone ring (while stocks last). Find out participating cinemas and terms & conditions from TGV's website.

Furthermore, customers with minimum of three tickets may join TGV's Facebook contest for the chance to win movie premiums including a limited edition Spider-man PS4 Pro console as Grand Prize. Goto the contest post to participate and check terms & conditions at their website (ends 16 December 2018).

GSC Cinemas has similar movie premiums up for grabs (excluding PS4) via their own Facebook contest with no purchase requirements. But enter fast as the contest ends today / 10 December 2018.

For customers who have got at least two tickets, GSC is offering a limited edition 1:4 scale Spider-Gwen statue worth SGD900 / RM2,735 via another Facebook contest. Find out more on this premium collectible from XM Studios and join before 23 December 2018.

Over at MBO Cinemas, loyal Allstar members can make use of their points to redeem movie premiums once they have purchased minimum 2 tickets. Go ahead and redeem online at the URL links provided.

Plus mini-portable speakers may be redeemed for 5000 points at selected locations only.

So don't forget your web-shooters and swing into your friendly neighbourhood cinema to catch Spider-man: Into the Spider-Verse showing NOW!

Teenager Mile Morales will be the next generation Spider-man.

©2018 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MARVEL and all related character names: © & ™ 2018 MARVEL

Halloween and Michael Myers: A Film Franchise that Won't Stay Dead

This month brings a festive spookiness to many western cultures celebrating Halloween on October 31st. The origins of Halloween derive from the ancient Celtic harvest festival where people would light bonfires and wear costumes to protect themselves from spirits by impersonating them. In the United States, Halloween day is celebrated by children dressing up for trick-or-treat and adults partying in costume.

40 years ago, notable cult classics director John Carpenter co-wrote and directed a movie titled Halloween, which at that time had never been a theme on film. Put simply, the movie is about a serial killer stalking and killing teenagers on Halloween night of 1978. But the killings actually began 15 years earlier when six year-old Michael Myers kills his older sister Judith and is subsequently hospitalised at a sanitarium. Now an adult, Myer escapes on the eve of Halloween and returns to his hometown of Haddonfield to stalk Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. After brutally killing the said friends on Halloween night, Myers attempts to also murder on Laurie but is thwarted when shot by his psychiatrist Dr. Loomis. However despite his wounds and falling from heights, Myers appears to have escaped.

Although “tame” compared to today's film-making standards, Halloween is often regarded as the inspiration of slasher movies as a sub-set of American horror entertainment. The Halloween franchise itself has spawned ten more movies over the next four decades, including this week's release of the eleventh chapter just named Halloween (again!). For record, here is the line-up of franchise movies:

• Halloween (1978)
• Halloween II (1981)
• Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
• Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
• Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
• Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
• Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
• Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
• Halloween (2007)
• Halloween II (2009)
• Halloween (2018)

IGN explains the Halloween franchise recapping the first movie and trying to summarise the rest.

Lengthy recap of the Michael Myers saga (excluding the 3rd movie and Rob Zombie's reboots).

Fortunately this latest Halloween (2018) does not require the audience to know anything of the preceding nine movies as it only plays sequel to the original Halloween (1978)... phew!

Movie Synopsis

Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. 

Master of horror John Carpenter executive produces and serves as creative consultant on this film, joining forces with cinema’s current leading producer of horror, Jason Blum (Get Out, Split, The Purge, Paranormal Activity). Inspired by Carpenter’s classic, filmmakers David Gordon Green and Danny McBride crafted a story that carves a new path from the events in the landmark 1978 film, and Green also directs.

Jamie Lee Curtis then & now as teenage Laurie Strode in 1978 (left) and Grandma Laurie today. 

Nick Castle recreates a set photo today (right) from 1978 when he dons the mask of Michael Myers.

Ignoring events of all other movies in the franchise except the original, this year's Halloween may be a tad confusing for those casual movie viewers may have recalled that Laurie was killed in one of the sequels. Furthermore the franchise was rebooted in the previous decade by musician and filmmaker Rob Zombie. So where does this latest Halloween fit in the franchise? Refer to this info-graphic:

So in this latest alternate Halloween timeline, 40 years have passed since Michael Myer's killing spree in Haddonfield. No secret from the trailer, Myers was captured after being shot and admitted to a mental institution. Laurie has attempted to move on but suffers from serious post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which led to failed marriages and lost custody of her daughter. Today she's a grandmother to Allyson (Andi Matichak) though estranged by the strained relationship with now grown-up daughter Karen (Judy Greer). When Myer's escapes, all three generations of Strode women find themselves in danger and need to re-bond to survive Halloween night.

Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) must band together with estranged daughter Karen (Judy Greer) for a final confrontation with Michael Myers.

Laurie's granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) finds herself ensnared in a trail of murders on Halloween night.

Find out more about rest of the movie cast from this article by Screenrant.

Although it's not yet Halloween, the opening weekend box office of this latest installment of the franchise has been smashing and ranks as the second highest for October in U.S. movie history (after Venom topped the chart earlier this month). Here's how movie-goers are rating Halloween:

This is not your grandfather's Michael Myers... oh, but HE IS actually!

In Malaysia, Halloween opens this week, launched by a Movie Premiere at MBO Cinemas in Starling Mall attended by horror fans and the cult classic slasher himself. Here's what happened:

Halloween's Michael Myers at MBO Cinemas
Michael Myers ?at MBO Cinemas the Starling Damansara Utama #MYHalloweenmovie now showing at MBO Cinemas. Tickets at www.mbocinemas.com and mobile app. #HalloweenMovie2018 #mbocinemas
Posted by MBO Cinemas on Thursday, 25 October 2018

Thanks to United International Pictures Malaysia, Outpost sent a few horror fans to face Michael Myers at the Movie Premiere. Here's what they have to say about Halloween:

A bit distracting to watch horror movie next to this guy, no?

Also read up on this review by Star2 and feature on “Screen Queen”, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Grandma Laurie gets a Sarah Connor tough-as-nails makeover in anticipation of Michael Myers inevitable return.

The Verge also provides a more in-depth look into the franchise, slasher movies and their take on this sequel.

For those who like a close encounter with Michael Myers, visit the following MBO Cinemas this weekend:

Halloween is now showing in cinemas nationwide so you don't need to wait until the actual night of 31 October itself. Hardcore fans may want to sit through the end credits... and if need to make more sense of that ending then search for "Halloween 2018 ending explained" on Google and YouTube.

#MYHalloweenMovie #NowShowing #UIPmalaysia

#MichaelMyers #versus #LaurieStrode

Outpost Productions like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Disclaimer: Halloween and associated trademarks are copyright to Miramax LCC, referenced here for fan service announcements without intent to infringe.