A new exclusive deleted scene from Fantasy Island shows Lucy Hale and Portia Doubleday lost in the underground caverns beneath the eponymous locale. The original Fantasy Island television series ran for 152 episodes across the late 1970s and early 1980s. Starring Ricardo Montalbán and Hervé Villechaize, Fantasy Island was a whimsical, sometimes dark and dramatic, series that followed the various guests who visited the magical luxury vacation destination. A place where "all your fantasies come to life," the island and its mysterious guardians would use the pretense of fulfilling fantasies to teach their guests important life lessons that would generally result in them becoming better people by the end of their episodes.
Save for a short-lived attempt at a revival in the late 1990s, Fantasy Island had all but run its course. That is, until indie horror studio Blumhouse began development on a reboot of the franchise, this time with the thriller elements pushed to the forefront. Released earlier this year, just a month before the Coronavirus pandemic forced movie theaters to shut down, Fantasy Island became a financial success, grossing over $47 million worldwide off a budget of just $7 million.
In preparation for Fantasy Island's home entertainment release, already available on Digital HD and on DVD and Blu-ray on May 12th, Screen Rant can exclusive debut a deleted scene from the PG-13 movie. Set late in the film, the scene shows Lucy Hale as well as two versions of Portia Doubleday's character; one a figment of Hale's imagination as part of her fantasy, and the other being the genuine article, fighting for survival alongside the other guests whose fantasies turn horrific. The two-minute scene shows Hale struggling to overcome the bullying she suffered in high school at the hands of Doubleday, who has since grown out of her teenage tormentor's persona.
For genre fans and the Fantasy Island faithful who didn't mind the unexpected genre shift, the film featured many twists and turns in its dense and action-packed script while remaining surprisingly faithful to the spirit of the show it on which it was based. Now, with its home video release, Fantasy Island has the chance to lure in a whole new audience.
In addition to deleted scenes and the typical assortment of special features, the home video release of Fantasy Island includes an unrated version of the film, adding in more f-bombs and violence for fans of Blumhouse's more R-rated adventures.
Fantasy Island is out now on Digital HD and releases on DVD and Blu-ray on May 12, 2020.