Where was Blumhouse's Fantasy Island movie filmed? Fantasy Island is based on the classic fantasy series that debuted on ABC in the late '70s. The show revolved around the titular island where various guests would arrive to live out a fantasy - which usually comes with an ironic twist. Mr. Roarke (Ricardo Montalbán) is the island's proprietor while Tattoo (Hervé Villechaize) acted as his assistant. The original Fantasy Island was hugely popular and ended up running for seven seasons before ending in 1984. A short-lived revival series arrived in 1998, with Malcolm McDowell playing Mr. Roarke.
Blumhouse gave the property an unlikely reboot with 2020's Fantasy Island. This cast Michael Peña as Roarke, alongside Maggie Q, Michael Rooker and Lucy Hale. Blumhouse's Fantasy Island gave the concept a horror makeover, with the island now bringing to life the guests' biggest nightmares. Sadly, despite having the potential to be a fun reinvention of the premise, Blumhouse's take on Fantasy Island met with poor reviews, especially for its lack of scares or suspense.
While the movie may not have attracted the warmest of reviews, Fantasy Island at least made the island itself look amazing. Blumhouse's Fantasy Island was mainly shot on Taveuni, a small island located in Fiji. Taveuni is part of the Vanua Levu Group archipelago, and only a handful of other movies have been shot there, like Milla Jovovich sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon. Viani Bay was a key filming location on Tavenui where Mr. Roarke's mansion is located.
Fantasy Island's Other Filming Locations
According to Global Film Locations, the "mansion" is actually a vacation home that was built upon in Fantasy Island - which needed more scares - via CGI. The movie also shot at Fiji's picturesque Natewa Bay, in addition to New Orleans in the U.S. For those curious where the original Fantasy Island was filmed, shots of the island itself were captured at Kaua’i in Hawaii, but the bulk of filming took place in Burbank.
Blumhouse's Fantasy Island wasn't a total reboot of the show, either, as the final scenes establish it's a strange kind of prequel. Despite its critical reception, Blumhouse's low-budget model saw the film turn a comfortable profit. It also led to a revived interest in the concept, with a sequel series arriving in 2021, which filmed primarily in Puerto Rico. The latest Fantasy Island (which lacks Tattoo) cast Roselyn Sánchez as Elena Roarke - a grand niece of Montalbán's character - and the show proved enough of a success to earn a second season.