10 Movie Remakes That Ditch Classic Elements

Let’s admit it, it’s pretty annoying when we get a remake of something that feels like it’s been out for five minutes. At least with the upcoming film adaptation of Fantasy Island, we’ve had a good 40 years since its first TV outing. The series, which ended in 1984, was a household staple. It featured the enigmatic Mr Roarke, a man capable of simulating any person’s fantasy for them to live through – as long as they pay the requisite fee (usually a tidy $50,000) and travel to his remote island.

The original iteration included Roarke’s assitant Tattoo, played by French-American actor Hervé Villechaize. Villechaize’s accent and his dwarfism (the medical terminology – Villechaize preferred the now pejorative term ‘midget’ for himself) was obviously the butt of many jokes. Would it even be a 1970s TV show if it didn’t dabble in ableism and xenophobia? Even so, Tattoo was a beloved character from Fantasy Island, but probably one better off staying in that decade. Even the short-lived revival series in 1998 knew better than to keep up the insensitive portrayal from the original.

Things look to be going a similar way for the 2020 Blumhouse Production's adaption of Fantasy Island. There’s no sign of a Tattoo-type assistant to Michael Peña’s Mr Roarke, instead there’s a bunch of workers on the island ready to get busy making people’s fantasies come to life. Except, since it’s Blumhouse at the reins, this new film version looks to be a nightmare rather than the dream the island’s visitors paid for.

Fantasies are getting twisted, and it looks like Roarke’s guests are in genuine peril; it’s a far cry from the original’s idyllic safety. It remains to be seen if this horror take is a worthy addition to Fantasy Island’s franchise, even if it is far from faithful.