Fantasy Island, out just in time for Valentine’s Day, is Blumhouse’s answer to the old “be careful what you wish for” mantra. Based on the classic ABC drama series but with a modern horror twist, the film explores how characters cope with their fantasies twisting into nightmares.

Lucy Hale, who plays a woman emotionally scarred by her high school bully in the film, is no stranger to a good Blumhouse twist. Having previously worked on director Jeff Wadlow’s Truth or Dare, she praised his characters and concepts in a recent interview with Screen Rant. Not only did she offer a hint of what fans can expect in Fantasy Island, though, she also previewed a bit of her upcoming Riverdale spinoff, Katy Keene.

Lucy, congratulations. You survived Fantasy Island, kinda.

You’ve worked with Blumhouse before, and also you worked with Jeff Wadlow before, with Truth or Dare. This is obviously a completely different role, but what was it about Jeff’s vision in Fantasy Island that really got you attached the project?

Lucy Hale: Kinda?

There’s so many twists and turns of this movie, I don’t want to give it all away. But have you seen the original Fantasy Island?

Lucy Hale: I think he’s just so great at driving the story with characters. I think what’s tricky about horror movies is you have to care about the characters. Otherwise, if the stuff is happening to them, if they die, you’re like, “Well, finally.” You have to be invested.

And I think that, because he wrote Truth or Dare and he was a writer on Fantasy Island, he really knows how to get you invested. And he wrote a really cool character. I was actually working on Ryan Hansen’s YouTube show when I got the call about Fantasy Island. Jeff was directing the episode, and Ryan Hansen is in the movie, so it was like a full circle thing. And he was like, “I think this is a character you haven’t played before, and I think you’ll kill it. So do you want to be part of it?”

It’s completely different. It’s a family-friendly show. 

Lucy Hale: I have not. I feel like it’s time that I should watch some clips.

Melanie has quite the story arc. Can you talk to me about what you learned from her journey throughout the course of this film?

Lucy Hale: Right. This is - you know, still take your family - but it’s a little different. This is a modern Blumhouse twist.

Out of all the characters that you saw in this film, which one of the fantasies do you think would have been best suited for you in real life?

Lucy Hale: Yeah, I mean, she really does start the movie in one place and end up in a very different place. You’ve seen it, so you know. But without giving too much away, I think that this is just like a really damaged person. And it goes to show, there’s a deeper message to all this: the effects of bullying and how it [has] long term effects on someone.

She’s really traumatized, and she obviously goes to some extreme lengths to get her revenge. I mean, that’s her wish on Fantasy Island is to to get her piece of the cake. I think that it was just so fun to play someone that layered. It’s hard to [not] give too much away, but let’s just say she’s dark.

You’re going to be working with my friend Camille Hyde in Katy Keene.

Lucy Hale: Wait, what are the fantasies? I know what mine is. The party and the models, which is kind of LA anyway, so I don’t need that. The proposal… I’ve never been proposed to. Maybe that, though, because I feel like if I were to do anything, it would be like mend a relationship or mend a friendship or something. What was the other one? The military? Not for me, not for me. Not for me.

But I really did relate to Melanie, though. Not that I went through what she went through, but we can all relate to like feeling like an outcast. So, there’s a little bit of me in there, but I think Maggie’s Fantasy would be most suited for me.

Can you talk to me about how that show differentiates from Riverdale? Because is it is a Riverdale spinoff.

Lucy Hale: You know Camille? I love that girl.

Yet.

Lucy Hale: Yeah. I mean, most people are probably very shocked to know that tonally, it’s a completely different show. And it’s a standalone show. Katy Keene is about dreamers, and it’s about going after what it is you want in life. It’s about friendship and love and just figuring out who you are as a person. And it follows these people in their early 20s in New York City, just getting by. It’s a coming of age story, and no one’s dying on our show. I think that that’s how it’s different from Riverdale.

More: Michael Peña Fantasy Island Interview

Lucy Hale: Yet. This goes for a while; we might need some storylines.

  • Fantasy Island Release Date: 2020-02-14