What actually happens
The prize package includes a war
Five guests land on Fantasy Island, a tropical resort that promises to make fantasies real: businesswoman Gwen Olsen, former police officer Patrick Sullivan, stepbrothers J. D. and Brax Weaver, and teenager Melanie Cole. The proprietor, Mr. Roarke, walks each of them to their fantasy. Patrick is drafted into a war that honors his dead father. Melanie gets to take revenge on Sloane Maddison, who bullied her as a child. The Weavers are made honored guests at a mansion rave. Gwen accepts a marriage proposal from her ex-boyfriend Allen Chambers, which she turned down years ago.
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A masked surgeon and a glowing rock
Melanie finds out that Sloane was kidnapped and dragged to the island against her will. She rescues Sloane from a masked surgeon, and the two run. A military platoon captures Patrick and brings him to its commander, Lieutenant Sullivan, whom he recognizes as his father. At night the surgeon attacks the two women again, until Damon, a private investigator, kills him. Damon says Roarke offered to let him see his dead daughter, and that the wish went bad and left him stuck on the island. He also says the fantasies come from water from a spring beneath a glowing rock in a cave. The three collect some of the water and return to the resort to get help. The next morning, Gwen wakes up with a daughter by Allen and is unhappy about it.
Gwen asks for a different fantasy
Roarke explains that the fantasies have to be fulfilled so that his own fantasy, being with his dead wife, can continue. Gwen persuades him to give her the one she really wanted: saving Nick Taylor, her neighbor, who died in a house fire. The island then starts turning the fantasies into nightmares. A drug cartel tied to the mansion's owner takes the Weavers hostage. Gwen is sent back to the night of the fire, which she started by accident, and finds that the other guests, except Melanie, were there too. She tries to save Nick and fails, and Roarke's assistant, Julia, pulls her out. Elsewhere, soldiers are sent to rescue the Weavers. The cartel members are shot, and then they return as zombies and attack the soldiers. In the gunfight J. D. is fatally shot, and Lieutenant Sullivan sacrifices himself so that Patrick and Brax can get back to the resort.
A cave full of unfinished business
This is the stretch to brace for, and it comes near the end. The zombified surgeon ambushes Melanie and Sloane, and Damon gives his life by jumping off a cliff and taking him along. The surviving guests gather back at the resort, where Roarke corners them and tells them they are inside a fantasy in which they all die. They realize that each of them had a part in Nick's death. Melanie says Nick had invited her out that night and she refused, which is why he was home. The guests assume this is Julia's fantasy, since they think she is Nick's mother. A rescue plane is shot down, so they head for the cave to blow up the glowing rock using Patrick's grenade. Inside, they get separated and meet zombies. Patrick's father tries to drown him, Sloane meets her darker self, and Gwen faces a fake daughter and a vision of Nick, burned beyond recognition. Gwen apologizes and asks that she alone be the guest who pays for it. Then Melanie stabs Patrick and grabs Sloane as a hostage, and says this is the fantasy she wanted all along. Julia turns out to be Roarke's wife, and she convinces him to help the guests before she disappears.
The ending, explained
Sloane remembers the spring water she collected earlier and wishes for Melanie to be with Nick forever. Nick's reanimated body goes for Melanie and pulls her under. Before she drowns, Melanie activates the grenade, and Patrick falls on it to protect the others, the same way his father died years ago. The fantasy ends, and Gwen, Sloane and Brax come to at the resort, where Roarke agrees to release them. As they board a plane away from the now purified island, Brax wishes that J. D. were alive again. Roarke says Brax has to stay on the island for that to work. Gwen, Sloane and a resurrected J. D. leave, and Roarke offers Brax the job of assistant. Brax recalls a college nickname that J. D. gave him and renames himself Tattoo.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there's a scene after the credits.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: no dog on this island.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Fantasy Island scary?
Not very. Fantasy Island is a 3 out of 10 with low dread. The jump scares are minor, and the fear comes from fantasies turning into nightmares and some zombies.
How does Fantasy Island end?
Melanie is dragged into the water by Nick's reanimated corpse, and Patrick dies on a grenade. Gwen, Sloane and a resurrected J. D. leave the island, and Brax stays as Roarke's assistant.
Does the dog die in Fantasy Island?
There is no dog in Fantasy Island, so none dies.
Is there a post-credits scene in Fantasy Island?
Nobody has confirmed whether Fantasy Island has a scene after the credits.
Who is Julia in Fantasy Island?
Julia is Roarke's assistant. The guests think she is Nick's mother, but she is really Roarke's wife, whom the island revived after a terminal disease killed her.
