The age old “nature vs. nurture” debate gets a few new twists in “The I-Land,” a Netflix series that draws inspiration from several other pop culture properties to form its own mysterious concoction.
A trailer parodying the much-maligned Fyre Festival introduces viewers to the titular locale, a seemingly-idyllic tropical destination that’s touted as “an immersive experience so exclusive, captivating, and breathtaking, once you arrive, you’ll never leave.”
It soon becomes clear that The I-Land is no paradise, and the 10 people who find themselves stranded there have no memory of how they arrived — or even who they are.
The show’s official synopsis warns of the ominous fate that awaits them:
“Faced with the I-Land’s extreme psychological and physical challenges, they must rise to their better selves — or die as their worst ones.”
The clip offers a taste of the horrors to come (one shrieking woman has seemingly lost her hand in a gruesome accident), but ends with an even more twisted revelation: All of this is being monitored — and seemingly manipulated — by someone else. It’s like if “Lost” and “Cabin in the Woods” had a baby.
“The I-Land” stars Natalie Martinez (“Under the Dome”), Kate Bosworth (“Superman Returns”), Michelle Veintimilla (“Gotham”), Alex Pettyfer (“Magic Mike”), Sibylla Deen (“The Last Ship”), Kyle Schmid (“Being Human”), Ronald Peet (“Defectives”), Kota Eberhardt (“Dark Phoenix”), Anthony Lee Medina (“Flesh and Bone”), and Gilles Geary (“Spirit Warriors”). It washes up on Netflix on September 12.
