If you were an ’80s-born kid, most likely at some point in the ’90s, you were walking out of the Scholastic book fair or the school library with a couple of books from either R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps or Fear Street teenage horror series. Goosebumps received a semi-successful four-season run in the ’90s, followed by two films in the 2010s, but until now, Fear Street had never made its cinematic debut.
This month, filmmaker Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon, Scream: The TV Series) debuts a three-film Fear Street trilogy based out of Stine’s Shadyside, Ohio, the location for most of his book series. Janiak started the trilogy with a ’90s nostalgic bang this month with the release of Fear Street Part One: 1994.
Without going into too much spoil-y detail, Fear Street Part One: 1994 follows a group of teenagers in Shadyside, Ohio, the murder capital of the United States (I thought that was Santa Carla!). After a new murder takes place at the nearby mall, computer nerd Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) starts to suspect the murder is related to the curse of Sarah Fier, a witch who was executed in the town in 1666.
Josh’s sister Deena (Kiana Madeira) thinks his ideas are silly but starts to come around after a turn of events causes serial killers from past murders to reappear seemingly back from the dead and attack Deena, Josh, and their friends. The group must find a way to evade the undead and put an end to the witch’s curse for good.
The filming and camera work for Fear Street is a gloriously nostalgic shoutout to other horror films, using beautifully shot moments that don’t completely rip them off but offer a reminder of the inspiration behind them. There were specific moments when I thought, “This reminds me of Scream” or “The director must love The Shining.”
Other films were outright referenced in the story itself, with mentions of classic films like Jaws or Poltergeist. Sometimes, doing this feels unnatural in horror films, but I didn’t mind it. I know that if some crazy and creepy stuff started happening to me, I’d use my extensive knowledge of horror to help find a solution.
The soundtrack for the film was also a banger, filling our earholes with massive hits of the ’90s, like Bush’s Machinehead or Radiohead’s Creep. I’ve seen a few viewers complain about the consistency of the songs, as a few of them were released after 1994, but for me, worrying about realism and time accuracy goes out the window when you’ve got undead killers and witch magic.
The acting was solid enough for a more amateur cast. I don’t think anyone stood out as being great, but everyone played their parts nicely, and it was nice to see Maya Hawke pop up in a small role after seeing her in Stranger Things. When it came to the dialogue of a bunch of teenagers, some of the writing felt a little too…dramatic. I think this was intentional as this film is trying to grab the attention of both teenage and adult horror film fans alike.
Before watching, I had a feeling that, like Goosebumps, Fear Street would be a tamer horror experience, but I was proven wrong right from the beginning. This film goes hard on the slasher aesthetic. Horror fans looking for blood and gore will not be disappointed.
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Telling the story in the first part of a trilogy has the chance of being extremely convoluted, especially one with as many layers as this will have. Janiak maneuvered through the story brilliantly, keeping the audience interested as the backstory piled on while still not giving too much away, which I assume will be touched on in the following films. I still felt that story elements were missing, which does hurt this film as a standalone. The story also didn’t feel extremely original in comparison to other horror films, but small, subtle changes and fun characters kept me invested and excited for more.
I think the first film in this trilogy is easily a success, but definitely meant to be watched as an entire product with the upcoming two parts. This works more for Fear Street because the other films come out so close to it. Part one would feel much differently if I had to wait a year for the continuance of the story.
I’m exceedingly excited to continue the trilogy and learn even more about this world as the films go backward in time. Fear Street Part Two: 1978 premieres on July 9th, 2021, and Fear Street Part Three: 1666 premieres on July 16th, 2021, both on Netflix.
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