It’s High-School All Over Again
Introduction
The Fear Street Trilogy is a 2021 slasher movie series based on the teen horror novels of the same name, written by R.L. Stine, better known for his work with the child-friendly horror series, Goosebumps. However, for this series of films, he does not give a damn about its teenage protagonists. Stine and director Leigh Janiak take off their kid gloves for this one, leading to some spectacular (and gruesome) results.
These films originally started development back in 1997 but went through several studios and rewrites before finally settling for a distribution deal with Netflix last Summer. Throughout the Summer, Netflix released each film weekly, with every movie being set in a different period starting with 1994.
Setting and Plot
The first film in this trilogy is set back in 1994, in Shadyside, a town that recently received the moniker of America’s number one murder capital. This title is due to the curse left behind by a homicidal witch who vows revenge on the peaceful and unlucky community by transforming its residents into murderous psychopaths.
Part One begins with Deena(Portrayed by Kiana Madeira) and Sam(Portrayed by Olivia Scott Welch) breaking up due to the latter’s parent’s getting a divorce, forcing her to move to the infinitely safer Sunnyvale. However, after accidentally disturbing the grave of a vengeful witch, the two girls decided to settle their differences, as several of the town’s colourful killers stalk its streets hunting the two down as a form of retribution.
1994 is a brilliant opening to the grisly series gradually setting up the rules to the curse. While at the same time, it introduces the first wave of killers that Sarah Fier has at her disposal with hints that there will be more to come in later films. Its three killers bear similarities to other horror icons such as Jason Voorhees and Ghost Face from the Friday the 13th and Scream franchises.
Fear Street 1994 spends a good portion of its time immersing the viewer with its 90s setting, drowning the onlooker with several musical and technological references for that period. Watching Deena’s younger brother play Castlevania on his PC or having conversations with his friends using some archaic chat application felt nostalgic. However, its setting does make the film come off as campy at times, leaning it closer towards a dark comedy than actual horror.
Characters and performances
Stine may have left his kid protagonists with a most a slap on the wrist and probably a lifetime supply of therapy in his Goosebumps books, but in these films, they go to town in the murdering department. While many of its teenage characters have enough edginess behind them to forge a functional chainsaw, some are just plain awful, particularly those brats from Sunnyvale. One kid even decided it would be best to badmouth a murder victim and her entire town during her vigil for giggles. Who does that?
Despite mentioning that several teenagers were as pleasant as getting one’s face caught in a beartrap, I did find the central cast to be quite endearing. The secondary characters managed to steal the spotlight, with Fred Hechinger’s lovable and quirky performance as Simon providing some relief.
Outside of the killer witch and her posse of crazed psychos, the relationship between Deena and Sam is the primary focus of the film. The film initially leads you on thinking that Sam is a guy but pulls the rug upon her introduction. A smart curveball ruined by the film’s advertising campaign. As for their personalities, the former gets the tender loving care of being the main protagonist of the series, while the latter, on the other hand, is left as nothing more than a plot device.
After watching a film series like Halloween, where everyone is either unrealistically shortsighted(1978) or just plain braindead(Halloween Kills), it is refreshing to find a cast who can outwit their pursuers. There were even moments when I thought that they actually managed to defeat their attackers. That said, some characters do go down, but they go down fighting.
Conclusion
Fear Street Part 1: 1994 is a great film and had the potential of becoming a fantastic slasher flick. However, it is weighed down by the need to set up the rest of the franchise. If you wanted a movie with a conclusive ending, then this film might not be for you as it ends with a cliffhanger but if you seek to binge the entire trilogy like the mad folks you are, then go right ahead.
