2021’s Fear Street trilogy did something to me that no other teen slasher movie has managed to do in the past; it gave me an appreciation for the genre.
As an unabashed non-fan of the format, I came to the Netflix series during the height of Covid with a biased eye and a critical mindset. Expecting to be repulsed — or even worse — bored, I was instead blown away by the 3 instalments of supernatural slasher horror, comedy, drama, and romance that unfolded across 3 movies, several centuries, and many dead annoying teenagers.
The trilogy, 1994, 1978, and 1666, was based on the book series by R.L. Stine, and was directed and co-written by Leigh Janiak. Her movies teemed with myriad ideas, themes, creatures, killers, audacious setups, and gripping action set-pieces, in addition to a phalanx of victims who were offed in the most creatively grisly manner. Who can forget Kate’s death by deli meat slicer? Or Gary’s 1978 decapitation in the bathroom stall by newly minted axe-murderer Tommy? Fear Street revelled in its glorious goriness while keeping a firm rein on its multi-generational plot-lines and its diverse cast of characters.
Despite taking place over 3 movies, Fear Street felt almost too large a story to fit satisfactorily into that structure. By the time the credits rolled, there were still terrible creatures we had only managed to catch a glimpse of, as well as Shadysiders and Sunnyvalers we hoped to one day to see again. Coupled with an intriguing premise that allowed for sequels to fit anywhere into the timeline from 1666 to 1994, the franchise seemed ripe for further mining.
How disappointing then to learn that the series’ latest instalment Fear Street: Prom Queen, which dropped on Netflix on Friday, shares no creative DNA with its audacious predecessors at all.
Set in 1988, the new film, this time written and directed by Matt Palmer (Calibre, The Gas Man), sees prom season underway at Shadyside High. The school’s ‘wolfpack’ of It girls, led by the bitchy Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza) and rounded out by Melissa (Ella Rubin), Debbie (Rebecca Ablack), and Linda (Ilan O’Driscoll), see competition in the form of outsider and underdog Lori Granger (India Fowler).
It’s not initially explained why the wolfpack hate Lori so much, but it’s hinted that it may have something to do with Lori’s mother murdering her Dad — a crime for which she was ultimately acquitted, but which still draws the suspicion of her neighbors, and the disgust of Lori’s classmates. When Lori puts herself in the running for prom queen, it’s gloves off for the wolfpack, and gloves on for a mysterious red rubber-clad assailant who uses the prom as a venue to secretly bump off a series of the movie’s most annoying teens.
So far so standard set up for an average teen slasher movie. However Prom Queen never manages to build on that initial premise. Over the film’s 90 minute run, characters remain one dimensional. Motives remain unclear. And what giant chunks of exposition were not delivered via voiceover in the opening moments of the movie (whatever happened to show don’t tell?), are revisited at intervals by characters repeating each other’s names and intentions as if they know the audience has lost interest and needs reminding. Even the wolfpack lacks bite, with their attacks on Final Girl Lori relegated to the snide remarks variety.
Prom Queen is missing just about everything that made the original trilogy compelling. Its characters are a series of caricatures of mean girls, lonely outsiders, and weed smoking burnouts. The story, including the identity of the killer and the motivation behind the latest slew of murders, doesn’t even attempt to fit into Fear Street lore. In fact, there’s no connection to the previous instalments at all. And set almost entirely within the school building from the movie’s mid-point on, there’s a creeping sense of inertia to proceedings that not even an A-Z of the 80’s most popular Pop tracks can save.
I might have been tempted to forgive some or even most of these things if not for the fact that the murders — the bloody beating heart of any movie of this genre — are likewise pretty boring. The movie’s first kill takes about a half hour to materialize, is set up poorly, and even then bizarrely fades to red-screen in the moment of the kill. Later (much later) in the movie’s final 15 minutes, people die instantly when axed — be it to the head, shoulder, arm, or leg — allowing the murderer to cut a swathe (quite literally) through crowds of victims, and giving the viewer the feeling the movie is trying to make up for running behind on its kill quota.
Added to this, a poor script that looks and sounds like several 80’s slasher franchises were regurgitated from an AI algorithm, makes the whole shebang feel less than the sum of its Frankenstein’s monster parts. A little more Fear Street lore, a little more cleverly presented gore, and a little more emotional core would have gone a long way to win over fans and critics alike. Sadly though, it seems the creatives behind this latest instalment were indifferent to the notion of building on the prequels or source material in any creative, meaningful, or memorable way.
Sarah Fier is turning in her grave!
Fear Street: Prom Queen is available on Netflix now.
Like this article? Share it with a friend and help us grow.
