Movie Review - Fear Street: Prom Queen

Director: Matt Palmer
Genre: Horror/ Mystery/ Thriller
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Katherine Waterston, Lili Taylor, Chris Klein, Ariana Greenblatt, David Iacono, Darrin Baker, Ella Rubin, Rebecca Ablack, Ilan O’Driscoll
 
Description: When the “it” girls for prom queen at Shadyside high start to disappear, a gutsy outsider discovers she’s in for one hell of a prom night.
 
Review: “Fear Street: Prom Queen” is based on a book by bestselling author R.L. Stine, known for the “Fear Street” book series, but also the “Goosebumps” books. Teen horror with a fun twist.

At first glance, the story seems unremarkable. In 1988, outsider Lori wants to become prom queen, while her rival Tiffany and het friends make Lori’s life miserable. Tiffany’s boyfriend secretly has a crush on Lori, while Tiffany is under pressure from her parents. Meanwhile, in dark corners of the dance hall, more and more prom queen candidates are being gruesomely murdered by a masker figure in a red coat.

The book came our in 1992 and although his books were for kids and teens, they were always pretty scary. “Fear Street: Prom Queen” is very bloody, but therefor primarily a homage to the 1908s slasher film.

The characters a very cliché and you can predict a little who’s going to die next. But the film has a surprising twist that I personally didn’t see coming. Which makes it a fun slasher with a surprise element.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Review - Fear Street Part 3: 1666

Director: Leigh Janiak
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 114 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Kiana Madeira, Ashley Zuckerman, Gillian Jacobs, Olivia Scott Welch, Sadie Sink, Elizabeth Scopel, Benjamin Flores Jr., Randy Havens, Julia Rehwald, Michael Chandler

Description: The origins of Sarah Fier’s curse are finally reveals as history comes full circle on a night that changes the lives of Shadysiders forever.

Review: At the end of “Fear Street Part 2: 1978” we saw that Deena ended up in 1666, as Sarah Fier. In the third and final part of the Fear Street series, “Fear Street Part 3: 1666” we finally learn where the curse started.
A colonial town is gripped by a ruthless and hysterical witch hunt that will have deadly consequences for centuries to come. Back in 1994, Deena, Ziggy and their friends are trying to end the dark curse once and for all, before it’s really too late.
The finale of the Fear Street movies is now on Netflix. Part 3 reveals how Sarah Fier’s curse became part of Shadyside’s history and changed the lives of its inhabitants forever. The cast from the first part returns, at least most of them and some of the second film also make an appearance. Again there is no shortage of blood and gore in this film. I liked how they did the jump in time, where we start in 1666 and eventually end up back in 1994 where the trilogy started. That brings this trilogy full circle.
I enjoyed this film, it’s just as good as the second film. I really liked this trilogy and would love for Netflix to do more movies series like this.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Movie Review - Fear Street Part 2: 1978

Director: Leigh Janiak
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Sadie Sink, Gillian Jacobs, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins, McCabe Slye, Kiana Madeira, Benjamin Flores Jr., Brandon Spink, Ted Sutherland

Description: Shadyside 1978. School’s out for summer and the activities at Camp Nightwing are about to begin. But when another Shadysider is possessed with the urge to kill, the fun in the sun becomes a gruesome fight for survival.

Review: In the first film, we followed citizens of Shadyside and Sunnyvale fight for their lives when a mysterious, masked killer was roaming the streets. The film was set in 1994 and it takes siblings Deena and Josh to C. Berman, a survivor of the killings at Camp Nightwing in 1978.
Shadyside 1978: Sisters Cindy and Ziggy are both attending Camp Nightwing for the summer, but soon learn that one of the campers is on a killing spree. Does it have anything to do with the stories of the witch that kids tell each other around the camp fire?
I really did enjoy the first Fear Street film. It was a nice start to a series and a fun ode to 90s slasher films. The setting of “Fear Street Part 2: 1978” reminds you of “Friday the 13^th”, since it’s a summer camp. But I loved the vibe.
Director leigh Janiak continues her series with another solid R-rated slasher, showcasing brutal killings and delightful characters whose deaths actually affect you. I actually prefer this one over the first. And the film has a group of talented young actors, with Sadie Sink being the most well-know (she plays Max on “Stranger Things”).
“Fear Street Part 2: 1978” is a tense adventure that highlights the talented young cast and enjoys lots of gory kills.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Movie Review - Fear Street Part 1: 1994

Director: Leigh Janiak
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Maya Hawke, Charlene Amoia, David W. Thompson, Noah Bain Garrett, Darrel Britt-Gibson, Ashley Zukerman, Fred Hechinger, Matthew Zuk

Description: A circle of teenage friends accidentally encounter the ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued their town for over 300 years. Welcome to Shadyside.

Review: Netflix is doing something new with horror trilogy series “Fear Street”: all the movies are coming out in the same month. It starts with “Fear Street Part 1: 1994”.
Author R.L. Stine has given many children nightmares with his horror book series “Goosebumps”. With “Fear Street”, he makes an attempt to traumatize young adults. These books are the inspiration for the Netflix movies of the same name. And it’s nice we don’t have to wait too long to see how the trilogy ends.
The first film of this series is a fun and gory start, that is paying homage to the slasher films of the 1990s and providing a solid foundation for the world to be explored in greater depth in the following films. It feels like a love letter to the mid-90s slasher, complete with massive amounts of blood and the obligatory archetype characters. And there is plenty of blood, especially in the third act. It’s not an exact adaption of the book, but it’s a fun watch. And lots of 90s nostalgia with a great soundtrack.
Looking forward to “Fear Street Part 2: 1978”, where we go back in time.

Rating: 3 / 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 61

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: The Italian Job (2003)
After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally.
 

Drama: Victoria & Adbul (2017)
Queen Victoria (Judy Dench) strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal).
 

Comedy: Barney’s Version (2010)
The picaresque and touching story of the politically incorrect, fully lived life of the impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti).
 

Animation: The Lego Movie (2014)
An ordinary LEGO construction worker (Chris Pratt), thought to be the prophesied as “special”, is recruited to join a quest to sop an evil tyrant (Will Ferrell) from gluing the LEGO universe into eternal stasis.
 

Romance: Shall We Dance (2004)
A bored, overworked estate lawyer (Richard Gere) signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.
 

Horror: Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021)
A circle of teenage friends accidentally encounter the ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued their town for over 300 years. Welcome to Shadyside.
 

Science Fiction: In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)
A Philadelphia police officer (Boyd Holbrook) struggles with a lifelong obsession to track down a mysterious serial killer whose crimes defy explanation.
 

Crime: Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Two Boston area detectives (Casey Affleck, Michelle Monoghan) investigate a little girl’s kidnapping, which ultimately turns into a crisis both professionally and personally.
 

Thriller: Red Dragon (2002)
A retired FBI agent (Edward Norton) with psychological gifts is assigned to help track down “The Tooth Fairy” (Ralph Fiennes), a mysterious serial killer. Aiding him is imprisoned forensic psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter.
 

Documentary: Pelé (2016)
Pelé’s meteoric rise from the slums of Sao Paulo to leading Brazil to its first World Cup victory at the age of 17 is chronicled in this biographical drama.
 

Family: Matilda (1996)
Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson) is a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant father and mother.