Fear Street dropped on Netflix as a three-part slasher sandwich, and, honestly, it shouldn’t have worked as well as it did. A teen-horror trilogy released one week apart? Based on RL Stine’s YA books? With neon lighting, witchcraft lore, and enough era-hopping to give a time traveller jet lag?
Yet somehow, it hooked me.
Mother of Movies loves nothing more than popcorn horror that commits to the bit, and Fear Street commits hard. From mall murders to summer-camp carnage and full-blown 17th-century witch hunts, this trilogy swings for the fences and (mostly) hits them. So rather than squeezing all three films into one long ramble, here’s a breakdown of why each instalment works, and where it face-plants, starting with 1994.
Most people hated the first installment, Part 1, of Netflix’s film series Fear Street. Those who have knocked the Fear Street Saga Trilogy, directed by Leigh Janiak (Scream TV Series), say they hated the anthem-heavy score. They disliked the whiny characters. However, mostly, some felt the stories insult the books from whence they came. There are books you can read either online (for free) or traditionally to make up your own mind as to whether these statements are true.
Skip to a Specific Section
What You’ll Find in This Review:
• Mini-reviews of all three Fear Street movies
• Ranking of which installment is best
• Cast, lore, and curse breakdown
• Final verdict + popcorn factor
Mother of Movies also loves a serving of popcorn horror. When the Scream TV series was released, the color-by-numbers layout and completely templated scripting entertained me. What can I say, I love a straightforward slasher that doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. There’s nothing wrong with more intelligent slasher horror movies like 2021’s A Classic Horror Story or the iconic Scream movie series. But I don’t care if The Prodigy’s Firestarter played in the Fear Street 1994 episode when the track came out in 1996. These sorts of things were among some of the complaints. I loved the Fear Street soundtrack, and I had a good time. And besides, it’s still a ’90s track, so what’s the harm?
Perhaps you’ve been listening to all the naysayers and shoved the trilogy to the bottom of your watch list. But if you’re like me and the Scream movies are something you can watch over and over again and never get tired of it, then Fear Street will appeal. For now, here are some of the reasons I liked this entertaining film series in the form of three mini-reviews for Fear Street.
Fear Street: Part One – 1994
Firstly Shadyside. This town has a bad reputation, and the people within the town have grown accustomed to its high death rate. We get a feel for the history of the small town and the people within it, and get a healthy dose of who the central characters are. I loved the cliched names for the opposing towns that eventually show as being two opposites for a very good reason.
Shadyside is where everything bad happens. The most recent murder of Heather Watkins took place. The setting is in a pronounced horror movie favorite location, the shopping mall, and there is plenty of neon lighting in its color backdrop, action, and classic horror trope chase scenes. I don’t understand all the hate for neon lights. I like it.
For the teens that pay attention to what’s happening on their side of town, the mention of the curse of Sarah Frier is something that’s thought of more as a scary campfire tale. We are led on a wild goose chase, thinking that the story will end up purporting to be an individual real killer and not something related to a fictitious witch. The neighboring town of Sunnyvale is only briefly mentioned. For those unfamiliar with the original RL Stine Fear Street books, it makes what happens next not as predictable as the story could be.
Bad Things Always Happen to Shadysiders
The central characters are all likable, which makes being invested in their welfare more important. It’s possible that having seen Kiana Madeira (Deena) in Trinkets and She Never Died made her instantaneously enjoyable because I was super happy to see her in the lead role. In many films of this type, slasher movies like to give the barest backstories, given that they are purely fodder. Here is Fear Street, the cast is used over the entire trilog,y and we get much more. I enjoyed the love story arc between Deena and Sam over the course of time. In addition, I found Josh more interesting than usual, given his geek-stock character type.
I disagree with the consensus that this first installment does not create nostalgia for the 90s. Taking into account the saga overall, and having the cast travel through time, I felt it created a contemporary feel for what it was trying to convey.
Fear Street: Part Two – 1978
Secondly, and a favorite slasher setting of mine, the summer camp. Camp Nightwing looks like all the throwback scenes in Friday the 13th or Stage Fright. Ziggy (Sadie Sink) blew up the screen with her excellent portrayal of the outcast alongside her popular sister, Cindy.
The Summer of Fear
The mixture of Shadysiders and Sunnvaler kids attending the same summer camp was a fantastic way to show consistency in the two towns’ historical rivalry. We are treated to more Sarah Frier anecdotal evidence. Where she lived, who knows more about the witch and what she is capable of? It’s in this installment that the curse of Sara Frier becomes its own entity and takes pride of place in the foreground while the fodder begins to be thinned out.
Cindy & Nick Goode
I particularly liked the light and dark shades of Ryan Simpkins’ Cindy. A notable addition to a character we are told to dislike, before adding a backstory that imbues some empathy. I also liked the common threads with characters getting nosebleeds. It all made tying the three parts together easy. I particularly like the witch’s henchmen and their design. All of them feel like villains we’ve seen before, but with minor detail changes.
More importantly, I loved the backstory for Nick Goode. This, in particular, is a staple of any good slasher movie. Do we like him or hate him? Especially seeing as he is a character who finds a special place in each part of the series. More importantly, he’s shown from a different angle in each one. Fear Street 2’s final scene of Deena being cast into the final episode for 1966 had me completely amped for the finale.
Part Three Fear Street 1666
Finally, the last Fear Street saga episode was my favorite of the series. Where the majority liked the middle tale most, Mother of Movies felt Fear Street: Part Three tied everything up in a nice little package. It cemented the romance between Deena and Sam for the future. But mostly, it made Sarah Frier one of the most interesting witch stories I’ve seen in some time. I find many witch movies generic, boring, and not able to raise the hairs on my arms. I didn’t expect the curse to have such an interesting premise. Sara’s eventual sacrifice is memorable because the Salem witchcraft hysteria is amply covered.
On the downside, the Irish accents were difficult to understand. The washing in and out of convincing-sounding dialogue did detract from the narrative’s overall quality.
If you didn’t enjoy previous Fear Street Films, it’s unlikely you will enjoy the final installment. For me, it ticked all my popcorn B-movie horror boxes. By far, these films were among some of my favorite Netflix Original scary movies.
Popcorn Horror Verdict
I give the Fear Street Saga Trilogy
A total average of 4 B List horror movies out of 5
