Okay, I’ll admit, I didn’t read the Fear Street books as a teen. Although I was aware of R. L Stine’s famous series, my friends and I were more fans of Christopher Pike. Pre-teen loyalty runs strong, no matter if you’re talking about boy bands or YA Horror writers. My interest in the Netflix trilogy started as curiosity more than anything else.
Movies taking place in the ‘90s hit a little different, since I spent part of my teen years in the ‘90s. Like most period films, it’s a Hollywood version of reality; a greatest hits of pop culture references, music, and fashion moments. It’s fantastic. Although H3 noticed that the AOL chat window a character uses has a font installed that wasn’t made available to the public until 2006; thanks, H3.
More Than Just Teen Fluff
As a trilogy, Fear Street is much deeper than I expected. I went in looking for classic slasher-inspired shenanigans. What they delivered is a tale of class discrimination, queer relationships in the not-so-progressive ‘90s, and generational corruption. It also has some fantastic kills across all three movies.
Together they tell the history of two neighboring towns, Sunnyvale and Shadyside. Between the three movies, they tell the story with settings in 1994 and 1978 (part 2), then jumping all the way back to its origin point in 1666 (part 3).
The events of each movie are cool enough for each one to deserve its own analysis. What’s more interesting is the story all three movies are telling together. The core concept is that every so often, normal residents of Shadyside turn psycho and go on murder sprees. The townspeople believe this is because of Sara Fier cursed the town before the townspeople executed her for witchcraft. The truth, however, is pretty far from that.
Before the heroes can get to that, they have to battle undead versions of every former killer, deal with some mild possession, and supernatural time-travel. It sounds like a lot, but for three movies and an ever-expanding cast, the pacing works well.
Imperfect but Interesting
It’s a solid cast playing relatable but flawed characters. From the main character, Deena, to her love interest Sam, and even her younger brother Josh, all the teens are very human. Deena is surly and cynical, mad at the world for her lot in life and her failed romance. Sam, the other half of that failed romance, is bratty and a bit spoiled, but also confused and running away from life’s challenges. Josh is a socially awkward nerd in the dawn of the internet age. They all have their good points too; Deena is brave and loyal, Sam is romantic and self-sacrificing, and Josh is the brains of the operation. This isn’t even getting into my favorite character of the first movie: the drug-dealing cheerleader.
It’s not that I want to root for bad people, but in a sea of bland, blank-slate final girls, a couple that lean more heavily on the side of the aggressive nihilism that was trendy in the ‘90s is a nice change.
Thematically Relevant
At the root of the conflict is human nature. One generation passes greed and entitlement to the next, as if it’s part of the estate. The attitude of those with power filters down to affect everyone in the town around them. The divide between the towns is increased by this attitude. It’s a subtle reminder to think carefully about who to follow. It’s also fodder for a conversation about the way we handle our responsibilities to our neighbors shape who we are as people. A group of people that handles so much death so callously can hardly be called “good people”, can they?
We never see much of the story from the Sunnyside point of view. It’s heavily implied, however, through news reports and Deena’s reactions the police questioning her at the end of the first movie. The wealthier townspeople expect the violence because it happens on the “wrong side of the tracks. We only start to see how the wealthy and privileged created this situation, profited from it then blamed the poor for their own suffering after all three movies are resolved. Just a fun horror movie, right?
Smart Writing
These seem like heavy themes for a pulpy teen horror novel turned movie, and honestly yeah, they kinda are. Especially for one that offs someone in a bread slicer. I don’t think that’s physically possible, but I’m going to go with it. The scripts for the Fear Streets manage to pull off these themes by keeping the focus on the characters in this setting. It’s not about the populations and their overall crisis; it’s about Deena trying to save Sam. This also lets the series tell flashback tales of the only other survivor. Mostly set in 1978, part 2 reveals further evidence of the larger impactful themes while still sticking to a personal tale of two sisters. Since it’s a summer camp slasher-inspired story, it’s probably my favorite of the three.
Also impressive is the foreshadowing that part one does. The story sets up small moments that don’t pay off until the third movie. I’m not going to talk much about the third movie, since that would lean pretty heavily into spoiler territory for the entire trilogy.
Teen Appropriate Horror
There’s a lot to enjoy in the first Fear Street trilogy. The characters are interesting, there are enough on-screen kills and in the first two movies, enough main characters die to keep tension high. The third falls down on that one a little, but it’s still a fun watch. While the characters are appropriately foul-mouthed and it’s a tad on the bloody side, there’s nothing truly emotionally or psychologically scarring. I’m not going to make any blanket statements about what is or is not appropriate for age groups. It is, however, the kind of movie I would have watched and loved as a young teen.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a fun popcorn horror movie filled with ‘90s and ‘70s nostalgia, Fear Street is great. It’s got some meat to the themes, and a deeper story than expected. If you’re looking for more serious thrills, this might not be for you.
I’m sure that die-hard fans of the books have very specific opinions on the movies and could point out in-universe call-backs and in-jokes. Since I missed the boat on that one, all I can say is I’m glad that modern teen horror exists somewhere. The Fear Street trilogy came out starting in 2021 and was successful on Netflix. Fear Street: Prom Queen is due to be released on Netflix on May 23.
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