I missed over-the-top violent 90’s horror movies. Not only does FEAR STREET pay homage to the SCREAM-worthy genre, but it also has something new to say.
A town is cursed, adults don’t believe the teens, and people are dying. This plot is the basic set-up for the jump-scare-centric, FEAR STREET PART ONE. Yet what separates it from other horror films is how it plays with the genre. For example, we open with a teen in a mall answering a phone call, yet is it the killer? From there, we cut to the main character, Deena (Kiana Madeira), saddened by a recent breakup, but is it with a boy?
Each character is different than your standard horror movie cliche. From a lesbian couple, a nerd, an extrovert, and a pill-pushing teen, these aren’t your parent’s horror movie tropes. More importantly, the film makes you care about them. So when the sh*t hits the fan (and it always does in horror), you will be screaming and crossing your fingers, hoping that each character makes it out alive.
FEAR STREET brings teen slasher horror back from the dead. It has been a long time since we’ve seen a no-holds-barred violent teen horror flick that doesn’t shy away from the blood on the screen. Unfortunately, while I love genre gold like A QUIET PLACE II, it doesn’t have the hard R that this genre mash-up does.
Part 2 and 3 are airing over the next two Fridays. So, if you are looking for me late at night, I’ll be planted on my sofa with a large popcorn, waiting to see where this new heart-stopping fun trilogy on Netflix goes next.
