New Fear Street Movie With 28% on RT Is the Biggest Horror Disappointment of the Year
This is an old-school teen slasher that you can safely skip.
In 2021, the horror trilogy Fear Street was released on Netflix. It was inspired by the book series of the same name by R. L. Stine, the author of Goosebumps.
The Fear Street literary series, which began in 1989, several years before Goosebumps became popular, did not gain much success among teenagers at the time. During the retro horror renaissance, Fear Street received its due rehabilitation.
What Is Fear Street: Prom Queen About?
In May 1988, Shadyside High School student Lori becomes embroiled in the battle for prom queen. She dreams of putting her arrogant peers in their place and, at the same time, clearing her family's name.
Lori's mother was once accused of killing her boyfriend, but they could not prove her guilt. Since then, the family has been branded outcasts. Lori doesn't yet know that her path to the crown is sprinkled with blood – each of her rivals becomes a victim of a maniac in a red hood.
Someone walks around the school and eliminates all the contenders for prom queen.
Fear Street: Prom Queen Is an Old-School Teen Slasher in the Worst Sense of the Word
The film rewinds time again, this time to the '80s. Matt Palmer, the director of Calibre, replaces Leigh Janiak, the regular director of Fear Street.
Fear Street: Prom Queen is an old-school teen slasher film that relies too heavily on nostalgia, especially when the plot hits a dead end, which happens too often.
It's a shame that Palmer isn't interested in playing with the slasher structure and varying degrees of cultural intertext, because Prom Queen could be full of references to Brian De Palma's Carrie.
Prom Queen Is More Violent, But Does Not Suggest Anything New
The level of graphic violence in Prom Queen is notably higher than in previous films. The maniac in the red hood's torture kit includes a paper cutter and a circular saw. Nevertheless, the bread machine murder scene in the first part of Fear Street remains the franchise's best.
At its best, Prom Queen veers into Mean Girls territory by juxtaposing two female archetypes in their eternal struggle for a place at the top of the social hierarchy, the attention of boys, and the opportunity to make their mark on school history.
However, even in such scenes, Matt Palmer resists a hint of irony, choosing instead to document the outdated moral competition for the best girl in the class.