Fear Street – Netflix Trending Movie
Hello everyone and welcome to a very special episode of lost in the real it has been three weeks and Netflix has provided us with three separate films that make up the fear street trilogy. I hadn’t anticipated what a hit these movies would be and that they would capture the zeitgeist as much as they have. I honestly like all three of these films of which include part 1 1994, part 2 1978 and finally part 3 1666 without giving away any spoilers I am going to be ranking and reviewing all three fear street films. So, let’s do it.
My least favorite film of the trilogy and I know it’s going to be a controversial pick is fear street part 2 1978. In this instalment we are flown to the 70s to hear the story of how cberman survived the evil witch at summer camp all of those years ago. The witch has possessed a camp counselor who racks up a pretty serious body count throughout the run time. All the while our heroine from the first instalment Dina listens closely as she tries to figure out a way to save her girlfriend Sam and stop the shadyside curse.
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Now I know that this movie has been pretty much universally loved more than the first and I totally understand why it hones in on all of the homages to horror of the past and really out of all of these movies it is the one that is the most self-aware of what it actually is. But out of all three of the fear street instalments I connected with its story and characters the least unfortunately.
As with the first film in this trilogy fear street 1978 is a joyous celebration of nostalgia and another decade of horror. Director Lee Yaniak and her co-writer Zack Alkiewicz have taken the classics from the beloved slasher genre like right at the 13th in sleep away camp and given it a modern twist. Our two leads here sadie sink and emily rudd as the berman sisters are both extremely charismatic and carry the film with ease. But they are never given the character development that breakout star kiana Madeira’s Deena had in the first luckily Madeira still has her part to play in this movie.
I never connected with these characters in the way that I did in part one the fact that the movie is also a story being told and we basically know what happens from the very beginning despite a plot twist at the end also lowers the stakes significantly. the other issue that I have with fear street 1978 is that I don’t believe that the story being told ever comes to a satisfying conclusion or that its finale makes much sense at all. I understand that it’s a silly horror film but the way it all plays out is still absolutely incredulous and I will talk about this more in detail in a bit.
However I do think that the filmmakers have upped the ante with everything else from the first the kills are gruesome and glorious. The classic 70s music adds so much flair the body count has at least doubled, the direction is even more kinetic and the jump scares are far more plentiful. Although it doesn’t add up to much more than a slick and ridiculous roller coaster ride that does not take away from the amount of fun that is to be had here. So I will be giving fear street part 2 1978 three rl steins out of five. I think that this part has many of the issues that the middle film in a trilogy tends to have and I really yearn to care for these characters more.
But it is still a lovely celebration of nostalgia that will keep audiences craving more. next up is going to be my second favorite film from the trilogy and this one will definitely hold a special place in my heart because it is the one that started it all that is of course fear street part 1 1994. In 1994 we meet Dina who will end up being our lead protagonist of the series. She has just recently broken up with her closeted girlfriend Sam who has now moved to neighboring and competing town Sunnyvale. After an incident that ends up leaving Sam in the hospital.
Our ragtag group of friends begin to realize that they are being stalked by killers because they have disturbed the grave of Sarah fear. The witch who has cursed their town of Shadyside. There’s something about part one that really hits close to home for me and maybe that’s because I’m a child of the 90s I don’t know. I was just taken aback by how much fun I had while watching this film. As I said before these movies really feel like a celebration of the horror genre and the nostalgia we get when we think back to the classics and although derivative fear street part 1 is not trying to replicate it is paying homage whilst giving us a story that feels fresh and new.
I think what makes this instalment work better for me is the involvement of Kiana madeira in a leading role capacity as Dina the young actress has it all for me and she creates a fully fleshed out character here that I empathized with and cared for the script does take off a lot of tropes throughout its run time including with its cast of characters. But Madeira was able to elevate what she was given and gave Dina the gravitas she needed to become a character we would want to follow throughout these three films.
I also was taken aback and appreciated the relationship between her and her girlfriend Sam it’s very rare we get to see an lgbtq romantic relationship take center stage in movies like this especially in the horror genre. I also think Madeira’s chemistry with Olivia scott welch was fantastic. I wasn’t too impressed with welch in amazon prime series panic but I think she is very good here and I thought the way in which the two blossomed and grew together during this movie was all handled very maturely and I also loved Benjamin Flores jr as Dina’s brother josh who is given a really interesting story arc and adds this bit of childlike wonder to the movie that I appreciated.
I don’t necessarily think part one is all that scary but I never thought that these first two instalments were actually trying to be and I know many people had a problem with this movie for thinking that it was basically a teeny bopper horror and I understand that criticism completely because the film does teeter on the edge of teen melodrama a bit too much but I thought the kills that we got were great the tension was through the roof and the jump scares were mostly effective. Lee Anika was able to show off for the first time here and proves it throughout all three films what an assured vision she had for this trilogy. So I will be giving fear street part 1 1994 3.5 rl steins out of 5.
I think part 1 really rides on the laurels of its cast who all create such captivating characters that you want to continue this ride with. Although it’s less of an effective all-out horror film than 1978. I had a bit more of a fun time with this instalment because I connected with the characters more and the stakes felt much more real. so of course that means my number one my favorite movie of the trilogy is fear street part 3 1666 and I am so intrigued to see what people’s thoughts on this final part are because it is so wildly different from the other two instalments in part three we are flung all the way to the year 1666 as Dina has a vision of what happened to Sarah fear all of those years ago.
I will not go into too much detail as I wouldn’t dare give anything away for those of you who have not yet seen it but Dina uses what she learns in her vision to try and stop the witch’s curse once and for all. like I said fear street part 3 1666 is wildly different from the first two instalments of this trilogy and I have a feeling some are going to like this one the least because many of the things that people latched onto with this series are noticeably absent here first and foremost 1666 is completely missing that feeling of nostalgia that made the first two so fun.
Although the movie is still paying homage to the genre it is much less apparent here. we don’t have the head banging soundtrack of classic music the slasher tropes are pretty much gone and the overall fun and silly factor that made the first two so watchable has been replaced by a much darker more sinister tone .at first it didn’t necessarily work for me because it almost felt like we were seeing our cast play dress-up in a period setting but once I settled into this altogether different atmosphere I was shocked at how effective 1666 really was.
I still wouldn’t call this film scary but out of all three this is the one that is going to make you want to keep the lights on .there is something about the way this story progresses how it starts to creep up and get under your skin that I found to work on a level that the other two did not .1666 is unnerving and unsettling in the best way possible and there are some standout scenes here that belong in the best of the genre. it is also a blast to see the whole cast return playing different characters as Dina is seeing everything from Sarah fear’s point of view but has replaced everyone from her life as surrogates .
This was an ingenious decision to really bring all three films full circle and make them feel like a complete hole .madeira is once again outstanding and leads the pack with a convicted performance tinged with disorientation and exasperation .Ashley Zuckerman is also given much more time to shine and takes full advantage of his new role here and as much as I love the soundtrack of classics in the first two parts I never miss them as the score by Marco beltrami and anna drewbik is stupendous.
It adds to the anxiety and paranoia of the film and really elevates everything to the next level. Yaniak also completely comes into her own here as she is not aided with the era flourishes that she was in the first two films .part 3 has a scaled back bare bones aesthetic that makes it stand on its own and allows the gorgeous cinematography to take the spotlight. After these three films I can’t help but feel like yaniak has a bright future ahead of her. Lastly what makes fear street part 3 16 66 the best of the trilogy is how it ties everything together.
After watching this instalment you can see how meticulously planned these movies actually were aspects of the story that didn’t make sense. in the first two parts are actually explained in this movie and make me appreciate the other two even more and just as I thought 1666 was taking itself a little too seriously and not embracing the nostalgia and fun we had come to expect from this series it takes a complete 180 and gives you everything you would want to finish out a genre exercise like this. I’m honestly just so utterly shocked how brilliantly they were able to connect all three of these movies together into a cohesive and fulfilling hole.
So I will be giving fear street part 3 1666 3.75 r.l steins out of 5. not only is this the most psychologically terrifying of the three movies this is the most satisfying in the way that it is able to conclude the trilogy. Part 3 is incredibly ingenious for so many reasons and although a little too self-serious at first it is an absolute joy to watch. Netflix has really outdone themselves with this fierce 3 trilogy in my opinion.
I think this was such an intriguing idea to take three interconnected films all with a bit of a different style and tone and to release them each a week apart. what is most surprising and what greatly pleases me to say is that not only were they able to pull it off but they really hit it out of the park and I hope we get to see more refreshing experiments like this from Netflix and other studios in the future.
