Movies
I'm not familiar with the books of R. L. Stine, but I am aware of their reputation. Apart from some obvious references, I'm not too sure if this first film in the Fear Street trilogy is even all that connected to the books. Though it's supposed to be set in '94 it feels a bit too contemporary, and the horror itself is just a cut-and-paste job from a million other horror films (with a strong focus on slashers). The people in Shadyside have a bad reputation, which is attributed to a curse of a witch who died a good 300 years ago. When some kids desecrate her grave, the witch will do everything in her power to get revenge. For that, she summons some of her previous victims and she sends them after the youngsters. There are way too many gratuitous 90s references, even then the film didn't really have a typical 90s atmosphere. The kids were a bit irritating and the horror is a little tame, though the latter was probably to be expected. There are some solid moments here and the killers look pretty decent, but unless you're a major slasher fan, keep your expectations low.Read all
It's quite telling that I could remember surprisingly little from the recap of the first film, this second part doesn't really up the stakes I'm afraid. We're going back to the 70s in this second part, for what is basically just another camp slasher with a bit of witch lore thrown in for good measure. There's only one person who ever survived the curse of Fier, and desperate for help, the survivors from the first film try to seek her out. She's not very willing, but she caves and tells them the story of Camp Nightwing, where she and her sister experienced the most traumatizing night of their lives. The horror is pretty basic, the camp slasher clichés are a bit dull, and the performances of the kids are pretty basic. Also, just like the first film, director Janiak has trouble capturing the 70s atmosphere, which makes you wonder why they even bothered. Hopefully the third and final part can redeem the first two mediocre entries.Read all
The third part in the Fear Street series is easily the worst of the bunch. It's also two film crammed into one. The first half travels back to 1666 to reveal the source of all the trouble, the second half wraps everything up in 1994. That's a lot of plot to wade through for a simple horror flick, and Janiak fails to keep it interesting. Sarah Fier is a young girl who lives in Union with her father. She gets a lot of attention from the boys, but she's secretly in love with the pastor's daughter. When they finally kiss, the village lunatic spots them. Before they realize it, they're branded as witches by the rest of the villagers. The legend of Sarah Fier is born. After watching the tree films, it still baffles me how they managed to stretch such a thin story into a trilogy. At least the first two films handled it with grace, this third part on the other hand spends way too much time trying to wrap everything up, as if the plot was really all that interesting. The horror is almost completely absent, performances are weak, the pacing is sluggish. I'm afraid this was a pretty bad way to end the series.Read all