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★★★★
Directed by: Leigh Janiak
Written by: R. L. Stine, Kyle Killen, Phil Graziadei
Starring: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Henchinger, Ashley Zukerman
Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021) Film Review
A horror story “300 years in the making” released its first instalment on Netflix last Friday, with Fear Street Part 1: 1994 landing on the popular streaming service. With 2 more films based on the R. L. Stine books releasing on consecutive Fridays, the Fear Street films have created a much-needed film event for movie fans withered by the ongoing pandemic restrictions.
Part 1’s early 90s charm gets off to a thrilling start when a shopping mall worker is hunted and slashed in a terrifying opening bloodbath. From here, the credits start and we learn more about the setting of Shadyside, a town known for gruesome killings and horrific events. The town’s neighbour, Sunnyvale (est. 1666 - oooooh) is far less afflicted and in fact, seems to be incredibly prosperous. The two sides collide during a candlelit vigil for the aforementioned mall worker, and after chasing a school bus out of town, Samantha (Olivia Scott Welch), who has recently transferred from Shadyside to Sunnyvale, puts her hands on a deeply-buried secret. She now must rely on her old girlfriend Deena (Kiana Madeira) and the Shadyside students to survive a curse 300 years in the making.
Slickly produced and well-paced, Fear Street Part 1: 1994 gets the trilogy off to a phenomenal start. Yes it’s laden with tropes from all of yesteryear’s horror classics like Scream, The Witch, and It Follows (among countless others) but it carries the baton with confidence and shameless energy making it compelling viewing. The film has a delicious soundtrack, with the likes of Radiohead, Cypress Hill, and The Pixies all rocking up, not to mention the fact that technology is only so far as AOL and beepers - so no easy outs here!
Viewers going into the film with the preexisting knowledge of two more films cannot help but be filled with intrigue, and the fact that those films have titles with years that will set the stories decades and then centuries earlier will only add to the spectacle. There are references to characters who are almost certain to turn up in films 2 and 3, allowing audiences to don their detective hats early on in the hopes of piecing the events together like a good true-crime tale.
The acting chemistry is brilliant, with a slightly more grown-up (but still very similar) dynamic to something like Stranger Things, this is pure high-school horror at its best.
The kids are believably sweary and offensive, and the central lesbian relationship felt organically delivered without teetering into unnecessary distraction. It cemented the emotional depth and eschewed the horror pitfall of disposable characters for a crew worth investing in. By the final third, the gang’s vibe is Goonies-Esque and audiences will be fully on board.
One of the characters says during Part 1: 1994 “There are no answers in the past” which feels like a massive clue to the reverse being true. With this Friday seeing the release of Fear Street Part Two: 1978, we won’t have to wait 300 years for the middle instalment and more answers to this compelling horror franchise.
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