If you know me at all...
If you have had any type of conversation with me in the last year...
You already know what I am about to say.
Vinnie is a collection of small woodland creatures in wrapped in blue flannel.
NO! Well... yes? It's complicated. But that is not the point.
The point is, I L-O-V-E horror. Stories! Movies! Tv Shows! For normal readers of my blog or my stories, it's no surprise. I am a huge fan of the horror genre, particularly the slasher genre. Normally my horror interest stems from mystery. There's a killer with a mask hunting down teenagers. Who is the masked killer?
Horror is an exciting genre. The Ring, Alien, Scream. All great movies. And as the years have gone by, horror has grown so much. In the last five or so years there have been so many good horror movies and shows coming out (Not just slashers. I do love them all equally for the most part.) Movies and tv shows like Get Out, Freaky, Netflix's Haunting anthology series, American Horror Story (only certain seasons), and Supernatural (Again, certain seasons.) are among some of my favorite examples.
However, this summer introduced me to a series of horror movies that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I am talking about the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix! The series was inspired by the more young adult-oriented novels written by R.L. Stine, and directed by Leigh Janiak.
People may see the name R.L. Stine and think "OH! That is the man who wrote Goosebumps! These are probably going to be such cool movies!" Which would be correct! However, this is not Goosebumps. In fact, going into this review, I am going to put a big ol' warning on this one!
FEAR STREET IS NOT FOR CHILDREN! ALL THREE MOVIES INCLUDE DRUGS, SEX, GORE, MURDERS, AND TONS OF PROFANITY. Also, there is a light spoiler warning though I will try my darnedest not to reveal too much.
Fear Street is divided into three movies. Part One was called 1994, Part Two was called 1978, and Part Three was called 1666. Each movie covered a different story with an overarching story that I think connected them all wonderfully. I will try to cover each in a different post because... there is a lot to cover.
1994 introduced us to Shadyside and Sunnyvale. Sunnyvale is a perfect city, while Shadyside... Shadyside is a city with a grim history of killing and bloodshed, reeling from the recent set of killings. It is amidst this that we meet our protagonists. Deena, a girl who is recovering from a breakup. Sam, the ex who moved to Sunnyvale and tried to get over Deena. Josh, Deena's little brother who's obsessed with the history of the town. Kate, the pretty girl looking to get out of town. Simon, a goof. A series of events including a rivalry between the town's youths, and a car crash lead the characters to encounter a series of ruthless killers from the town's past.
This movie was a great way to start a horror series. It paid great homage to some great 90's horror, while giving its own spin to the classic tropes of those types of movies. It's a classic slasher mystery. But the mystery isn't of who the killer is, the mystery of this film is more How? Or why? It presents a problem. Long before their time, a witch named Sarah Fier cursed the town of Shadyside. Every so often, her curse claims a victim who snaps and kills a bunch of people. These killers range from a bagheaded camp counselor, to a 50's milkman, to even a puritan preacher.
Now you're probably thinking, VINNIE! What the heck? That is a huge spoiler!
But it isn't. For this whole trilogy, the people holding the knife/razor/axe are shown to the audience. Sarah Fier's curse is the main story of the show. The main purpose of this first film is how to stop the killing.
Downsides to this first film? There weren't too many. In a movie that subverted the genre of horror, they still had the classic tropes of people going to investigate weird noises, couples going off to have emotional moments/hookups when they know that multiple killers are out for their blood, and a few weird scenes where characters are clearly thrown in for the sequels. However, these aren't awful things! I think they add to the movie. One of these particular scenes leads to some of the funniest dialogue in the movie.
Upsides? This movie does a hell of a job kicking off the series. It sets up the rest of the trilogy rather nicely. The cast is amazing. The movie gives us a rare instance of LGBTQ+ representation in the cast and a movie where people of color aren't picked off one by one. If you are a fan of the gory movies, this one is probably the best out of the trilogy for that. The opening is SO well done! And I know I already commented on the cast, but each of the characters was great. Deena felt like an angry teenager who was still ready to do anything for Sam. Josh does a good job of conveying the lore of the curse while filling out the nerdy little brother role. Kate and Simon were really great characters and felt like real teenagers. (SIMON IS MY FAVORITE) And Sam... Well... You will have to watch the movie.
In conclusion, this movie was a good start to the series! It established the story and gave us people to root for. I'd give it a solid 8/10.
An 8/10? I thought you loved this movie!
That is true. But there are two other movies in this series. And trust me, it gets better from here. However, I currently don't have time to write it. Plus, I know some of you. Reading this on a screen can't be easy so why should I make you read an entire essay about three movies when I could easily split it into parts?
Okay. BYE!
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