An Ambitious Slasher Throwback
“Fear Street” trilogy fails to stand out, but has bright spots
GARY M. KRAMER
Based on the books by
R.L. Stine, the horror
fi lm trilogy “Fear
Street” is an ambitious
throwback to the slasher fi lms of
yesteryear.
Part one, which takes place in
1994, opens with a typical horror
fi lm set piece. As the local mall
closes for the night, Heather (Maya
Hawke), a bookstore clerk, is terrorized.
There are some predictable
jump scares before murder
and mayhem ensue. Welcome to
Shadyside, a town cursed after
Sarah Fier, pronounced “fear,” of
course, was a hanged in 1666 for
witchcraft. She has been seeking
revenge ever since.
“Fear Street” soon introduces its
feisty lesbian heroine, Deena (Kiana
Madeira), who is despondent
after her break up with Sam (Olivia
Scott Welch). Sam moved to the
thriving Sunnydale, the town next
door, and, adding insult to injury,
has taken up with Peter (Jeremy
Ford). Deena is now hellbent on
revenge herself. When she inadvertently
causes a car accident — Peter
was driving, with Sam inside —
it prompts Sam to “see” Sarah Fier.
As a result, Sam becomes hunted
down by past serial killers, continuing
the Shadyside curse.
This development spurs Deena
into action. She asks her brother
Josh (Benjamin Flores, Jr.), and
her best friends Kate (Julia Rahwald)
and Simon (Fred Hechinger),
to help keep Sam safe and end the
centuries-long cycle of violence.
This undemanding trilogy asks
viewers to suspend their disbelief
as the plucky teens try to outwit
the killers. During a sequence
where the characters set a trap,
Deena and Sam take a minute to
have a makeup kiss in their bras,
while Josh and Kate share an intimate
moment — hey, they could
die! — and Simon, the fi lm’s goofball,
pleasures himself. It is par for
the genre that the teens are horny,
and then some become victims,
and that theory does play out to a
degree in at least the fi rst two installments.
Deena (Kiana Madeira), left with Sam (Olivia Scott Welch).
The violence in the series is gleefully
bloody and often over-the-top.
There’s a nasty sequence in part
one involving a body being shredded
by a supermarket bread slicer,
and a nifty bit where a splattered
killer reanimated itself much to
Josh’s horror. Overall, the violence
in the series is quite graphic, and
Janiak is fond of showing sharp
objects cutting, impaling, and lacerating,
as well as beheadings. Arguably,
more disturbing is seeing
women in the fi lm being slapped,
chained up, and abused — even
if some of it is necessary for the
story.
“Fear Street” does pay homage
to classic slasher fi lms, including
the “Living Dead” fi lms, to “Carrie,”
and “Friday the Thirteenth.”
The latter two are invoked in “Fear
Street Part Two: 1978.”
In the second fi lm, Deena and
Josh meet C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs),
who survived the curse, and
may hold the key to saving Sam. C.
Berman recounts what happened
years ago at Camp Nightwing,
when Sarah Fier’s map and diary
(and hand) are discovered along
with an underground lair. Meanwhile,
aboveground, there is an ax
murderer, Tommy Slater (McCabe
Slye), on the loose killing campers
during color war. The stalking generally
lacks suspense, because the
main purpose of this installment
is to provide bits of information
NETFLIX
that is critical for “Fear Street Part
Three: 1666.”
The concluding fi lm, begins as
an origin story, set in the Puritan
town of Union, which was later divided
into Shadyside and Sunnydale.
Sarah Fier (Kiana Madeira
in a double role) falls for Hannah
Miller (Olivia Scott Welch, again)
and after they are spied kissing
one night, bad things start to happen.
However, Sarah discovers who
the real villain is—it’s not a spoiler
that she is innocent—as well as
the aforementioned underground
lair. This all leads to Sarah being
called a witch and hanged, setting
the revenge curse in motion.
Alas, the fi rst half of this fi lm
unfolds like a morality play, and
at times it can feel preachy and didactic.
There are discussions about
the wickedness and abomination
of lesbianism, and considerable
talk about sacrifi ce, (a theme in all
three fi lms). But the talk goes nowhere,
really.
FILM
Fortunately, “Fear Street Part
Three: 1666” shifts gears after the
midpoint and returns to 1994, to
let Deena, Josh, and C. Berman
along with mall custodial engineer,
Martin (Darrell Britt-Gibson,
providing nice comic relief) try to
right all the wrongdoing. The series
fi res on all cylinders as these
characters devise a crafty plan to
trap the guilty party and all of the
reanimated serial killers in one
epic showdown.
The series is hardly an actor’s
showcase, but Kiana Madeira
makes Deena a gutsy heroine to
admire. It is not insignifi cant that
her love for Sam drives her to kill
or be killed. In support, Gillian Jacobs
displays some real verve in
her scenes. The series’ other standout
performer is Sadie Sink, who is
prominently featured in part two.
The “Fear Street” trilogy may
scratch an itch for fans of the
genre, but it fails to truly distinguish
itself. It is as if the fi lmmaker’s
aspirations exceed her
execution. There are some sloppily
edited sequences, and a few scenes
run on too long, especially in part
two. Given how much directorcowriter
Leigh Janiak likes to play
with sharp objects, she could have
used some to cut each fi lm down to
90 minutes.
But with songs from Sophie B.
Hawkins, Garbage, Radiohead,
The Pixies, David Bowie, and many
more, “Fear Street” at least boasts
a killer soundtrack.
FEAR STREET TRILOGY | Directed
by Leigh Janiak. Available
July 16 on Netfl ix.
GayCityNews.com | JULY 15 - JULY 28, 2021 19
/GayCityNews.com
