I had high hopes for this one. The Fear Street Trilogy (1994, 1976 & 1666) weren’t perfect, but they were solid movies that formed a respectable series with an interesting killer, well-rounded characters and a good story. It did feel like the last installment was a little overlong but it capped everything off nicely.
For this one, we’re back in Shadyside in 1988, several years before the murders in the first film and prom season is in full swing. A young girl named Lori Granger signs up to run for prom queen. Her life is a tough one, as she’s being raised alone by her mother, as her father was stabbed and killed while she was still in the womb. Everyone thinks her mom did it but there was no proof of that and she’s a police officer now so it didn’t stick. She’s competing against the most popular girls in school—led by Tiffany Falconer, your typical mean girl. There’s also a tough-as-nails drug dealer named Christy running as well, who for the introduction that she gets you would think might last a longer time.
You would be wrong.
The night before prom, Christy is stalked and killed by a masked murderer in a red coat. You know, the subtle type of garb all sneaky killers like to wear. It’s clear that this prom is not going to go off without a hitch.
With no boyfriend, Lori is going to prom with her best friend Megan, who is awesome and like to do horror makeup for fun, including an awesome scene in the beginning where she fakes chopping off her arm to mess with her classmates that are annoying her. When the body count continues at prom, the two are going to have to figure out who is behind these grisly murders before they end up on the hit list.
I enjoyed the premise and the cast is solid, including turns from Chris Klein as Tiffany’s father, who teaches at the school, and Lili Taylor as the principal. There’s also Katherine Waterson as Lori’s mom, which is basically a blink and you’ll miss it role. The teens are great and I would have loved to see them have a bit more material to chew on and some growth, but they are limited to being archetypes and as talented as they are, can only do so much to elevate them.
The kills are bloody and fun (including a gnarly one with a paper cutter) and the killer has a unique look, which is a plus. If you’re just watching for those, you won’t be disappointed.
I’m usually a fan of fast and furious horror movies as some seem to go on too long. I think FEAR STREET: PROM NIGHT could have been at least fifteen minutes longer to give the plot time to breathe and make us care about the kids a little more. It’s got all the ingredients for a great movie but just needs some more
time to cook.
It’s streaming on Netflix now. Check it out.
