The first installment of Netflix’s new horror movie series is here, did it hit the mark?
If you live under a rock and haven’t heard, Netflix has released a brand new horror movie series that’s causing a lot of hype. The first movie, Fear Street Part One, has just dropped on Netflix last week.
The Fear Street Trilogy movies will be released in three different parts over a three week period, giving viewers just enough time to be hanging off the edge of their seat for the next one but not too much time to lose all interest completely, an interesting tactic by Netflix and one that will likely be successful.
The films have all the usual hallmarks of a good slasher movie with grisly and gory deaths mixed in with some demonic possession, a group of clueless kids including the loveable comedic character that keeps us entertained (as all horror movies go, we can probably guess what will happen to him) and a deep mystery that has to be solved to avoid impending doom- sounds fun right! It’s basically an R-rated version of Goosebumps, and the talk around it has been loud.
Get a Glimpse With The Trailer
A Basic Overview
The films are loosely based on books of the same name from American novelist R.L Stine.
The movies track the gruesome history of a town called Shadyside, infamous for being haunted over the centuries by periodic and grisly killings, over three time periods. Beginning with part 1 in 1994, part 2 in 1978, and part 3 in 1666. Each film tells a different story, but by the end, they all connect to the Shadyside mystery. Definitely films you will want to watch in order.
The films appear to be taking on a comedy/horror genre. At first, I was concerned about this, given that this can usually be a recipe for disaster and turn into a giant spoof/parody (and not the good kind like Zombieland or Shaun of The Dead) with no real cinematic value or depth. But, in my opinion, they’ve hit the nail on the head- the comedy was entertaining and added a sense of parody to the movie without completely overtaking from the gore and horror, popping them right in that sweet middle ground.
Fear Street Part 1: 1994
IMDb: 6.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% Audience Score
Settling in to watch the first movie, I was expecting big things- and the opening scene did not disappoint. They wasted no time diving straight into a brutal murder and introducing a psychopathic teen who ‘just snapped’ and murdered mallgoers in a skull mask costume that gave me the creeps.
After such an opener I was expecting some dull in-between before all the real action began, however throughout the whole thing I didn’t experience any of these- the movie was jam-packed with some sort of action, gore, we’re-probably-going-to-die sex and relentless killers on the hunt scenes right from the get-go with no time to pause and catch a breath.
The first part centers around Deena and Sam- a recently broken-up couple who, as you can probably guess, realise their love for each other in an epic tale of romance- all it took was a few psycho-murders after them. Can I also mention how great it is for some LGBTQ+ representation?! Praises to the director.
The movie gave me Scream cross Stranger Things vibes throughout (although probably due to the fact that two cast members were also in Stranger Things) and although predictable at some points it still managed to engage me until the very end. If you’re a die-hard horror fan you may find yourself slightly underwhelmed, but the film oozes confidence making it an entertaining watch regardless.
Each character brought their A-game and I thoroughly enjoyed watching all of them; you’ve got comedic, loveable guy Simon, the tough and witty Kate, the nerdy brother they wouldn’t survive without Josh, a bunch of psychotic back-to-life killers and an evil witch hell-bent on revenge.
The final scenes are absolutely epic with a shocking and grisly head-based kill coming in as my number one favourite for gore-factor, really raising the bar for future scenes. There isn’t too much in the way of jump-scare scenes throughout so if you’re looking for that you might be slightly disappointed, although it gets the heart racing in plenty of other ways through tension and suspense, a wicked soundtrack and shock turn of events.
All I can say is, I’m definitely hanging out to find out what happens in the next instalment and the first film has set up great promise for things to come.
Stream now on Netflix.
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