Directed by Leigh Janiak
Written by Leigh Janiak and Phil Graziadei with Kyle Killen (story), based upon the books by R.L. Stine
Starring Kiana Madeira, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger and Olivia Scott Welch
Running time: 1 hour and 45 minutes (shoulda been an 87 min chiller thriller? IMO)
Available to watch on Netflix, July 2

by Rosalie Kicks, Editor in Chief, Old Sport

“Why do you know so much about killers?”

Fear Street Part I: 1994, did not need to be one hour and forty-five minutes. In fact, if this is any sign of what is to come I question whether it was essential to bring this into existence at all.

To be clear, I had been looking forward to the release of the Fear Street flicks since I got wind they were headed into production. Unfortunately, it only took about seven minutes for my level of enjoyment to begin a rapid descent. The flick opens at a neon drenched mall with Heather (Maya Hawke) closing down the B. Dalton’s bookstore for the evening. The nineties are depicted as alive and well, from the lava lamps to the notorious R.L. Stine bookcovers. This had me extremely excited for what was to come, even more so after witnessing the Scream-esque kill scene. Little did I know it would all be downhill from here. By the end of the film I went from loving the onset of the flick to seeing it as a mere exercise from someone who just finished their binge watch of Wes Craven’s filmography.

This is a movie in which a lot of stuff happens, yet at the same time nothing at all. Two rival small towns: Shadyside and Sunnyvale are at war with one another essentially due to each location’s notoriety. Shadyside being overridden with murder and death, while the latter wear polos, play football and the only existence of killing is grass being slaughtered by their lawn mowers. It is learned that Shadyside has been placed under a curse by a witch in 1666. Prior to being put to death by its residents, witch Sarah Fier cut off her hand in order to continue her grip over the town’s inhabitants. Due to this, they now suffer a never ending cycle of murderous mayhem. Individuals are driven to commit violent acts without explanation. This is exacerbated when one of the young teens, Samantha (Olivia Scott Welch) touches the bones of the witch’s grave site after suffering from a car accident causing former killers to return to earth with the goal of killing her and anyone that gets in the way of them doing so. From here, the story continues to add layer after layer like a Scooby-Doo and Shaggy sandwich. Frankly, as I write this I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised as there was one hour and forty-five minutes to fill.

Scenes are repetitive, tedious and often play out too long, inevitably serving very little purpose. Which is rather a shame being that I feel the cast really brought their best foot forward. However, it is hard for even good acting to make a wonky screenplay work. While watching, I could not help but contemplate the various ways this all could have played out differently. Much like the Fear Street books themselves, this movie series should have been treated as chiller thrillers. Three eighty-seven minute or less flicks that pack a punch and are accented with a lot gore. There actually was one extremely great kill hidden in the film like a diamond in the rough. Sadly, by the time it occurs it was way too late to serve much impact. It appears that, instead of focusing on a well written script, the filmmaker and her counterparts had more of a concern with the needle drops. Within the first ten-odd minutes or so, there are about a baker’s dozen of nineties hits that each play for about fifteen seconds each. Reminiscent of a teen’s mind bouncing from one thought to another, the songs invade the ears and infuse one with exhaustion. Not just the songs seemed to be sporadic, but also is it’s focus- is this a homage to slashers of days gone by? Or a supernatural witch story? Or maybe it is detective story with a side of spooky?

When the film ended with a preview for Part II (which will be set in 1978) I was left with two immediate thoughts; I best take a nap before I hit play on that thing and heyyyyy it might be better because a different writer penned Part II with Janiak. Inescapably though, I can’t help but think that Maya Hawke made the smartest move of them all by pulling a Casey Becker.