Get ready, R.L. Stine fans! It’s time to go back to Shadyside!
Hey, everyone! I’m Marianna, this is Impression Blend, and today we are talking about a new
horror film that’s out on Netflix today, July 2, and that movie is “Fear Street Part 1: 1994”.
Yes, this is Part 1 of the “Fear Street” trilogy, with part 2 hitting Netflix a
week later on July 9th, and the final installment being released on July 16th.
So horror fans have some things to look forward to on Netflix this month!
As you’ve probably guessed, this first movie takes place in 1994
and is very loosely based on R.L. Stien’s “Fear Street” teenage horror book series.
It’s set in Shadyside, Ohio, also referred to as “Killer Capital, USA” due to its dark history,
and revolves around a group of teens who discover that recent murders in their town
might be connected to the killings of the past, all because of an ancient evil.
Are our characters the killer's next targets? They just might be.
If you’ve seen any of the trailers, you already know that the biggest weapon
“Fear Street” tries to wield is nostalgia, whether it is the 90s in general, R.L. Stine,
slasher classics - “Fear Street” wears its influences on its sleeve.
Starting with the opening scene that’s an obvious homage to Wes Craven’s “Scream”,
the film constantly references specific scenes,
imagery, or tries to put a new spin on those classic slasher horror tropes.
Add to that a playlist full of famous 90s songs,
and what you get is an attempt to pull off what “Stranger Things” did with 80s,
Stephen King, and sci-fi, but in this case it’s the 90’s, R.L. Stine, and slashers.
And for the most part, “Fear Street Part 1” is entertaining enough.
If you are someone who's here for 90s songs and easter eggs - you will probably have a good time.
It also does not shy away from blood and gore, and there are a few nasty kills in there,
which is why this movie is rated R, so that is something for the fans of the genre.
I will be the first to admit that this concept sounded like fun to me because
anything that's set in the 90s immediately piques my interest. I love that decade,
and I do have a soft spot for slashers, as long as they have something interesting to offer.
But here's the issue here: first of all, in this attempt to put a new spin on slasher tropes the
movie somehow manages to take zero risks and doesn't actually ever go anywhere unexpected.
Yes, it updates those tropes here and there, but all of it feels extremely safe and exactly
what you would imagine if someone told you “take a slasher trope, but modernize it”.
There just aren't many choices in this film that felt fresh or memorable.
For all of its attempts to go against the clichés, it ended up feeling very safe.
The other thing is that, unfortunately, this movie does not feel like the 90s, and if you're putting
1994 in your title and you're banking on nostalgia as one as the major entertainment factors in this
film - including some 90s songs and somewhat 90s fashion just isn't going to cut it.
And not to be that person, but some of these songs were not even released yet in 1994.
Both of these issues I have might have something to do with the fact
that I am probably not the target audience for this film, and that is fine.
This feels like something that was made specifically for Gen Z.
And I do not mean this as a bad thing, there's nothing wrong with targeting Gen
Z - I'm just saying that this was not made for somebody who actually remembers the 90s,
and unironically enjoyed the slashers "Fear Street Part 1" is referencing here.
This movie is a theme park equivalent of a time period and a horror subgenre
rather than an authentic effort.
To be honest, I fully expect that I will enjoy Part 2 of this trilogy, which is set in 1978,
more, because my idea of the 70s is kind of like this movie's idea of
the 90s - mostly based on fashion and music, I just wasn't around back then.
So, if that second movie doesn't feel like the 70s - I am not going to know.
But here? No you can't get this one past me, because I love and remember the 90s.
So as you can tell, I’m pretty middle of the road on this movie, and I haven't even talked about
the characters yet, as you might have noticed - that is because they just aren't that memorable.
There’s nothing wrong with them, they are fine, and the cast does a solid job with
what they are given - if I had to pick a standout I would go with the lead,
Kiana Madeira. She plays Deena who combines her teenage angst with resourcefulness.
But overall, none of them have any mind-blowing personalities or
complex character traits to elevate them above teen horror movie character types.
They’re serviceable, that’s kind of it,
and that is definitely on the writing and not on the actors. And as a result, I just didn't care
as much about these characters and what happened to them in this movie.
Also, as a side note, if you enjoy the ancient evil witch element of this - not a spoiler,
this is in the trilogy's trailer, and the third movie is set in 1666, it's in the title.
But if you find that concept interesting,
I highly recommend you check out “Marianne” on Netflix, and not just because it’s almost my name.
It’s a really cool French horror series that came out a couple of years ago,
there’s only one season of it, I have a review of it on my channel if you need
more information, but it has a similar element that’s central to it, and it does
really good work with that concept, and the characters, and connecting different time periods.
And that one I thought had some genuinely scary moments, which is another thing "Fear
Street" really didn't deliver on - it’s definitely much more in the realm of fun,
entertaining gore rather than actually being scary. Unless you count jump scares.
In the end, while I found this first installment of the "Fear Street" trilogy interesting enough
to watch the second movie in the future (we will definitely talk about it,
I will do a review of it) - in general, this was mostly alright for me.
It was on the entertaining side of alright, and I definitely
don't think it's a bad film, but I was generally pretty underwhelmed.
I would say the opening scene, which is the homage to "Scream", and the final confrontation plus the
ending worked the best. Everything else in between was pretty middle of the road.
It has a fun look to it, it has plenty of references to other slashers, if you're into
that. It does have some solid kills and gore, but nothing about it truly stands out, including
the time period, and it could have dissected those slasher tropes in a more interesting way.
So with all of that in mind, I’m giving “Fear Street Part 1: 1994”
a 6 out of 10, and I sincerely hope that the next two installments will have more to offer.
But what about you? Have you been looking forward to the "Fear Street" movies?
Are you a fan of R.L. Stine? Have you already seen the first movie,
and if you have, what did you think of it?
Let me know in the comments below, and also let me know what your all-time favorite slasher is.
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