Fear Street (Netflix Horror Trilogy)

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Based on some teenage horror books, the first one (1994) was released this week with the sequels coming out in the following weeks.

Anyway, 1994 was a fun slasher movie with one too many 90s songs but otherwise good fun. I’m intrigued to watch the other two as they go back chronologically.
 
I loved all these books as a teenager (and have used most of 2020 and lockdowns to scour charity shops for old copies of the books which are now selling for a small fortune) so was very much looking forward to these films.

The first was a bit meh for me, I enjoyed the overall story (though I think Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark did it much better a few years ago) but some of it was just very cringe, it felt like a R rated Goosbeumps (which isn’t a suprise considering R L Stine wrote both series)

Interesting to see how the next two films play out and whether they’re are bonanfide hits for Netflix (I’m sure they would have totally bombed had they been released at the cinema as originally intended!)
 
I’m surprised to learn these were slated for a theatrical release. What was the strategy going to be considering there are 3 films being released two weeks apart? It felt very made for Netflix (and had a stellar lineup of Netflix regulars in the cast).

The first one was awful - not scary, quite obnoxious and with the vibe of a Halloween special of the (dreadful) Riverdale. The second was far better in every sense.
 
I thought the second was weaker. The kills were just very plain and they cut off from most of them (if you don’t have the stomach to show kids dying then don’t do it).

Good cast though. I’m glad everyone is coming back for the next one.
 
I thought the second was weaker. The kills were just very plain and they cut off from most of them (if you don’t have the stomach to show kids dying then don’t do it).

Good cast though. I’m glad everyone is coming back for the next one.
I've never understood the point of making a slasher if you're just going to cut away during the kills. Nobody watches a slasher for the compelling dialogue; we watch them to see Amber inexplicably go for a shower during a frat party and get hacked to buggery as a result.
 
Yeah and all the kills were just an axe to the head.
 
I loved the Point Horror books! Did they ever get made on the screen?
 
I thought they were both pretty bad. The first one had totally unlikeable leads: Deena acts selfish and is manipulating and gaslighting her ex all the time and the actress playing Sam was basically sleepwalking through the whole film. The opening murder was the best sequence, the rest lacked tension and suspense. It also didn't even remotely feel like the 90s at all, in spite of the songs used throughout, which must have cost a fortune. At least Sophie B. Hawkins got some cash out of this mediocre affair.
The witch and her legion of undead murderers also weren't particularly scary.

The second one felt sooooo long. At some point I thought it should be over soon, but there were actually 25 minutes left.

Both films also felt unnecessarily cruel without having earned it if that makes sense.

I'll watch the third one for completion's sake, but I'm going in with extremely low expectations.
At least I have Scream and (to a lesser degree) Halloween Kills to satisfy my slasher cravings soon.
 
I loved the Point Horror books! Did they ever get made on the screen?
Same! I would be over to Waterstones or Dillons every weekend to see if I had a new one to consumer.

They never made it to the big screen but there are several tv adaptions being developed.

A point horror anthology series for HBO Max

The Forbidden Game trilogy

R.L. Stines Point Horror Babysitter tv series

And not quite Point Horror but just as big in the early 90’s, Christopher Pikes Midnight Club is coming to Netflix soon from the team behind The Haunting of Hill House / Bly Manor.
 
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I enjoyed Christopher Pike much more than Point Horror. I always thought they were better written, but I did try one recently and realised they are anything BUT well written... :D
 
I enjoyed Christopher Pike much more than Point Horror. I always thought they were better written, but I did try one recently and realised they are anything BUT well written... :D

Likewise, I think it’s because they were more edgy than the point horror as because they contained more real teen issues and were a bit edgier which I suppose bridged the gap until you were old enough to start adult horrors. But yeah they don’t hold up quite as well years later.
 
Likewise, I think it’s because they were more edgy than the point horror as because they contained more real teen issues and were a bit edgier which I suppose bridged the gap until you were old enough to start adult horrors. But yeah they don’t hold up quite as well years later.

The descriptions of all the jocks and the cheerleaders in each book, in which they all look exactly the same, (white, rich and hot), killed me off... :D
 
The descriptions of all the jocks and the cheerleaders in each book, in which they all look exactly the same, (white, rich and hot), killed me off... :D
Yes!! I never realised how all these characters across the 90s teen genre were essentially white middle class kids with parents that were conveniently never around. There really was no diversity or representation unless it was a slur against a minor character 😬

I’ve seen many complaining about these fear street films because “there weren’t lesbians or Black people in the fear street books. .. this isn’t the fear street I grew up on” utterly gross 🙄
 
Fuck me, the 1994 one was SHIT (Apart from the shredder kill). Why set an homage to slashers in 1994, when the genre was almost non-existent? Why make it a chase movie and not a slasher? Why does it not feel like it's set in the 90s AT ALL?
The comedy doesn't work and I just didn't give a shit about any of the characters. I'll still watch the other two but I won't be happy about it.
 
I seem to remember the chapters in these books being approximately THREE PAGES long with each one ending on a cliffhanger which usually turned out to be a cat knocking over a lamp or a "study buddy" looming at the window.

There was a self contained trilogy called "99 Fear Street: The House of EVIL" and THAT would have made for a great campy adaptation since it was an Amityville knock-off with a truly ludicrous ending.

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The third was the weakest. The Puritan stuff was super cheap looking and the accent work was woeful. The neon-y ending was fun.

I think as a trilogy aimed at teens it works but they got weaker with each installment.
 
I hated the Puritan stuff but the second half was better but still flawed. Overall was super underwhelmed with it
 
Goodness this really was terrible, wasn’t it? I maintain the second one was the best but the third was almost unwatchable.
 

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