NETFLIX ORIGINAL
(Non-Spoiler Review)
If you've ever been a book reader or visited a library during your teens, you must be familiar with the name "R. L. Stine". He is the author of the famous "Goosebumps" and "Fear Street" novels. Netflix announced that they were making movies based on the Fear Street series, it definitely grabbed my attention.
Even though the movie isn't a direct adaptation of any of the books, the director Leigh Janiak creates an entirely new story.
Fear Street Part One: 1994 follows a group of friends as they investigate the secrets behind a series of bloody murders in their hometown of Shadyside. While Sunnyvale, the neighbouring town, boasts a storied past, success and prosperity, Shadyside appears more crumbled, mired in poverty and cursed with cycles of gruesome murders.
No one knows why Shadyside is cursed. Some people suspect that Sarah Fier, a witch burned alive centuries ago, cast a spell on the town. Deena (Kiana Madeira) sees someone like the mall murderer out in the distance, thinking she was the target of an unfunny prank. But her AOL-using brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), who is well-versed in the town’s history of violence, starts to connect how the ghost-like figures are part of a pattern. They receive help from their classmates Kate (Julia Rehwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger), who make money selling 'candy' to fellow high schoolers. Everyone in the group is terrorized by killers who look like they came from a costume party, but for some reason, there’s a special target on Sam (Olivia Scott Welch), Deena’s ex-partner who moved to Sunnyvale.
I was never a fan of the slasher/serial killer genre, be it "Scream", "Halloween" etc. This movie may have tried to change my opinion but didn't keep me hooked until the 'supernatural' part of the story was involved. There were moments that I wasn't prepared for and never expected to happen. Again, as it happens in these types of movies, the body count suddenly piles up, and the film's terror becomes all that more immediate.
CONCLUSION:
Full of jump scares and eerie tones, Fear Street Part One may be the one to watch if you are into this genre. It's scary, bloody and has a supernatural storyline, which is hard to miss. The story will be continued in "Fear Street Part Two: 1978", to be released next week.
TSHC's SCORE: 7.5/10