The Fourth Instalment Doesn’t Quite Live Up To The Trilogy

From Chernin Entertainment, Fear Street: Prom Queen is the latest era-specific slasher based on the R.L. Stine book series after the original Fear Street trilogy from writer/director Leigh Janiak dropped weekly on Netflix in the summer of 2021.

Adapted by writer/director Matt Palmer (Calibre) & co-writer Donald McLeary, the story brings us back to the fictional town of Shadyside as the high school class of ‘88 is preparing for prom with the race for the coveted title of “Prom Queen” getting more vicious as time gets closer.

As the typical set of “It Girls” – led by Tiffany Falconer (Paper Girls actress Fina Strazza) – launch their campaigns for the crown, an unexpected entrant joins the field in the form of Lori Granger (The Agency actress India Fowler): a sweet, intelligent young woman attempting to overcome her tragic, high-profile family backstory and restore the image of the Granger name.

But, as the trailer kindly states, “It’s Shadyside, when’s it all go wrong?” On Prom Night, of course!

Not long after everyone arrives, the Prom Queen candidates start to mysteriously disappear one by one. But who would do this? Why would they do this? Jealousy? Betrayal? Righting the wrongs of Shadyside’s past? It’s all on the table as the candidates attempt to survive before the crown is awarded.

Alongside Fowler & Strazza, the cast features some notable names including some with past on-screen prom experience: Ariana Greenblatt (Barbie) as Christy Renault, Suzanna Son (“The Idol”) as Megan Rogers, David Iacono (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”) as Tyler, Chris Klein (American Pie) as Dan Falconer, Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them) as Nancy Falconer, Ella Rubin (Until Dawn) as Melissa, & Lili Taylor (Say Anything) as VP Dolores Brekenridge.

Picture: Fear Street: Prom Queen – Chernin Entertainment

While a well-built cast with some high-profile names can go a long way to making your mark as a 4th installment of a franchise, a standalone film without the aid of a carryover character can be a tall order. Outside of the Shadyside town history, Fear Street: Prom Queen had to essentially start from scratch. A mural to commemorate the massacre at Camp Nightwing and the scribbling of “Sarah Fier Lives!” on a bathroom wall are not much to grow on if you’re Matt Palmer and company.

However, the foundation of the film seems to rely more on a combination of R.L. Stein’s original novel & the high school set slashers of the 1970s and 1980s; most notably Prom Night, the Halloween influenced revenge film starring Laurie Strode herself Jamie Lee Curtis and featuring a far more creepy janitor to distract us all. Netflix went so far as to mock up posters influenced by Prom Night and Brian DePalma’s Carrie in promotion of the film. Even the killer’s outfit & mask was inspired by the 1976 Brooke Shields’ psychological thriller Alice, Sweet Alice with its raincoat texture and creepy facial expression (though I may add the red-robed Imperial Royal Guards from Return of the Jedi as well).

Fear Street: Prom Queen relishes far more in the sometimes campy, always gory nature of its kills than pretending to be more like the previous 3 films that seemed far more interested in the town lore, its supernatural influence, & a more Scream-inspired poppiness and mystery. This new film is a blunt instrument with in-your-face mean girls and knife-to-the-face murders. Shadyside may play a part in the subtext of what transpires, but the meat of what’s on screen is just pure chase, slash, & bleed with a side of intimidation.

The film’s best traits lie in the creativity of the killer’s work itself, using more of what’s available to them than relying on the one standard sharp object that more traditional slasher villains may use. Power saws, paper cutters, and a good old electrocution make fans of the genre delight in our own twisted ways.

Much like the previous Fear Street films, Prom Queen also LOVES an era-specific needle drop, a movie heartthrob poster in a bedroom, and a nostalgic wardrobe choice to make us feel like we’ve stepped back into the end of the Reagan era. Nothing says mid-88 like a dance sequence featuring young women in Star-Spangled spandex shaking their hips to Roxette (even though the song used, “The Look” did not come out by the Spring of ’88 as it was on an album released in October and dropped as a single in early ‘89).

While Prom Queen gets quite a few things right in theme, cast, & kills, it unfortunately suffers in story, villain reveals, & 3rd act performances that make you wonder if the kills were worth the ride. Solid performances from Fowler & Strazza for most of the film can only mask the large heaps of exposition and painfully repetitive (and super basic) dialogue throughout.

The 3rd act, starting with the anti-climactic & supremely obvious villain reveal at the school and ending with the dumbest final girl standoff I’ve seen in a while, REALLY takes away from the pleasurable ping pong between listening to Rick Astley and seeing someone’s limb get slashed off. The laughable dialogue, a cartoonish villain’s lack of intensity, & very awkward chemistry make the final showdown almost erase a mostly enjoyable popcorn horror experience. I’d love to call out one actress in particular, but I’ll stay non-spoiler so you can not enjoy it yourself in real time.

But, overall, Fear Street: Prom Queen looks the part of a late 80s-set slasher with the sequins, synth sounds, & stabbings that horror fans, especially us Elder-Millenial/Gen Xers, love to revisit again and again. An elite amount of 80s pop hits, a talented young cast, and a few standout kills try desperately to be enough to step out from its franchise trilogy shadow. Still, a poorly executed final act complete with obvious motives, a sad excuse for a villain performance, & cringey dialogue will turn some of its more discernible fans of the genre away. Mostly watchable, most definitely gory in line with the other films, but most certainly the 4th best Fear Street film.

Watch Fear Street: Prom Queen If You Like

• Fear Street Trilogy: 1994, 1978, 1666
• Prom Night
• Heathers
• Carrie
• Mean Girls
• Stranger Things

MVP of Fear Street: Prom Queen

Quirky best friends Megan & Melissa

We all love our fabulous Final Girls and standout serial killers, but so many slasher horror films need a delightfully weird or voice of reason best friend to succeed. P.J. Soles in Halloween. Rose McGowan in Scream. These characters take us into directions we didn’t know we needed while saying what the more pure Final Girls won’t or can’t say to maintain their moral high ground.

In Prom Queen, we get two opposing yet equally important versions of the Final Girl’s best friend: the far more outlandish, pot smoking horror fiend that tells the hard truth and doesn’t mind taking the fall in Megan Rogers & the loyal lapdog who will attempt to steer her alpha bitch bestie away from her worst instincts and give the voice of reason in a situation gone too far in Tiffany’s closest wolf in the pack Melissa. Both characters vitally serve the film as an intervention between the two opposing forces that drive the film.

Suzanna Son gives life to the film as Megan with her Annie Lennox/David Bowie fashion sense & counterculture vibe that leads her to the conspiracy that no one saw or wanted to believe, while Ella Rubin plays Melissa as a friend who will do anything until she goes full Meatloaf and won’t do … that … for Tiffany anymore. She is the breaking point in a one piece flag bikini. Two standout performances in vitally important roles.

While it may not live up to the eventized & mysteriously fun original trilogy, Fear Street: Prom Queen will largely satisfy slasher fans old and new with a modern Mean Girls meets Prom Night (1980) twist on high school horror.