Fear Street Part 1: 1994

Fear Street Part 1: 1994

By James Davidson

“Fear Street Part 1: 1994” is the first in a new trilogy of horror flicks that is being released on Netflix over the next few weeks. It was released on July 2nd 2021, with part two being released on July 9th and part three on July 16th. This first film takes place in 1994 in a town called Shadyside, when a group of friends discover the supernatural reason behind their town’s dark and murderous history. The group of friends must fight the spirit of an ancient witch and her cursed henchmen in order to save their town as well as themselves.

While the first film is showing the ending, the following sequels will move back in time and presumably reveal more about the mysterious curse that hangs over Shadyside. The uniqueness of the trilogy and how it is being released intrigued me and is what drew me to this movie. While this first installment lacks a bit of depth, in my opinion, it is still fascinating enough to pique my interest in the rest of the trilogy.

I really enjoyed the style that this movie was written in. It is very reminiscent of horror films such as “Scream” or “The Cabin in the Woods” in the way it almost pokes fun at classic horror tropes. There is a lot of tongue in cheek in the writing style of this film and I found it to be quite enjoyable. It was almost as if the writers were trying to cram as many horror film cliches into the film as possible in a sarcastic manner.

While I enjoyed the writing style of the film, I thought some of the information shared in the writing was lacking in some aspects. There were a few scenes that I felt didn’t further the plot at all and seemed to have no purpose. I also felt like some of the characters were not as developed as they should have been. I wish the writers would have taken some of the unnecessary scenes out and fleshed out some of the characters and given us a bit more information. However, it is entirely possible that the writers purposefully left some questions to address in the sequel films.

This film is rated R for bloody violence, drug content, language, and some sexual content. This movie is very gory and filled with violence and definitely only appropriate for mature viewers. The film series is also based on some R.L. Stine novels of the same name. If you are a fan of the books, these films might be worth checking out.

“Fear Street Part 1: 1994” is a cheeky horror flick that is fun and definitely raises some interesting questions. While I felt like the characters could have been developed better, I think this movie did just enough to get me to watch the next two in the series. It earns 3 out of 5 stars.