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Fear Street Part One: 1994 Movie Review

Fear Street Part One: 1994 is a 2021 teen slasher film directed by Leigh Janiak and starring Kiana Madeira. It’s a flawed, but very entertaining first entry in this trilogy.

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“It began as a prank… and ended in murder“

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After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that’s plagued their notorious town for centuries. This is the first entry in a series that is going to be a trilogy based on the eponymous book series by R. L. Stine. This is Netflix’s first foray into the trilogy business, but they are going to do something completely different with this one – each entry is being released a week from each other. It’s going to be a massive gamble that I am sure will pay off for the streaming service, successfully removing the line between film and television in the process.

This first entry very much feels like one. There are so many questions, hints and setup for the future entries that they forgot to imbue this one with the necessary strong storytelling and thrills. In the horror department, the movie is surprisingly weak. I do get that it is referencing the many slasher movies from the eighties and nineties (the ‘Scream’ homage in the opening being the most obvious reference point), but still I wished for more originality and more effectiveness in these slasher scenes.

Then how come that this movie is still solid if it fails in the horror department when it is a horror movie after all? Well, that is due to everything else being surprisingly competent. The characterization is particularly strong with the protagonist as the highlight. Deena is terrific and very likable while Kiana Madeira’s performance is excellent.

The lesbian romance is one of the best parts of the movie as it is very well written and emotionally investing in the end. I liked this couple quite a bit and they were different enough from other couples in horror movies that they gave it a modern edge. Fear Street Part One also benefits from solid supporting characters and just a lot of fun in their group dynamic and some good humor here and there. The neon colors ooze from the screen for better and for worse, but for the most part I found the aesthetic, the score and the feel of the movie very nostalgic and warm.

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Fear Street Part One: 1994 screams first entry in a series due to too many hints and questions left for future installments to be answered. In the horror department, the flick is so-so, though the various 80s and 90s slasher homages are fun. The movie is at its best in the characterization as this group of characters is well developed and fun. It looks and sounds very nostalgic and charming as well. This is the first film in Netflix’s trilogy that will be releasing each entry a week from each other in what is truly an audacious experiment, one that is effectively blurring the line between television and cinema even more.

My Rating – 3.5