Fear Street Part Three: 1666 (2021)
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Fear Street Part Three: 1666 Movie Review
Fear Street Part Three: 1666 is a 2021 supernatural horror film directed by Leigh Janiak and starring Kiana Madeira. It’s a stellar conclusion to this terrific trilogy.
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“How dare you bring this filth into our home“
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In 1666, a colonial town is gripped by a witch hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come, while teenagers in 1994 try to put an end to their town’s curse before it is too late. This last entry takes the action all the way back centuries ago and its influences are obvious from the very first scene – Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’. The aesthetic and the dread over jump scares all stem from that highly acclaimed indie horror flick.
It was a strong choice to focus on homosexuality instead of gender as the driving culprit of the mob’s fear and hatred toward Sarah Fier herself. Thematically speaking, more could have been done with this premise, but overall this is by far the most sophisticated of the three movies, and also stylistically speaking and in its horror elements it is the most refined.
It was a great choice to have Kiana Madeira perform as Sarah Fier. The whole going back to the past to understand the curse reminded me pleasantly of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series. It was a perfect way for the protagonist to realize who the villain is, thus the third act of this film seemed better crafted because of it.
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Still though, I personally did not like the present day scenes all that much even though they were quite solid. The first two acts were infinitely more interesting and better crafted technically speaking. The 1994 conclusion tied the entire franchise up very well, but somewhat to the expense of the second entry, which I loved, but now I see that it turned out to be somewhat redundant in the bigger scope of things. This section in the end felt jarring tonally, but at least in terms of storytelling, it made sense and the villain twist was excellent. That twist was the one tie-in for the second movie that really worked.
Another twist in the past that saw Solomon Goode, the only friend of Sarah’s, turn out to be the culprit to the murders and the curse was super dark. This is the one thing that this entire series excelled at – creating tension and utter despair for its protagonists to the point that you feel like they are simply lost and could not be saved in any way.
The hanging scene was heartbreaking as the movie built that up before, so that it was heartfelt when it happened. The emotional investment and character development are the highlights of the entire series, though here the supporting players were undercooked, but Sarah is wonderful, courageous and inspirational. The movie thankfully doesn’t shy away from the horrors of the 17th century.
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The best parts in Fear Street Part Three: 1666 are the early dreadful scenes of the pig eating her babies, of everything decaying and the tunnel scenes are once again very mystical and intricate. The world building, dialogue and mythology are as intricate as ever and the cinematography and especially the score fit the time period deftly. The ending was fine, but given that the build-up was so strong, I was a bit disappointed in how it all turned out, though I will be more than happy to see an entire cinematic universe built out of this franchise as the trilogy itself was so good.
