For many a ‘90s youth, R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps was their gateway to the creepy, the supernatural, and the things that go bump in the night. And, leading up to the graduation towards full-fledged adult horror, Stine’s Fear Street series was meant to bridge the gap for teenagers. The series didn’t have the global success of Goosebumps but it did garner a loyal fan following. A few years ago in 2021, a live-action franchise came to life with Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy, which gained commercial and critical acclaim. Now, the franchise is moving on with a fresh story in Fear Street: Prom Queen, a standalone fourth installment. It’s an 1980s-soaked teen slasher that, unfortunately, doesn’t quite live up to its source material nor its cinematic predecessors.
In this installment, directed and written by Matt Palmer with Donald McLeary as its co-writer, we go back to Shadyside High School in May 1988. The prom is only two days away and the competition for prom queen is pretty darn stiff, especially for protagonist Lori Granger (India Fowler). She’s not the most popular girl in school for several reasons, most of which aren’t her fault.
Even worse, she’s up against her neighbor and lifelong tormenter Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza). She’s a quintessential mean girl with a trio of sheep… erm, I mean, friends called the Wolfpack, who are also inexplicably running for prom queen. That goes against high school hierarchy rules, but whatever. Rounding out the candidate lineup is Christy, who checks the “bad girl dating older dude with motorcycle” stereotype box. In the time leading up to prom and throughout that fateful night, the prom queens go missing until the grim truth unfolds.
From an aesthetic and auditory viewpoint, Fear Street: Prom Queen is quite a treat thanks to great set design, cinematography, and a pretty catchy and synth-heavy soundtrack. (Did we need yet another film using Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” like it is THEE song of the 1980s? Probably not, but I will allow it.) We get a more fleshed out version of Shadyside with new locales and a deeper exploration of its high school in ways that perhaps hint at the town’s continuous rapid decline in the early 1990s. Sassy Magazine, wood-paneled walls, windbreakers, acid-washed jeans, Ramones sweatshirts, and more help to shape this world. However, Fear Street: Prom Queen misses its mark in the areas that matter the most.
Majority of the main and secondary characters, including Lori, fit into certain trope bubbles. But they are so underdeveloped that they never even fill that space to its potential. For example, the film’s resident horror nerd and Lori’s bestie Megan (Suzanna Son) briefly holds a Fangoria magazine and does a couple of ill-timed gory pranks. However, her dialogue nor train of thought never leans into her supposed breadth of knowledge.
Standout star Strazza gives it all she’s got as an irritating brat and holds the film on her shoulders, delivering the best scenes and drama that Fear Street: Prom Queen offers. When there are good scenes, they hit the tonal beats quite well. However, they are outweighed by conversations with stilted and at times awkward delivery that don’t really express any real depth nor move the narrative forward in any meaningful way.
There’s too much expositing versus emoting and too few moments of establishing the relationships and dynamics between characters. Unlike most Fear Street tales, both on screen and print, the adults are far more present. However, they feel more like place markers until they are shoehorned into vital aspects of the storyline. There’s no layering and threading connections that make the film’s revelations feel earned or truly satisfying in any way. Many scenes feel choppy and consistently disrupt its already uneven pacing. This is unfortunate considering this film’s lean runtime is only a little under 90 minutes.
All of this feels glaringly obvious in comparison to the franchise’s relatively solid previous three films. Leigh Janiak directed and wrote all of those installments, and missing a woman’s touch is quite obvious here. Some could argue that the trilogy format gave the main timeline’s protagonists more time for proper fleshing out.
However, I’d argue that the first installment stands solidly on its own in terms of narrative, sharp and memorable dialogue, and character development. There’s the captain of the cheerleading squad who deals drugs and makes good grades in hopes of leaving her sh---y hometown. Deena, the star of the series, is gritty, witty, and isn’t afraid to take action, even when she’s shivering in fear. Those kinds of characters elevate a film to something worth watching.
It’s fine that this 1988 event doesn’t play heavily into the previous lore, save for a final scene. But, again, there’s not enough seeding of important connections nor complexity of characters to make it compelling. There’s no morsels of duplicitousness, insecurity, intriguing mystery, or anything else to make the viewer want to finish the meal.
Speaking of that meal, it culminates in a disappointingly predictable conclusion. Was I expecting “elevated horror” with deeper thematic underpinnings? No. But I was expecting a satisfying, suspenseful, and consistently entertaining story and compelling characters.
Fear Street: Prom Queen’s kills do lean into some rather campy and entertaining gore, even if they aren’t particularly inventive. I mean, you already earned an R-rating for language, sexually suggestive material, and such. You might as well throw some extra pizazz in there. And the killer figure? Well, let’s just say this antagonist looks fun and that’s about it.
All in all, Fear Street: Prom Queen is certainly not the worse horror movie in existence. But it does pale in comparison to its film and print foundations.
Fear Street: Prom Queen ⭐ (2.5 of 5)
Fear Street: Prom Queen hits Netflix on May 23.
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