Slasher movies are in the midst of yet another renaissance thanks to recent releases like Josh Ruben’s Heart Eyes, the upcoming reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer, and the seventh Scream film, set to continue Ghostface’s masked rampage in 2026. It makes sense, then, that the new instalment of the Fear Street franchise would lean into the stabbiest of horror subgenres. But perhaps no-one told director Matt Palmer that, while harvesting the fertile crop of slasher films gone by, it’s also possible — and desirable — to sow something fresh, too.
The original Fear Street trilogy, based on the books by R.L. Stine, was directed by Leigh Janiak and released as something of an event by Netflix in 2021, over the course of three weeks. But this new film relies primarily on the goodwill generated by that event, rather than bringing much in the way of original ideas or interesting characters of its own.
As half-baked as a high-school-canteen pretzel.
What the initial films did so well with their sprawling storytelling, a thoughtful queer love story, and memorable set-pieces — people are still talking about that bread slicer! — Prom Queen squanders. Something that might generously be described as aiming-for-contained instead feels cheap. We’ve met all these characters a hundred times, and the gore-soaked kills that thin their number feel unearned and uninspired. The movie’s bigger names — Lily Taylor, Katherine Waterston and Chris Klein — are underused, and the whole affair feels as half-baked as a high-school-canteen pretzel. After all, ’80s needle-drops, over-zealous kills, Fangoria props and knowing movie references (yes, we’ve seen Prom Night and Mean Girls, thanks) only go so far.
India Fowler does her very best with the material she’s given as the high-school misfit at the centre of the action, but she can’t save this lifeless adaptation of R.L. Stine’s 15th Fear Street book from feeling lazy and cynical. If we’re to revisit Shadyside High anytime in the future, they need a new cheer: “Bring back Leigh Janiak!”