Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (2021)
Three movies. Three weeks. One killer story.
I was super excited about this when it came out - I mean, at least as excited as I normally get, which is probably more a lukewarm “did you hear about that thing?” kind of excitement compared to others. Still, a three-part horror movie event that’s based on books I probably read at some point when I was a bit younger - who knows. Look, point is Netflix Originals still have a track record of not leading me wrong - probably in part because I only check out the ones that interest me in the first place, but a three part horror story sounded great to me. We’ll see if we hit the others for review or if we just leave it at number one -get ready to stroll down Fear Street.
We’ve got a bit of a mix of story going on here. We have a teen romance drama going on. We have a horror curse mystery that’s going on. It’s a bunch, and in turn it throws a bunch of elements together. At the low end, we have two towns that are separate parts of the same coin - the dump murder-infested Shadyside and the everything-is-awesome Sunnyvale. We than get our main character, whose embroiled in a romance drama when her love moves to the happier town and finds herself a fancy jock boyfriend. It seems irrelevant, but it then adds importance to the plot when it leads to a bit of a fateful prank that spins everything upside down - introducing us to a dark secret that will permeate this three movie spread as we try to figure out this dark curse before those now afflicted by it all get murdered off. For this movie, the first in the spread, we stick with just the “present day” - that being the 1994 in the title, but we’ll get to the earlier times in the other movies (should I ever get there).
As far as the actors go, they do a good job. They skew younger, but they can be quite expressive and we have a range of moments that aren’t all just one hundred percent terrified. Yes, at times it’s not the most convincing, but it’s totally acceptable deliveries for the most part. Really though, they shine at moments, and it’s far more impressive than some of the stuff we’d get from older days of younger actors. It will, perhaps, lead to some uncomfortable situations for some with some of the content in there - but it’s nothing overly explicit or the likes, and it’s also something most horror fans have dealt with worse in movies for decades now.
The characters aren’t bad. They are surprisingly likable and hate-able, quite multi-faceted in that sense, as though they were real life. Yes, they can be a little hyper-focused mayhaps, but they feel rather believable in most regards. Yes, you’ll occasionally get an action that seems overly stupid, and a character or two might be far more one note than others even within the main group. I can’t speak to the representation of something like the lesbian angle and how that would float in the 90’s. I can’t speak towards the fun crowd drug angle either, but the point is they all seem quite believable with their presentation on screen. Oh, and when it comes to killers, they look pretty suitably creepy or intimidating.
He’s right behind me isn’t he?
As far as the outfits and everything go, it’s pretty well handled. You get a good amount of convincing attire for the time period. Things get suitable messed up by wear and tear and blood stuffs. The settings - buildings, woods, all that sort of thing - also look great. It’s varied enough that you don’t get tired of seeing the same place over and over. Characters are easy enough distinguish from each other via costume, and when it comes to the killers each has a unique look and are suitably creepy and messed up as things go. Of course, you get some of the more special effects with computer help, and everything looks pretty darn good.
Audio here is on point. I mean, I’m partial to the soundtrack because a lot of it is the good stuff I listened to growing up. There’s more to the soundtrack then just the radio play of the time of course, It’s all balanced quite well so you can hear what everyone is saying, even when it gets to be the bumping horror tension parts. Yeah, you’ll get the quick jump scare stings in there as well - and the radio play soundtrack won’t be as effective for you if it’s not your particular jam (even though I’d argue it’s still quite good). Line deliveries are pretty on point, with maybe a few stragglers in there. Audio certainly is not where the movie is going to let you down - unless you hate good music I suppose.
Now, the last part is what it brings to the thinking person - which is the stuff I can point out but never really talk on because I’m here for fun and excitement, not to tear down and disassemble the intricate pathological highways towards what it means to be human, scared, or gay. It’s there, it’s got all sorts of undertones about being afraid of the future and the effects of bad areas. It brings it all in with a supernatural curse plot, yes, but it’s still there for someone to be able to rip up and really dig into and make a thesis out of if they wanted to. That being said, by the end it really doesn’t pull any punches, so get ready for those hooks in a more visceral way then a thoughtful one.
The fun room bathroom.
I enjoyed the movie then, and I enjoyed it on the rewatch. It’s a fun horror movie, and it makes for a great event style watch given it has the three distinct parts that elaborate on the whole mysterious web that is the curse. The acting is good, and it still has elements of a lot of things - like slasher flicks - but does enough that it’s not just going through the routine motions and feeling like a carbon copy of what you have seen before. It can be watched as a single movie - particularly the first one, given that it sets up the characters that frame the others, but it also works better when combined with the others to give you the full story effect.