Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy represents the golden standard of throwback slasher movies, perfectly emulating different eras of excellence. For their next foray into R.L. Stine’s universe, writer/director Matt Palmer steps in for an inspired adaptation of Stine’s novel, The Prom Queen. A masked maniac targets the candidates for Shadyside’s 1988 senior prom, contentedly chopping their way through the competition. That simple premise allows for gory kills, bitchy teen drama, 80s-era tunes, and a red-robed killer costume to boot. Turn back the clock for a stylish ode to the slashers of yesteryear in Netflix’s bloody blast, Fear Street: Prom Queen.
Welcome back to Shadyside, the town where “the future crawls to die.” People say that this town is cursed, that whatever happens here makes people snap. In Shadyside, serial killers are commonplace. As our story begins, Palmer immediately immerses viewers into the 80s with a moody, synth-soaked high school horror atmosphere. We also meet a full cast of characters quite quickly. The three most notable, however, are popular queen bee, Tiffany (Fina Strazza), stoner prankster, Megan (Suzanna Son), and our lead, Lori (India Fowler), plagued by her mother’s controversial past. We also meet all of the prom candidates, many of whom are closely tied into Tiffany’s inner circle. Adding even further to the suspect list are the addition of several adults: Tiffany’s enthusiastic mother, Nancy (Katherine Waterston); Tiffany’s hopeful father, teacher Dan (Chris Klein); stern Vice Principal Dolores (Lili Taylor); and soft Principal Wayland (Darrin Baker). There’s even a hot male potential love interest in The Summer I Turned Pretty breakout star David Iacono, who plays doe-eyed cutie, Tyler.
Despite spending very little time on character development, we intimately know many of these archetypes, making their interactions more easily palatable. Lori gets shouldered with the brunt of the bullying, as the town has painted her family name out to be some horrible moniker by association. As the prom queen candidates are picked off one by one, Lori’s own star begins to rise. Could she somehow manage to nab the underdog vote? Fowler’s Lori makes for an immediately compelling lead, grounded by a refreshingly sincere friendship with her sarcastic bestie, Megan. Their ride-or-die bond forms the emotional backbone of the film as the bodies pile up in increasingly nasty fashion.
As far as the horror element, Prom Queen‘s masked killer delivers no shortage of creative and brutal murders. There is very little, if any, CGI in these scenes—a genre blessing for those who prefer practical effects. Though there will not be anything truly unique or never before seen, the killer is handy with a variety of tools including but not limited to: a simple butcher knife, a cleaver, a handheld buzzsaw, and an axe. The eventual reveal(s) may leave a little to be desired for audiences that eat up these slashers like candy. The film also never goes full Prom Night, only delivers glimmers of chase scenes, but failing to go all-in on a memorable one. Accompanying the mayhem comes a soundtrack overflowing with certified hits, including White Wedding, Gloria, Sweet Dreams, Hungry Like the Wolf, and many more. At one point, Tiffany and her cronies break out into a fun coordinated dance set to Roxette’s “The Look.” These tunes all help to anchor the film’s era and tone, a full time warp to 80s prom hell.
For comparison’s sake, Prom Queen does not quite reach the heights of Leigh Janiak’s perfectly-orchestrated trilogy of terrors. Still, there can be no denying the irrisestible appeal of Fear Street as a franchise. By its very conception, R.L. Stine’s work allows for a variety of different viewpoints in an anthology-style approach. Palmer’s feature contains some of the same DNA, and even makes references to Janiak’s own Fear Street: 1978 and Sarah Fier. But this story completely stands alone, gifting us a potent final girl and nasty kills to go with its stylish atmosphere. One can only hope that some of the most notable Fear Street stories yet to be told—see: The Cheerleaders or the chilling 99 Fear Street trilogy—will soon find their own way to the big or small screen.
Living up to the young adult horror series from which it has been pulled, Fear Street: Prom Queen unfolds with a fast-paced energy, aided by its propulsive bursts of violence. As far as I’m concerned, there can never be enough slasher movies to choose from. As such, there’s an obvious bias in having fun here that maybe a more casual viewer or the slasher-averse would not necessarily gravitate toward. An iconic killer costume, hard-hitting 80s needle drops, a strong female lead, and a twisty final act help to make this Fear Street truly go for the jugular.
Put in your ballots for Fear Street: Prom Queen, cutting down the competition exclusively on Netflix on Friday, May 23rd.
