[Film Review] Fear Street Part One: 1994 (2021)

Fear Street Part One: 1994 (2021), the first part in an epic Netflix horror trilogy event finally hit our screens after months of waiting. This trilogy has everything going for it - the nostalgia factor for those of us who grew up reading Fear Street (1989), Point Horror (1991), and Goosebumps (1992), the thought of three new slasher movies being beamed directly into our homes, and the promise of an R rating, and therefore lots of blood and violence, for all three movies.

While my plans are locked in for the next two Friday nights when the next two instalments hit, right now it’s all about Fear Street Part One: 1994. This movie isn’t just set in the ‘90s, it feels like it actually came out in the ‘90s as well. In fact, the opening scene is a beautiful homage to the film that brought the slasher back to the forefront in the ‘90s - Wes Craven’s Scream (1996). There’s a shock death, a piercing musical sting every time the cloaked killer sweeps past the camera, and even the opening theme song sounds incredibly like Trouble In Woodsboro/Sidney's Lament from the Scream soundtrack. After the opening five minutes, ‘90s horror fans will feel entirely at home.

Fear Street Part One: 1994 has the challenging job of setting up the story not only for its own movie but also for the two movies that will follow it, even though they are both set in earlier time periods. And, to be fair, it does this very well without too much messing around. Shadyside, Ohio, where our story is set has a terrible murder problem. As if that wasn’t bad enough for the residents, the neighbouring town, Sunnyvale, is one of the most successful towns ever. There’s also the small matter of the legend of the Shadyside witch, Sarah Fier, who cursed the town when she was killed in the 1600s. 

Our main characters are Deena (Kiana Madeira), her best friends Kate (Julia Rechwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger), her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), and her ex-girlfriend Sam (Olivia Welch). Aside from the drama of their current breakup, Deena and Sam are also with the drama of now being rivals after Sam moves to Sunnyvale. 

After a prank gone wrong on the bus as the Shadyside team returns from a school football game, Sam ends up in the hospital. It soon seems that her new boyfriend, Peter (Jeremy Ford) may be seeking revenge when Deena, Kate, and Simon are harassed by an unseen person in a skeleton costume. However, when other killers start to pop up in the town of Shadyside, it seems that the witch and her curse may not be an urban legend after all. 

Fear Street Part One: 1994 takes the excellent story we expect from this type of young adult horror book and adds enough blood, gore, violence and scares to make it more suited to an adult audience. There are some very gnarly kills, the body count is high, and the killers’ designs feel familiar in the genre and yet stand out enough by themselves to make them iconic.

While the movie does feel at home in the ‘90s, and there are some absolute bangers on the soundtrack, it feels like they’re slightly shoving the ‘90s angle down your throat with as many 30 second clips of ‘90s songs as they could get away with. In the first 20 minutes or so alone we’ve had Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, Iron Maiden, Bush, Portishead, Radiohead, and Cypress Hill. However, I will give them massive points for using Hey by the Pixies, because it’s one of my favourite songs in the whole world. 

The movie also feels a little long in place, especially in the final act where it feels like there should be non-stop action. And while there is a kick-ass plan or two to take down the killers as we near the end, there’s also a lot of location changes that stall the action, a lot of talking when they probably should be running away, and people thinking when they’re on the verge of death is the perfect time to have sex. Actually, that last part is perfect for a retro-style slasher. 

Fear Street Part One: 1994 started off great, and it set up the next film enough to make me feel excited about what will come next, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark in the third act for me. The final standoff with the killers felt a little mean spirited for my liking, and there are too many plans going on, which means there are a few places where it feels like the film is going to end, but it just keeps going. 

Overall, Fear Street Part One: 1994 is great, and as a massive ‘80s and ‘90s slasher fan, it feels fun to go back to the type of horror I grew up with. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the trilogy unfolds, and it’ll be interesting to see how the stories link up to form one huge tale. If anything, Fear Street Part One: 1994 has taught me that eating cheeseburgers and listening to the Pixies is my idea of a dream date as well.

Read [Film Review] Fear Street Part Two: 1978 (2021)

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