Netflix's New Fear Street Movie Will Need To Work Without A Key Component Of The Original Trilogy

During the quarantine era of the COVID-19 pandemic, major cultural events were shaped by an internet connection. Many remember the weeks' worth of discussions after watching Netflix's "Tiger King" shortly after the world started shutting down, and the hours spent toiling away in virtual worlds like "Animal Crossing." But for horror fans, one of the biggest events happened in 2021, when Netflix released a trilogy of horror films based on R.L. Stine's "Fear Street" novels, with a new film released three Fridays in a row. Director Leigh Janiak created "Fear Street Part One: 1994," "Fear Street Part Two: 1978," and "Fear Street Part Three: 1666" based on Stine's books but without directly following any specific storyline, and they instantly became must-watch movies.

Horror fans would spend the week between film releases trying to predict what might happen next, share theories on the platform formerly known as Twitter, and get into heated debates about which was the "best" film in the series. It became one of those "you had to be there" moments and audiences have been begging for more "Fear Street" films ever since. Well, the time has come to return to Shadyside with "Fear Street: Prom Queen," the first film in the series to be directly adapted from one of Stine's books rather than be inspired by them. Directed by Matt Palmer who co-wrote the film with Donald McLeary, "Fear Street: Prom Queen" looks at Shadyside in 1988, after the events of "Part Two" and before the events of "Part One." The story centers on Shadyside High's most popular girls in school as they campaign for prom queen, but find themselves the targets of a murderer.

"Fear Street: Prom Queen" recently started production, but can the film succeed without being a part of a cultural event in the middle of lockdown?

One of the other benefits of the original "Fear Street" trilogy was its cast, which incorporated talented up-and-comers with already-established household names. For teen and young adult audiences, "Fear Street: Prom Queen" stars like India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, David Iacono, and Ella Rubin might be names folks already recognize, but may be relative unknowns to older viewers who missed out on "Paper Girls," the "Gossip Girls" reboot, or "The Summer I Turned Pretty." Fortunately, the cast includes "Barbie" star Arianna Greenblatt, while the adult cast includes Chris Klein, Lili Taylor, and Katherine Waterston. But will that be enough to get folks outside the target demo to turn in the way "Stranger Things" stars Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke could do for the original trilogy? 

One of the benefits is that R.L. Stine's "The Prom Queen" is one of the most popular books of the entire "Fear Street" series, and since it's a novel that first came out in 1992, the film is pulling at the nostalgia of Gen X and elder millennials who either lived through the period themselves or read the books in their youth. But the original trilogy came out when people were, for the most part, stuck at home. This meant streaming services became a necessary way to maintain sanity. "Fear Street: Prom Queen" will come out when a majority of folks have decided the pandemic is over (for the record: it is not), and are spending less time at home. This means that "Prom Queen" won't just be competing with whatever else is on streaming, it will be competing with whatever else is on streaming as well as whatever else is in theaters and other events in a person's community.

The announcement of "Fear Street: Prom Queen" entering production was made by a video posted on social media, but exclusively shared in the reels/TikTok/YouTube shorts vertical view format, catering to those who would view the footage on a smartphone. This is a surefire sign that Netflix is courting Gen Z and the older members of Gen Alpha as the film's core audience, rather than banking on the nostalgia factor of those who grew up with the original books. The announcement featured a behind-the-scenes look at the start of filming, a smart move when catering to an audience base that documents every aspect of their lives.

Rather than post a series of TikTok videos of cast members doing contemporary dance challenges or trends, they instead filmed the footage to look like it was recorded with a VHS camcorder. Not only does this allow the promotional material for the film to stay in line with the 1988 setting, but it also plays off of a recent obsession Gen Z has had with handheld footage of high school students from the pre-social media age. Of the most recent TikToks to be posted on the official Netflix account, the "Fear Street: Prom Queen" clip is outperforming everything else posted in the last 24 hours — by a lot. The comments are flooded with excited teens, and a flurry of people asking why Kiana Madeira's Deena, Olivia Scott Welch's Sam, and Sadie Sink's Ziggy from the original trilogy aren't in the film ... despite the clip very clearly mentioning that this is taking place in 1988 and telling a different story. There's also an abundance of comments hoping there's queer representation in the film based on the success of the queer romance at the center of the original trilogy. 

"Fear Street: Prom Queen" doesn't yet have a release date, but given the love so many of us have for the original film, I sincerely hope that "Prom Queen" can stand on her own in an entirely new release world.