Netflix is bringing us a world of teenage horror with a trilogy of movies based on R.L. Stine’s young-adult book series Fear Street.
3 separate films are coming our way this summer, the first of which is set to release July 2nd, followed by the sequels coming on the 9th and 16th. Most of us recognize R.L. Stine from his iconic best-selling children’s book series Goosebumps, which saw its own on-screen adaption back in 2015. However, there is nothing child-friendly about Fear Street. While Goosebumps takes a more lighthearted approach with subject matter centered around paranormal activity, Fear Street contains all the gore and screams you’d expect from an R-rated slasher movie.
Each film occurs in a different time frame period but they all take place in the fictional town of Shadyside, Ohio. The basic plot according to Netflix is “In 1994, a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets”.
In the 1 minute trailer released on May 19th, we catch a glimpse of the first movie set in 1994 following a highschooler, played by Stranger Things star Maya Hawke, as she answers a eerily silent landline telephone call before being met by a knife-wielding wrongdoer dressed in a skeleton suit.
Part two takes place in a summer camp during 1978, while part three appears to be set in some kind of ominous village in 1666. Both sequel films star Stranger Things cast member Sadie Sink.
A film adaptation of Fear Street has been in the works since 2015, produced by Chernin Entertainment who started the project with Fox Media. Deciding to part ways after the Disney-merger in 2017, Chernin Entertainment inked a first-look, non-exclusive deal with Netflix who gave the project the green light. After all the switching hands, it’s exciting to see what kind of retro-horror style director Leigh Janiak has to offer. In the words of R.L. Stine himself “Readers know that the book series is rated PG. But the movies are rated R. That means a lot more thrills– and a lot more terror!”