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Review: Fear Street Part Three: 1666

fear street part 3

In a bold move Fear Street Part Three: 1666 travels back in time to the 1600s, a period plagued by witch trials that saw countless women being executed due to falsified mass hysteria. Although the Fear Street trilogy prefers to stay on the slasher path, the inclusion of bygone times inserted a rich narrative history that prevented the film from falling flat and suffering from a shallow ending. 

Fear Street: 1666 begins where we left off in Part Two: 1978, as Deena (in 1994 present time) is shown the real story of Shadyside’s local legend Sarah Fier, a witch who was hung from a tree and cursed the soil beneath the town. Across the flashback we see Fier and her brother Henry live peacefully in a small settlement known as Union, which would go on to be the grounds of Sunnyvale and Shadyside. The commune is bound by archetypal laws surrounding pilgrim beliefs, therefore when the local pastor suddenly kills the town’s children the sole cause of his madness must be down to witchcraft. To make matters more damning, Fier and the pastor’s daughter Hannah begin a forbidden affair, thus enforcing the belief that they are the dark force behind the pastor’s breakdown. 

FEAR STREET PART 3: 1666 (Pictured) KIANA MADEIRA as SARAH FIER. NETFLIX © 2021

The film divulges a heavy subplot surrounding Fier’s actual lack of malice and the conceited misfire concerning her execution. Fear Street: 1666 is laden with bolshy twists that are not afraid of bullying the audience into submissiveness. If we were to write down the story beats and major plot twists it would be a convulsed mess. But director Leigh Janiak makes it work, mostly due to the impeccable set design that has every intention to immerse us into the world of Fear Street, but also primarily due to the thoroughly written characters whose arcs never become dull, or predictable. However, this riveting grab that these characters have on us wouldn’t be as strong if it was not for the striking performances. 

At the end of 1978 the preview revealed that the land of Union would be made up of characters who we’ve already seen throughout the previous films. They would be playing their ancestral versions of themselves. Upon first glance I was not entirely enthusiastic about this idea as truly I was excited to see some fresh faces, nevertheless, Kiana Madeira (Deena), Ashley Zukerman (Nick), Gillian Jacobs (Ziggy), Olivia Scott Welch (Sam), and Benjamin Flores Jr. (Josh) all took to their roles with ease. The same thing however cannot be said for the abominable Irish accents that they had to put on. Though I’ve decided to pardon that, as I suppose you could say that the dialect tone could be a translation of early settlement accents? Yeah, we’ll go with that… 

FEAR STREET PART 3: 1666 – McCABE SLYE as MAD THOMAS. Cr: Netflix © 2021

Moving on, the pacing thrives across the first act, and as we reach a good bubbling point of tension towards the middle, the film does a 180 and reverts us back to the present (1994), with the title card simply reading 1994 Part II. It certainly came as a shock as the narrative was very much on a roll. But, the disappointment over an abrupt halt soon diminishes as 1994 Part II brings a whole new outlook to the series.

Across the first two films and most of 1666, the plot mainly relied on the mystery of events, with the story encompassing the history of Shadyside, as well as how to defeat the curse, how to get Sam back, and how to put Fier’s rage to rest. 1994 Part II decides to not wallow in the copious ‘hows?’ Instead it finally dishes out the answers and exposes the secrets we’ve been waiting for this whole time. Coupled with the long-awaited revelations is 1994’s aesthetic that focuses on encapsulating 90s iconography through stylizing nearly every scene in vivid neon lighting and having the final battle be in a mall. Although the second half is a visual world away from the earthy land of Union the juxtaposition works and keeps the setting very exciting.

Across the Fear Street trilogy Janiak has had no issue in cementing an intrinsically rich backstory that undoubtedly anchors on the marriage between patriarchy and sorrow. Without divulging into spoilers, Fier’s death was not as simple as a hanging due to witchcraft, alternatively, her demise was met thanks to the Union’s fear of emasculation and the creation of marginalised groups. Furthering the tone of malevolent connotations of good natured people perceived as evil is the Fear Street killers. 

1994 and 1978 established that these gruesome murderers did not transform into immoral beings on their own, they were possessed and unaware of their actions. Essentially the turn of their possession resulted in their death as if their skin was a suit in which corruption could flourish in disguise. The caring Tommy who turned into the Camp Nightwing murderer was not consciously committing these acts, neither were Ruby Lane, and Ryan Torres (Skull Mask). These disempowered beings were convicted for no fault of their own, similarly to Fier’s fatal end. 


The opinion that modern horror cinema is soaked with faults is one that I do not agree with. In fact, there are countless films that will still be discussed in years to come that have only been recently released. The Fear Street trilogy proves that the nostalgic spark that many are unable to find in newer horror films is achievable once again. The trilogy may not be to everyone’s taste, but it certainly was to mine. Everything from the timing of the releases, down to the quintessential details was exemplary, and I will sorely miss not being able to get a new slice of Fear Street every Friday.

This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.

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Review: Fear Street Part Two 1978

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Fear Street Part Two: 1978 presents itself as a throwback to 1970s summer camp slaughters, swarmed with cold-blooded kills, a jukebox-worthy soundtrack, and self-aware imitations. Luckily enough this ambition sequel is a worthy component to its predecessor, unlike many slasher sequels… What could have been a muddled backstory is instead a richly original yet bombastically brave referential take on sunshine-filled woodsy horror. 

This singing praise is no exaggeration. I was as hesitant about Fear Street: 1978 just as much as everyone else. When a new flashy horror film lands it can lose that certain spark that many individual independent films grace the screen with, but when Fear Street: 1994 arrived on the scene a certain harmony in streaming originals was restored. However, as solid as Part One was the Fear Street Trilogy director Leigh Janiak hadn’t completely won me over just yet as the trailers and teasers for 1978 promised a heck of a lot. Rest assured my initial hesitation was soon thrown over once the real bite of the film began.

The overtly effective sequel is one that proudly admires the subgenres’ mistakes and baskes in the stereotypical characters and story beats. Particularly the setting. 

FEAR STREET PART 2: 1978 – Cr: Netflix © 2021

Camp Nightwing is everything that sounds like a nightmare to me; bratty teen hierarchies, constant group activities, and overbearing camp counsellors who in no way should be in charge. Fear Street: 1978 could be overbearing with its obvious nods to Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, The Burning, and Madman, the originality aspect is a touchy point here, but what disperses from these inspirational nods is a fresh look at a supposed joyous social environment turning into an isolated hellscape painted with brutal kills and a mad axeman on the loose.

Paving the way for the final film of the trilogy is 1978’s great storytelling journey that takes the series’ unconventional time loop and creates a smoothly flowing adventure back in time. The end of 1994 saw Deena (Kiana Madeira) and Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) under threat from the newly possessed Sam (Olivia Scott Welch). The sequel picks up straight away from the ending as they make their way to the recluse C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs), who survived seeing the witch back in the Camp Nightwing Massacre. Christine has become a nervous shell of a person, but she still musters up the courage to tell Deena and Josh the blood-curdling story of how mountains of dead bodies collected over just one night. The simple baseline of the massacre is rich and heavy with subplots and exposition, but Janiak also throws in a revenge tale of an archaic witch, ‘present day’ timelines, and looped character origin stories for good measure. 

The nearly two hour runtime did not bear a grudge and weather over the course, alternatively, I would have gladly sat through another hour to grasp more and more of what the history of Shadyside has to offer. 

What further tickles the intrigue is the mysterious whodunnit nature of the story, except the conundrum is not based on who the killer is, but who the survivor is. The present day Berman does not overtly reveal what her position was in the story, the only information we score is that she is one of the two sisters that the story focuses on. Across the film, we are rooting for both of them, but unfortunately, it is all wishful thinking as ultimately we know that one of them will suffer a brutal death. It is this exact toying that kept me on the edge of my seat, unlike many horror’s there is not much hope and everyone really is at risk. 


Fear Street: 1978 is reminiscent of a campfire tale, one that would be told in a large group in your scariest voice, paired with the classic torch under the chin for optimum scares. It’s the perfect slasher for the new generation of horror watchers or even those who fancy something old in a new fashion.

This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.

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Review: Fear Street Part One: 1994

The slasher subgenre has done for horror what Shakespeare did for playwriting. It’s that precise allure that accompanies the stalk and kill system, whilst revelling in motive, victim strategies, and exposing the cathartic sense of relief when a fatal conclusion is met, although the joyous reaction could be towards the killer just as much as the victim.

There’s a reason as to why the 1980s and early 1990s were indoctrinated with splatters, slashers, and schlock, it was exhilarating and constant, and now from a retrospective point these frameworks still exist, but it has become even more prevalent on the extension of tributes and commemoration. 

The Fear Street trilogy displays exactly that, a keen sense of nostalgia whilst still maintaining a fresh balance of new tactics and modern archetypes. 

Based on R.L. Stine’s Fear Street novels is Leigh Janiak’s ‘Fear Street Part One: 1994’ which follows an amalgamation of various books from the series to create one giant story that will be historically linked in the next two films. The basic premise follows a group of adolescents who must battle off Sarah Fier (Elizabeth Scopel), a ‘deceased’ witch who has put a damning curse on the town of Shadyside prior to being executed during the witch trials.

Although the collective outline relies upon an ancient curse placed in the 1660s, Fear Street: 1994 is very much alive and thriving. Beginning the film is a sequence that can describe the film as a whole. The opening shot sets up the atmosphere nicely, as we see book store employee Heather (Maya Hawke), working late one night in an eerily empty mall, with the only sense of life coming from beaming neon lights strewn across the food court (immediately reminding me of Stranger Things). In typical fashion, her loneliness is soon met with an alarmingly loud phone ringing, a fake jumpscare, shadows lurking, and then finally a masked killer wearing a Ghostface-esque gown appears and murders who we believed was going to be our final girl. If you thought that this sounded overly familiar to Casey Becker’s (Drew Barrymore) fatal opening scene in Scream (1996) then you’d be correct! 

FEAR STREET PART 1: 1994 – (L-R) JULIA REHWALD as KATE, FRED HECHINGER as SIMON and KIANA MADEIRA as DEENA . Cr: Netflix © 2021

Feeding off of horror’s most tactful tropes is Janiak’s somehow unique crafting of frankly overdone clichés, allowing for optimal attention-grabbing moments. Combine this rose-tinted nostalgia with exhilarating characters then we really have a go-getter of a film. It’s with this that I’ll move onto my next point, the cracking twists and turns. Without spoiling any sordid details I do have to admit that I was seriously impressed with the relationships amongst the characters, with Janiak not becoming too complacent in saving who the audience is naturally drawn to, nothing is sacred and no one is off-limits.

Our motley crew of teens consists of Deena (Kiana Madeira), and her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.), alongside her two friends Kate (Julia Rehwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger) who must battle Sarah Fier and her army of killers to save Deena’s estranged girlfriend Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) from a dreadful fate. Together they make a mishmash group where none of them fall into the place of the jock, the blonde, the smart one, the skeptic, or the final girl. Yes, the tween Josh does have more criminal knowledge than the normal boy, and Deena does have some inner ruthlessness that embodies ‘the last one left alive’ emblem, but all in all, there is a clear and successful attempt at rustling up the unexpected and allowing everyone to shine, not just the ‘lead’. 

Fear Street: 1994 understands it’s alterations to the classic slasher, but it also comprehends what makes the film stand out from current ‘blockbusters’, which consequently originates in the harsh gore exposed throughout. I for one have a neutral outlook on the graphicness in a horror film, there are a plethora of tense films that only sparsely rely on bloodshed to affect the viewer, and then there are outstanding films that secrete slaughter from start to finish. However, Fear Street: 1994 definitely took the visually mature path, with Janiak dismissing any prior beliefs that this would be tame in any shape or form. 

The killers presented in this first entry are the Skull Mask Killer, The Camp Nightwing Killer, and Ruby Lane, all of who deliver noteworthy scares throughout. The cult-like culmination of very different antagonists could be messy if in the wrong hands, yet there’s that slight animosity that accompanies their very brief backstory that allows for their quick-paced appearances to be short and snappy, with the focus constantly remaining on the Deena and the gang.

As much as I’ve discussed this slasher aspect, especially in terms of the film’s inextricable character-based narrative, an unorthodox element that pushes Fear Street to feed off of the flexibility of horror is the inclusion of the occult. Shadyside has been jinxed by Fier’s wickedness and with that comes an interesting backstory that is nicely touched upon, but not fully delved into. However, instead of being irate over the briefness, we only end up more excited for the following two films. 

Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666 will both be released one week after another, promising much more carnage, curveballs, and adrenaline-pumping scares.

This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.