Fear Street: Prom Queen

Honestly, I really liked the previous Fear Street movies. This one however is truly dreadful in every conceivable way. The characters are just so dull, from the mean girl prom queen, who let's be honest would struggle to be described as a plain Jane. To the supposed heroine of the story, who is completely nondescript.

The dialogue is wooden, the kills are boring, there is no genuine fear or tension throughout the whole movie. The soundtrack tries to capture the essence of 80s slasher movies but actually ends up being irritating.

The killers outfit is dreadful, it doesn't induce fear just makes them look like an idiot. I'm not even sure why I'm giving this movie a 4.

The only thing I somewhat enjoyed about this movie was its attempt at 80s-style cinematography. It had that nostalgic glow, but it's not even close to the immersive atmosphere you get in shows like Stranger Things or Euphoria. That alone barely earns it 2 stars. The rest? Honestly, a disaster. The acting is flat, unconvincing, and often cringeworthy. The dialogue is so poorly written it feels like it was thrown together in a rush without any thought. It lacks rhythm, wit, or even basic realism. The pacing drags, scenes feel repetitive, and it completely fails to build suspense or emotional depth. As someone else said, you really do have to turn off your brain to get through this. It's like a cheap, uninspired knockoff of Scream, but without the cleverness or thrills. Just another cookie-cutter slasher flick pretending to be retro-cool while delivering nothing new or worth remembering. A missed opportunity, plain and simple.

The researchers, costume designers and stylists should be ashamed of their interpretation of 1988. Missed the mark badly on the hair styles, makeup and women's clothing. The dialogue is not from that era either. A little more attention to detail was needed. The original trilogy did much better.

That said, it's pretty good for a Netflix movie. The kills are gruesome and acting is solid by all the cast (just a little modern). Storyline is somewhat predictable but it plays out just like an 80s horror film, so that's ok.

Soundtrack has some great bangers, mostly from the early 80s rather than 1988 but they add a good nostalgic vibe.

Anyone who's old and wise enough to be drawn in by the 1980s nostalgia will be disappointed by the flat, insipid story. Teenagers will probably be put off by the cardboard characters, the cartoonish depictions of high school social pressures and the lame antagonist reveal. The movie's too violent and profane for young kids. So who is it for? Apparently nobody.

The bummer is that it could've been a fun, campy throwback. But that would've required a stronger story, sharper dialogue, better-realized characters and generally more effort than what was evidently put into the production. A synthesizer soundtrack and neon credits alone do not make for a worthwhile '80s slasher homage.

Tbh, the film isn't that bad, but the lead is weak and the twists are not surprising. The killing were gruesome but some felt clunky. But again, I think the lead, Lori Granger, played well by India Fowler, was a weak scream queen. It's all the writing problem, she is literally so blagh and boring to the core - I can't believe no one thought to rewrite her bland narration.

I grew up with Neve Campbell in Scream, so any slasher lead girl will always be compared to her. Biased at it is, I felt the newer slasher films always fumbled upon writing a good lead girl. Especially here, Lori, has no depth nor sass - she is just too passive for my liking. Give me a Scream Queen who can kick ass, man. Also, the twist and turns were kind of predictable - a poor entry to the already solid Fear Street trilogy in my opinion.