Despite being created by Goosebumps author R.L. Stine, the first installment of Netflix's horror trilogy Fear Street: 1994 is a gory slasher that is definitively not suitable for kids. Fear Street is an upcoming trilogy of horror movies from Netflix. The three installments, Fear Street: 1994, Fear Street: 1978, and Fear Street: 1666, are each being released one week apart.
Based on a series of classic ‘90s horror novels from Stine, the Fear Street trilogy tells the story of Shadyside, a small town with a dark secret and a high body count. The second movie stars Sadie Sink while the first features Maya Hawke which - along with their small-town setting and retro vibe - has led some viewers to compare the trilogy to Netflix's own Stranger Things. However, one thing Fear Street does not have in common with Stranger Things is a fake death problem, as these movies have no qualms about getting bloody.
A faithful throwback to classic slasher cinema, Fear Street is filled with gory, brutal violence that pulls few punches. While the trilogy is based on the novels of the same name from bestselling kids horror legend R.L. Stine, the movies themselves are nowhere near as child-friendly as his famous Goosebumps books. Per Fear Street creator Stine himself when introducing the trilogy’s first teaser, “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!” Now the first film in the series, the Wes Craven-style slasher movie Fear Street: 1994, is available for viewers to stream on Netflix, it is clear Stine was not exaggerating. 1994 earns it R-rating with some seriously bloody kills and, while it may not be the scariest film of the year, it is an effective slasher that should not be shown to children.
Some slashers prize inventively gory deaths over building tension or setting up scares, like the horror-comedy You Might Be The Killer. However, Fear Street: 1994 endeavors to strike a balance between blood and suspense, with plenty of grisly moments but none so over-the-top that they play as comedic or silly. 1994 is not as scary as the original Conjuring, for example, but this is more down to the slasher format being faster-paced and less atmospheric than ghost stories. Where many haunted house tales rely on slow, creeping dread to set up scares, slashers are expected to start fast and stay that way, something 1994’s Scream-inspired opening sequence achieves.
There are both gorier and scarier movies out there, but Fear Street: 1994 still manages to achieve the retro slasher feel the movie is aiming for and offers both scares and bloodshed as a result. This adults-only rating may be a surprise to some readers since R.L. Stine’s work was last seen on the big screen in the form of fun horror-comedies Goosebumps and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween. However, the Fear Street trilogy is closer in tone to one of the gorier Halloween franchise installments than those family outings, possibly because Stine’s original ‘90s audiences are now old enough to watch more adult-oriented horror. Regardless of the reasoning behind the tone shift, though, there is no debating the fact Fear Street: 1994 is a scary slasher perfect for adults and entirely unsuitable for kids.
