As a huge fan of R.L. Stine's original Fear Street books and the surprisingly effective Netflix trilogy (1994, 1978, 1666), I went into Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) with a mix of cautious optimism and high expectations. Set in Shadyside in 1988, this standalone entry promised more masked mayhem in the vibrant, nostalgic 80s. Unfortunately, what we got was a cinematic equivalent of a deflated balloon – a prom night that quickly loses its sparkle and descends into dull predictability.
The premise is classic slasher gold: it's prom season at Shadyside High, and among the contenders for prom queen is Lori Granger (India Fowler), an underdog burdened by her family's tarnished legacy. But when fellow candidates start getting brutally picked off by a mysterious, red-raincoat-clad killer, the competition becomes a fight for survival. On paper, it sounds like a fun homage to 80s slashers like Prom Night or even Scream with its whodunit elements.
However, from the opening credits, Prom Queen struggles to find its footing. Directed by Matt Palmer (taking over from original trilogy director Leigh Janiak, who remains an executive producer), the film attempts to capture that distinct 80s vibe, but often feels like a superficial imitation. While the soundtrack delivers on the decade's hits, the overall aesthetic, dialogue, and even the character's hair and costumes frequently feel less authentic and more like a bland, generic recreation. It lacks the immersive, lived-in feel that made the previous trilogy's period pieces so engaging.
The biggest failing, however, lies in its narrative and characters. The original Fear Street trilogy, while embracing slasher tropes, also wove in a compelling overarching mythology connected to Sarah Fier and the town's curse. It gave stakes and depth to the chaos. Prom Queen, on the other hand, feels largely disconnected. While there are fleeting nods to Shadyside's dark history, they're minimal and do little to enrich the plot. This leaves us with a by-the-numbers slasher where the "mystery" of the killer is painfully obvious from early on, and the "twists" land with a shrug rather than a shock.
The characters themselves are largely one-dimensional. Lori, our protagonist, feels underdeveloped, making it hard to truly root for her amidst the carnage. Even more frustrating is how promising subplots and character dynamics (like Lori's relationship with her eccentric best friend Megan, played by Suzanna Son) are introduced but never fully explored. The performances, while earnest, can't elevate a script that often feels cringeworthy and repetitive.
And the kills? While there's certainly gore, the sequences often lack tension or creativity. Victims frequently seem to just stand there, waiting for the killer to approach, rather than frantically trying to escape. This makes the violence feel mechanical and hollow, failing to deliver the brutal and bloody goods that an 80s slasher homage demands.
Ultimately, Fear Street: Prom Queen is a painful reminder that not every addition to a beloved series hits the mark. It strips away much of what made the original Fear Street trilogy so compelling – the strong overarching lore, genuinely engaging characters, and effective scares – leaving behind a bland, predictable, and frankly, disappointing slasher. It might offer fleeting moments of mild entertainment for die-hard genre fans desperately seeking new content, but for those of us who cherished the previous entries, it's easily the weakest in the series. A prom night to forget.
Verdict: 2/5 Stars (Generous, given the series' previous heights.)
Where to Watch: "Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025)" is available to stream globally on Netflix.
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