Netflix has unveiled the first teaser trailer for its upcoming Fear Street film trilogy event. As we first heard last year, the streamer hasn’t just adapted Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine’s other scary book series for kids to the screen, but it actually got writer/director Leigh Janiak (Honeymoon) to film three films back-to-back, with all three scheduled for release just a week apart from each other in July. It’s an audacious release strategy, but I have to wonder if this wouldn’t have been better suited for an October release?
Missed Halloween tie-ins aside, I have to say that while I originally didn’t really pay much attention to this upcoming adaptation (on account of me never having read Stine’s Fear Street books), that has changed somewhat. For starters, while those original books were all kid-friendly PG affairs, the Fear Street films will actually be rated R. According to Stine himself in a press release, “Fear Street fans are in for a treat — and some major surprises. 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!”. I am totally down for that.
Plus, I’m really liking this three-weekly approach with each film being set in a different era. While the story starts in 1994, it then hops back in time to 1978, and finally 1666. And with each subsequent era jump, Jeniak and co-writer Phil Grazadier will be putting a new spin on the filmmaking sensibilities – the 1990s slasher revivals, the original 1970s slasher era, and the blood-curdling gothic ghost stories of the 17th century. And based on this first teaser, we’re in for a fun, scary treat.
The cast that makes up all three films sees a number of recognizable genre regulars like Stranger Things’ Maya Hawke and Sadie Sink, or Community’s Gillian Jacobs. Fear Street: Part One – 1994 stars Kiana Madeira, Olivia Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, and Hawke. It’s scheduled to debut on 2 July and its synopsis reads:
In 1994, a group of teenagers find out that the terrifying events that have occurred in their town of Shadyside, Ohio, may be connected to each other, and that they may be the next targets.
Fear Street: Part Two – 1978 stars Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, McCabe Slye, Gillian Jacobs, Kiana Madeira, and Jordana Spiro. It will hit Netflix on 9 July and its synopsis reads:
In 1978, Camp Nightwing is divided by the campers and counselors who hail from the prosperous town of Sunnyvale and the campers and maintenance staffers from the downtrodden town of Shadyside, but when horrors from their towns shared history come alive, they must band together to solve a terrifying mystery before it’s too late.
Finally, Fear Street: Part Three – 1666 sees a mix of cast members from the previous films alongside Darrel Britt-Gibson, Julia Rehwald, Jordyn DiNatale, Jeremy Ford, Mark Ashworth, and Randy Havens. It will round-up the trilogy event on 16 July. Here’s the synopsis:
In 1666, a colonial town is gripped by a hysterical witch-hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come, while teenagers in 1994 try and finally put an end to their town’s curse, before it is too late.
Last Updated: May 21, 2021
