Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) - Film Critique

      Fear Street: Prom Queen, 2025.

      Directed by Matt Palmer.

      Featuring India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Chris Klein, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, Ariana Greenblatt, Lili Taylor, Katherine Waterston, Dale Whibley, Damian Romeo, Rebecca Ablack, Joanne Boland, Eden Summer Gilmore, Ilan O'Driscoll, Dakota Taylor, Brennan Clost, Cecilia Lee, Sienna Star, Darrin Baker, Ryan Rosery, Anna Mirodin, and Jai Jai Jones.

      SYNOPSIS:

      As the "it" girls contending for prom queen at Shadyside High start to vanish, a daring outsider realizes her prom night is about to take a wild turn. With numerous stories yet to unfold across the characters and eras of the original Fear Street trilogy, it's understandable that Netflix would choose to adapt more of R.L. Stine's works. At last, there’s a compelling reason to revisit and create spinoffs depicting smaller narratives set in the fictional towns of Shadyside and Sunnyvale. Strangely, Fear Street: Prom Queen is an independent film set in 1980s Shadyside which appears to have no ties to the previous three films.

      Evaluating the movie on its own merits, it fails to impress, resembling a poor mashup of Carrie and Scream. A notable creative choice is the absence of opening credits, signaling the first red flag that trilogy co-writer/director Leigh Janiak and screenwriter Phil Graziadei are not part of this project. Given its generic, cliché, and insipid 85 minutes, anyone familiar with the earlier films will likely recognize this quickly. Fear Street: Prom Queen, directed and co-written by Matt Palmer, alongside co-writer Donald McLeary, seems to understand why the original trilogy resonated, yet struggles to create a story with characters that viewers would care about.

      While each Fear Street installment drew inspiration from a specific decade and horror subgenre, they managed to weave complex narratives with compelling characters, genuine stakes, and real mysteries. Without streaming, this would be the type of straight-to-DVD sequel indicative of a franchise struggling to remain relevant, failing to hold a candle to the original trilogy. This doesn’t mean the previous films were flawless masterpieces, but the standard has dropped significantly here.

      Fear Street: Prom Queen replaces the feud between neighboring towns with a story focusing on rival families. Lori Granger (India Fowler) is the introverted student often targeted by the popular clique for her mother's alleged murder of her prom date. Her loyal friend, rebellious stoner Megan (Suzanna Son, delivering the standout performance, having previously shone in Sean Baker’s Red Rocket as a misfit) doesn’t care about prom but agrees to support Lori. Lori's reasons for competing are complicated; while she isn't invested in prom, she views winning as a way to offer her mother closure for their shared ostracism.

      Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza) heads the clique of cruel girls and faces significant expectations from her parents, played by Chris Klein and Katherine Waterston. Yet, her mean demeanor is starting to alienate even her boyfriend Tyler (David Iacono), who shows kindness to Lori and grows closer to her during prom night. As the evening unfolds, most characters drift off for various reasons, only to discover a masked killer (or multiple killers) is stalking the school, eliminating them one by one, possibly to eliminate the competition for either Lori or Tiffany.

      The kills lack creativity, frequently resorting to dismemberment and subpar CGI blood effects. Even more frustrating is the filmmakers' overreliance on licensed popular songs from the era, leaning excessively on this nostalgic tactic to the point where it feels like a hasty playlist of favorite 80s tracks. The film's structure appears to be a repetitive cycle of kill/song, culminating in a final act that devolves into an absurd climax.

      Fear Street: Prom Queen is still engaging, though it comes across as more forgettable than genuinely terrible. However, if this level of quality is indicative of future spinoffs, that is indeed more terrifying than anything in this film.

      Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

      Robert Kojder is associated with the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He also serves as the Reviews Editor for Flickering Myth. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd.