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4 days ago
- Entertainment
- IOL News
'Fear Street: Prom Queen' is a nostalgic horror that misses the slasher thrills
A terrifying scene from 'Fear Street: Prom Queen', which is set in 1988. Image: X/@mcumagik A little bit of nostalgia can be a sweet escape, but not when it's served cold and bland. "Fear Street: Prom Queen", Netflix's latest addition to the "Fear Street" franchise, tries to blend '80s camp with teen slasher horror but ends up limping somewhere between laughably corny and painfully dull. Set in 1988, the film follows Lori Granger, played by India Fowler, a shy outsider at Shadyside High with dreams of winning the coveted prom queen title. Haunted by a vicious rumour tied to her family, Lori believes that if she can snag the crown, she'll finally shake her bad rep and change her destiny. She's tired of being the town's punchline, so in a bid to reclaim her narrative, she signs up to compete against the usual suspects: the mean girl, the influencer, the try-hard, and the token rebel. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Alongside her horror-loving best friend Megan (played with decent charm by Suzanna Son), Lori embarks on a journey that quickly takes a sinister turn. One by one, the prom queen hopefuls start dying because Shadyside, surprise, surprise, is cursed. Again. It all sounds promising, especially for slasher fans who enjoy a high school setting with blood-splattered prom dresses and cheesy one-liners. But where the concept screams classic horror fun, the execution is anything but. Director Matt Palmer goes for the retro look- neon lockers, dated pop hits, and big hair - but forgets the fundamental rule of horror: build tension. The film flatlines in the scares department. Death scenes feel rushed and uninspired, with little creativity or suspense. The film follows Lori Granger played by India Fowler, a shy outsider at Shadyside High with dreams of winning the coveted prom queen title. Image: X/@mcumagik The killer looks like they wandered out of a Halloween clearance bin, and even the goriest moment, someone fumbling with a door after losing their hands, is more comedic than chilling. Worse still, the characters are as bland as the plot. We're reintroduced to the typical American high school ecosystem: the stoners, the geeks, the plastic queens and the loners. There's no fresh spin, no attempt at subversion, just recycled tropes we've seen since the first Scream trailer hit the airwaves. Lori is sympathetic, sure, but her drive to become prom queen feels oddly dated and disconnected from any modern sensibility. In a world on fire, this storyline feels like it belongs in a burned-out VHS tape. Everything feels watered down. Even the big twist (yes, there's always one) is more 'meh' than 'mind-blowing.' Visually, the film does attempt to stay true to its retro setting. The outfits, neon lighting, and synth-heavy score do give a nod to '80s horror classics. But style without substance doesn't cut it. If you're going to bathe your film in nostalgia, at least give it some teeth. "Fear Street: Prom Queen" has no edge. No chills. No urgency. It feels like a horror film made by people who watched horror movies once and decided that was enough. It might appeal to fans of the franchise desperate for more content, but for everyone else, or most of us, it's a forgettable flick. In short? If you're hoping for a proper scare or even a guilty-pleasure slasher thrill, keep looking. This one's more prom fail than prom queen. Rating: ** significant flaws but some merit
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
These Prom Queen Wannabes Keep Getting Murdered at the Dance
Netflix's gimmicky Fear Street trilogy was a minor sensation when it debuted in the summer of 2021, but its cultural footprint is zero because the films were, in the final tally, hackneyed rehashes that neither scared nor amused. Four years later, the streamer attempts to resurrect the brand (based on R.L. Stine's novels) with Fear Street: Prom Queen, a stand-alone feature premiering May 23 that mimics and remixes innumerable superior efforts to fatally formulaic ends. Cartoonishly gory and drearily unoriginal and predictable, it's a collection of tired devices and shout-outs that plays like training wheels slasher cinema. Taking place, like its predecessors, in the hard-luck town of Shadyside, where murderous tragedy is a constant, and where everyone lives in the shadow of wealthy neighboring Sunnydale, Fear Street: Prom Queen is set in a Stranger Things version of 1988 awash in every decade-specific cliché imaginable. It's a vision modeled on previous period-piece movies about the era rather than the real thing, and that artificiality extends to its by-the-books horror narrative, whose prime focus is Lori (India Fowler). An outcast because her mom is thought to have murdered her dad back in high school (while she was still in the womb), Lori is now determined to win the title of prom queen. Unfortunately, she has stiff competition from rebellious weed-dealer Christy (Ariana Greenblatt)—who's a preposterous candidate, given her non-conforming bad-girl reputation—and b---hy popular girl Tiffany (Fina Strazza) and her 'wolfpack' acolytes Melissa (Ella Rubin), Linda (Ilan O'Driscoll), and Debbie (Rebecca Ablack). Shadyside takes its prom queen contest absurdly seriously, to the point that it's all anyone talks about. Vice Principal Brekenridge (Lili Taylor)—who used to work at a Catholic school and now runs the show alongside weak-willed principal Wayland (Darrin Baker)—has them practice ahead of time for the upcoming ceremony. Lori is the clear underdog in this race, and she's mocked as the offspring of a killer by Tiffany, whether they're in class or at the diner where Lori works. Tiffany believes her teacher father Dan (Chris Klein) and mother Nancy (Katherine Waterston) when they tell her she's 'special,' and she spends the entirety of the film acting like an arrogant, scheming caricature. Lori is her polar opposite, a good girl with chaste romantic interest in Tiffany's boyfriend Tyler (David Iacono), who seems to be into her, thus amplifying tension between the girls. Lori's best friend Megan (Suzanna Son) is a lesbian-coded Fangoria reader (with a poster of Lucio Fulci's Zombie on her bedroom wall) who pulls monster movie pranks on her classmates, thereby providing Fear Street: Prom Queen with early fake-out gruesomeness. Genuine bloodshed comes courtesy of a fiend whose attire—a yellow rain slicker and a spooky mask—suggests he's a big fan of I Know What You Did Last Summer. This enigmatic assassin begins by offing Christy in a scene whose staging is almost impressively lethargic. Afterwards, he crosses out her picture on the yearbook page for prom queen candidates, indicating that his real aim is throwing the pageant for his preferred entrant—or, perhaps, simply ruining the competition because of some long-held grudge. Fear Street: Prom Queen exists in a silly throwback fantasyland and it can't stop reminding its audience that it knows the '80s, whether via a soundtrack of notable hits ('White Wedding,' 'U Got the Look,' 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)'), posters of Johnny Depp and Patrick Swayze, or a story indebted to, among others, Prom Night and April Fool's Day. As such, it operates on the knife's edge of parody, and though its gnarly murders demonstrate that it has a sense of humor about itself, such winking is more self-satisfied than satiric. It's also decidedly dull, as is everything else about this endeavor, which quickly sets up shop at the prom. There, Tiffany and her wolfpack perform a laughably sexualized dance routine in Stars-and-Stripes bathing suits ('pornographic' is how Brekenridge describes it), couples routinely ditch the festivities to wander the dark and empty school hallways, and Lori and Tiffany eventually confront each other in a dance-off announced by a DJ whose use of over-the-mic profanity at the function is arguably its most unbelievable element. One by one, prom queen aspirants are slaughtered by the maniac, and Fear Street: Prom Queen tries to complicate efforts to guess the baddie's identity via a revelation that, conversely, winds up drastically narrowing the field of suspects. That clumsiness is complemented by characterizations that are thin and inconsistent; over the course of the prom, multiple characters have epiphanies and/or alter their personalities as if their maturity process was taking place in fast forward. Director Matt Palmer and co-writer Donald McLeary's script cares less about logic than hitting familiar beats, and its metronomic quality drains the proceedings of any potential suspense. There are only three well-known actors in Fear Street: Prom Queen, and they didn't take this paycheck just to be random nobodies. The fact that it's easy to figure out the film's conclusion, however, is less deflating than Palmer's orchestration of the preceding mayhem. Whereas the initial Fear Street trilogy at least strove to create a real feel for its warring-community dynamics, this follow-up is a paint-by-numbers affair without anything like a unique atmosphere or attitude. On the contrary, its every move is a pose modeled on prior poses, turning it into a faded photocopy of better massacres gone by. Horror fans have to start somewhere, of course, and Fear Street: Prom Queen is designed to give them a handy introduction to the tropes and twists that define the genre. Yet in doing so, it presents a safe and comforting nightmare that trades in stock trauma while avoiding any seriously disturbing material. From the catty Tiffany to the de facto final girl Lori, everyone is a type rather than a person, and if that's in keeping with tradition, it's handled so unimaginatively that there's nowhere for things to go except toward foreseeable bombshells and preposterous resolutions. Palmer's sequel may be full of dismemberment and decapitations, but its all-around tepidness is likely to make its real victim the franchise itself.
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Critics Hacking Up Netflix Horror Thriller ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen'
A scene from "Fear Street: Prom Queen." Netflix/Alan Markfield The new Netflix horror thriller Fear Street: Prom Queen from Goosebumps writer R.L. Stine is scaring away critics. Rated R, Fear Street: Prom Queen debuted on the streaming platform on Friday. The logline for the film reads, 'Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school's wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. 'But when a gutsy outsider puts herself in the running, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of '88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.' Directed by Matt Palmer, Fear Street: Prom Queen stars India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Ariana Greenblatt, Katherine Waterston, Lili Taylor and Chris Klein. Palmer and Donald McLeary wrote the screenplay for Fear Street: Prom Queen, which is based on Stine's 1992 book The Prom Queen. Fear Street: Prom Queen is the fourth movie in Netflix's Fear Street series, following three-part release of Fear Street: 1994, Fear Street: 1978 and Fear Street: 1666 in 2021. As of Friday, Fear Street: Prom Queen has earned a 35% 'rotten' rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 31 reviews. The film is still awaiting an RT Critics Consensus. Audiences gave Fear Street: Prom Queen a 46% 'rotten' Popcornmeter score based on 50-plus reviews. Nick Schager of The Daily Beast is among the top critics on RT who gives Fear Street: Prom Queen a 'rotten' review, writing, 'Cartoonishly gory and drearily unoriginal and predictable, it's a collection of tired devices and shout-outs that plays like training wheels slasher cinema.' The film also received a 'rotten' rating on RT from Clint Worthington of who writes, 'Fear Street started as a series that tried to reinvent the wheel, even just by dint of its structure and nods to the innate curse of marginalization; this is empty-headed, straightforward slasher schlock on purpose.' Derek Smith of Slant Magazine also gives Fear Street: Prom Queen a 'rotten' review on RT, writing, 'Like its predecessors, the film is an often awkward mix of YA drama and R-rated gore.' William Bibbiani of The Wrap is the only top critic who has given the film a 'fresh' review on RT to date, writing, Fear Street: Prom Queen is not the best Fear Street movie. But to be fair, it's probably the third-best Prom Night.' Rated R, Fear Street: Prom Queen is new on Netflix.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix's "brutal" sequel to its hit horror trilogy is available to watch now
Netflix's "brutal" Fear Street sequel is now available to watch on the platform. Fear Street: Prom Queen follows on from the 2021 trilogy of movies, all based on the RL Stine books, and centres on a prom night in 1988 as a bloody murderer is on the loose. The movie is now available to watch for Netflix users globally as of today – so if you're looking for a chilling weekend watch, look no further. The film follows prom season at Shadyside High, with the school's It Girls "busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown". However, "when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court" and other girls mysteriously disappear, "the class of '88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night," the synopsis adds. Related: Best streaming services Prom Queen has landed a largely mixed reception from critics, sitting at a 45% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, with TheWrap writing: "Fear Street: Prom Queen isn't a bust, it's just not very inspired. Again, those brutal murders will help you get through it." "Fear Street started as a series that tried to reinvent the wheel, even just by dint of its structure and nods to the innate curse of marginalization; this is empty-headed, straightforward slasher schlock on purpose," added "That's all well and good in some contexts, but if that's what you want, why not just watch one of the classics instead?" Related: The Daily Beast called the movie "cartoonishly gory and drearily unoriginal and predictable", adding: "It's a collection of tired devices and shout-outs that plays like training wheels slasher cinema." Prom Queen stars The Nevers' India Fowler, Red Rocket's Suzanna Son, Paper Girls' Fina Strazza, and The Summer I Turned Pretty's David Iacono, with Matt Palmer directing. Fear Street: Prom Queen is available to stream now on Netflix. Digital Spy's first print magazine is here! Buy British Comedy Legends in newsagents or online, now priced at just £3.99. at at Audible£49.99 at at £99.00 at Amazon at EE at £328.00 at at at EE at at at at at at at Amazon at at at at at at Game at EE at at Pandora at at at at Sky Mobile at at Game at at at at at at Pandora at at at Three at at at AO at at at at at at at at at Fitbit at £49.99 at at at John Lewis£119.00 at at at at at at at at at at at at at Amazon at at at at John Lewis & Partners at at John Lewis at at at at at at Amazon at Three at at John Lewis & Partners at at at at at Fitbit£15.99 at Amazon£119.99 at at at at at at at Three£699.00 at at at at Apple£189.99 at at Amazon£21.99 at at at Audible at EE at at at at at at at at John Lewis at at at at at at at at at at Apple at EE at £449.00 at John Lewis£32.99 at Amazon at at at at Samsung at at Microsoft£229.00 at John Lewis at at at at Three at Apple at at at John Lewis at at AO at crunchyroll£79.00 at Samsung£79.98 at at Amazon at at at Microsoft at at at Microsoft at at John Lewis & Partners£79.98 at at at at Amazon at at at John Lewis£269.99 at at at at John Lewis & Partners at now at at Microsoft at at at at at John Lewis at at at at at at £199.00 at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at at You Might Also Like PS5 consoles for sale – PlayStation 5 stock and restocks: Where to buy PS5 today? IS MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 THE BEST IN THE SERIES? OUR REVIEW AEW game is a modern mix of No Mercy and SmackDown
