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Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) Movie Review – A worthy follow-up to the trilogy?

A worthy follow-up to the trilogy? Fear Street: Prom Queen is not a particularly good movie and no amount of blood, gore and good will built from the previous films can save this one from being an underwhelming mess. For those unaware, Prom Queen is the latest iteration in the Fear Street movie series, which itself is an adaptation of R.L. Stine's book series sporting the same name. Unlike Goosebumps though, Fear Street was very much a series designed for older teens and young adults, with bigger stakes and wilder twists. The Netflix trilogy did a relatively good job of capturing these vibes, although those teen slashers were not without their own set of problems, which are pretty much exacerbated here. You don't need to have seen the trilogy to watch Prom Queen though but long-time fans of the franchise who have watched those will get more out of this. There are a few Easter eggs sprinkled in and a couple of nods through the dialogue that are sure to be appreciated. We're still in Shadyside here, and the hallmarks of this series – which include a litany of killings and a group scrambling for answers – is still very much the lifeblood of this film. The basic premise centers on Lori Granger, a senior at high-school who's haunted by the death of her father. Her mum has been blamed for his death, and it's something that's caused her to believe the Granger name is cursed. To break that perceived curse, Lori runs for Prom Queen, alongside five other 'it' girls at her school. Among them is Tiffany Falconer who has a serious chip on her shoulder and is determined to win the coveted crown no matter what. Stirring things up though is Lori's friend Megan, who has a habit of pulling off elaborate pranks. Her latest includes prosthetic body parts and a spurt of fake blood. And while she does all this for the giggles – there's nothing funny about what happens on Prom Night. It's here where we learn a killer is on the loose, slowly killing off the different prom queens for reasons that become clear toward the end of the movie. The basic premise keeps things ticking over but this is also a film that doesn't want you to scrutinize the plot too closely. The reveal of the killer and their motives make sense, but it also throws up a number of problems with both worldbuilding and consistency. Again, I'm not going to reveal that here but it's a huge sticking point that causes the whole narrative to fall apart when examined closer. The characters themselves are relatively generic, as you'd expect from a teen slasher like this, and there's even some familiar cliches that show up too. We have the 'rival boyfriend' who has a soft spot for Lori, the weird adults who may or may not be hiding secrets, and a ton of cheesy dialogue throughout. The film never slips into guilty pleasure territory though because it's too busy trying to lean into its shock factor. There are some pretty gnarly deaths here but they're superficial at best and don't really feel that earned. There's no suspenseful build-up to a lot of these deaths, no sneaky camera angles or fake-out jump-scares to ratchet up the tension, they just… happen. To make matters worse, there are also a couple of killings that feel like they've been ripped right out of a satire. Aesthetically, Prom Queen very much leans into 80's nostalgia, and you can expect all the usual big 's music hits to make an appearance. 'Sweet Dreams' and 'Never Gunna Give You Up' are both prominently displayed, alongside the generic costuming and set design too. However, it's hard to shake the feel that everybody here is just cosplaying as an 80's teenager rather than leaning into the reality of life as an 80's kid. When you compare this to say Stranger Things season 1 for its scenes in high school, you'll see what I mean. None of this is helped by poor lighting and some questionable camera work, with some scenes benefiting from wide angles or zooming out a bit rather than questionable extreme close ups and shaky chase sequences. The film never tries too hard either and while that would usually be a bonus as the premise leans into the sheer absurdity of it all, it unfortunately comes across as sloppy and amateurish. It's one of those films that feels like its been made specifically because it has to be, rare than by a team that care about the Fear Street franchise. I briefly mentioned the dialogue but it's hard to state just how bad it is here. The film literally opens with a 5 minute exposition dump, while we're constantly told what characters are like and how we should feel about them. The cheesy one-liners aren't the worst thing about this, but the adults in particular are given such stilted awkward scripts that it's hard to take any of them seriously. Unless that's the point, it's hard to tell with this film. The usual combative approach to this criticism though is simply going to be to switch off your brain and enjoy what's here. While yes, you can obviously do that and will probably find parts you'll enjoy, when you stack it up next to other slashers in this field or even try to question parts of the plot, it falls apart completely. Urban Legend, Scream, Nightmare On Elm Street, Friday the 13th, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Happy Death Day and so on and so forth. There are so many in this field that have the same slasher premise that handle the expectations of the genre with far better execution and finesse than what Prom Queen offers. Overall then, this is not a particularly good movie and hard to recommend. It's a sloppy, poorly executed slasher that attempts to lean into its absurdity without understanding exactly what makes that so endearing. The kills are boring, the gore excessive for all the wrong reasons, and the dialogue stilted. Skip this one. Read More: Fear Street: Prom Queen Ending Explained