Latest news with #ShadysideHigh
Cosmopolitan
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Netflix's 'Fear Street: Prom Queen' Ending, Explained
Netflix takes viewers back to the fictional murder capital of the United States—Shadyside, Ohio—for another installment to the Fear Street movie franchise. The year is 1988, and the title of Prom Queen is up for grabs at Shadyside High. Six teens are in the running for the coveted crown: outsider Lori Granger (India Fowler), rebel Christy Renault (Ariana Greenblatt), queen bee Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza), and Tiffany's three "Wolf Pack" minions. They're also the girls at the top of the masked serial murderer's kill list. Fear Street: Prom Queen is a slasher that spares no one from the clutches of brutal, bloody murder. Innocent high schoolers and grown-ups meet their untimely, gory doom—on prom night, no less. But who survives the night? Is the killer put to justice? becomes Prom Queen?? Here's the ultimate breakdown of the end of Fear Street: Prom Queen. It doesn't take long for the Prom Queen candidate pool to dwindle. Christy already died a couple of nights before prom, and the Wolf Pack have been getting picked-off one-by-one as the senior prom goes on. First, Linda gets her guts cut out, and her date Bobby gets his hands guillotined off. Debbie dies via electrocution after her boyfriend, fifth-year senior Judd, gets his face sawn off. And Melissa—who we were just beginning to like after she stands up to Tiffany's bullying—gets an axe to the face, thanks to the tag-teaming of two red-hooded, masked killers. Lori and Tiffany are the last two girls standing, and haven't seemed to notice or care about the disappearance of their fellow candidates. They've been too busy all night, facing each other in a dance-off, gunning for the crown, and fighting over a boy named Tyler Torres (David Iacono). It's been clear throughout the movie that Tyler doesn't really want to be with Tiffany, who imposes all her expectations and plans for the future on him. He's really just with her because she rules the school. So when the queen bee gets taken down a peg after losing a dance battle with supposed cursed loser Lori, he doesn't see the need in keeping up appearances anymore. Tyler breaks things off with Tiffany, and heads straight to Lori—who he's been attracted to for some time now. Just as Tyler is about to kiss Lori on the dance floor, Lori's best friend, Megan (Suzanna Son), cuts in. Unlike Lori, she's been paying attention to the screams, the sudden disappearance of the Wolf Pack, and the glitching power lines. Instead of going to investigate with her best friend, she and Tyler head somewhere quiet where they can be alone together. The two find solace in the school's theater, backstage. Tyler wants to do more than just kissing, and Lori becomes hesitant, thinking things are moving faster than she'd like. She insists on going back to the prom, when Tyler gets abruptly stabbed in the head right before her eyes. After Tyler's death, Lori bolts precisely because her life depended on it. But she stops when she hears Megan's screams. She goes down to the basement, where her friend had just discovered the dead bodies of all the missing high schoolers and the school janitor. The two get trapped in the basement as the killer prepares to get them next. But after a close call, they make a narrow escape through a basement window—which winds up injuring Megan's hand. After surviving the near-death experience together, the besties run straight into prom to try and warn everyone else about what's going on. Just as she bursts through the doors of the gymnasium and runs into the crowd, the announcement is made that Lori Granger has won the title of Prom Queen. But instead of tears of joy, her face is running with tears from fear of the killer chasing her and Megan. She and Megan try to warn everyone, but nobody listens before the killer takes the lives of two more student, and amputates the principal. A whole fight scene ensues and Lori is once again close to the kiss of death when Megan comes to her rescue. Then, when Megan's life goes under threat, Lori uses her newly-garnered crown as a weapon and pierces the killer's eye. This is when they catch the killer, whose identity is then revealed as Dan Falconer (Chris Klein)—Tiffany's father, and teacher at Shadyside High. This comes as a shock to everyone. His reason for doing it? Dan says that his murderous rampage was all for Tiffany and his wife Nancy (Katherine Waterston), because he knew how badly they wanted to win the crown. His own wife then suggests that the school call the cops, and Dan is taken away in handcuffs. After the cops come, the dead bodies are taken away, injured people (including Megan) are taken to the hospital, and Nancy Falconer is told to hang back for questioning. This leaves Tiffany in shock and alone. When the police officers offer her a ride home, it's clear that she's still scared and in need of company, and Lori (who lives right across from her) volunteers to ride with her. In the car, we see what looks to be a change of heart in the mean girl. She apologizes to Lori, and says that the pressure from her parents to succeed and win is what got to her head. All is forgiven, and when the officers offer to keep Tiffany company, Tiffany tells Lori not to leave and the Shadyside Prom Queen decides to stay until Mrs. Falconer gets home. When Nancy Falconer gets home, the two teens are fast asleep in Tiffany's bedroom. But the sound of her climbing up the stairs wake them. She has a knife in hand, ready to finish what her husband started at the school. Both Lori and Tiffany run into another room to hide in a closet, and Tiffany goes into a scared rant which immediately shifts into a mischievous monologue. Tiffany then pulls out a small knife from behind her, and Lori quickly realizes that mother and daughter are on the same side. We find out that the real reason why they despise the Grangers, why Tiffany insists on bullying Lori, and why they want to kill her is because Lori's father (who was a handsome golden boy from uppity town Sunnyvale) left Nancy Falconer for Lori's mother Rosemary Granger. And while Rosemary (Joanne Boland) has been accused of killing the Sunnyvaler after getting her pregnant and supposedly leaving her, Nancy confesses that the truth: she had actually killed him. Just as Nancy comes in for the kill, Tiffany says she wants to do the honors. But Lori is able to gather all the strength she has to kick Tiffany of off her, which launches her arch nemesis flying down the stairwell where a falcon statue's sharp wing goes straight through her. Lori is then chased by the last Falconer standing, but she is able to grab a heavy trophy that knocks Nancy down to the ground. In the mid-credits, we see Nancy lying on the ground, bleeding from her head injury. And we see her blood pooling on the carpet forming the Witch's Mark (also known as the Devil's Mark). This is a reference to the rest of the Fear Street trilogy. It hints that Nancy is somehow connected to the Goode family, who made a deal with the devil to secure their status and the prosperity of Sunnyvale by sacrificing the lives of Shadysiders. If you want to learn more, you might want to watch the trilogy (or read through the original book series by R.L. Stine). And expect more Fear Street to come, because Netflix is set to release three more confirmed films to follow Prom Queen.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Fear Street Prom Queen movie review: Netflix's new slasher is a TikTok version of Carrie
There was a time when slasher films had teeth, not just in their kills, but in the way they sank into your brain. Halloween, Scream, even Final Destination (which made a very strong comeback recently) in its prime, these films weren't just gore-fests, they were social rituals. They knew how to tease, how to thrill, and above all, how to build. But with Fear Street: Prom Queen, Netflix reminds us once again that when horror is left in the hands of algorithms and empty nostalgia, what you get is not a movie, it's an echo. Pretty, blood-splattered, but lacking a soul. This film doesn't sneak up on you. It doesn't lure you in. It doesn't even bother pretending it's going to be clever. Instead, it arrives like an overeager emcee at a school function, announcing every character, every subplot, within the first five minutes. 'Hi, I'm Lori. This is my school. That girl's a b***h. That guy's trouble. I'm the underdog.' All delivered via a voiceover so crammed with exposition, you half expect it to come with a bullet-pointed PowerPoint presentation. In horror, mystery is half the game. Here, everything is laid out like a fast-food tray. However, it doesn't spoil the fun, because there isn't any to begin with. Set in 1988, Fear Street: Prom Queen is the latest in Netflix's attempts to spin R L Stine's beloved teenage horror books into some kind of sprawling horror-verse. You might remember the earlier Fear Street trilogy from 2021. It was not flawless, but fun in their own retro, gory way. But Prom Queen is no such slasher symphony. It feels less like a love letter to the genre and more like a hastily written breakup text – impersonal, formulaic, and very easy to delete. The story centers around Lori Granger (India Fowler), an outcast who puts her name up for prom queen at Shadyside High, a school where bad things – very bad things – always seem to happen. Lori is an outcast because of her past, which, of course, everyone knows. And guess what? They tease her about it. How typical – both for high school students and for Netflix. Naturally, there's the mean girl clique among the nominees: perfect hair, sharp tongues, and even sharper teeth when it comes to protecting their social turf. And of course, the prom queen competition is treated like the Holy Grail – the ultimate goal, the golden crown, the center of all drama. It's all so 'textbook' that it forgets to be compelling. Soon, the other nominees begin to die, one by one, in increasingly stylish but unmemorable ways. As the glitter and gore mix, the killer's identity is revealed in a twist that feels less like a sharp turn and more like driving straight into a neon sign flashing 'Are you for real?' There's something almost admirable about Netflix's relentless output of horror content. After all, they once gave us genuine genre gems like The Haunting of Hill House and Gerald's Game. But lately, it feels like the streamer has confused algorithmic greenlighting with actual curation. Fear Street: Prom Queen is the latest addition to this pile, an assembly-line product parading around like it is couture. Let's not pretend that slashers don't sometimes lean into trashy territory – they do. And sometimes, that trashiness becomes cult classics (Showgirls, Jawbreaker, Jennifer's Body). But Prom Queen doesn't revel in its sleaze. It wallows in it. There's a moment – no, a sequence – where teenage girls perform a sultry swimsuit dance on stage during prom night, and the principal, on seeing it, mutters a cartoonish 'Wowzers' like he's in a rejected Family Guy gag. You're left wondering: is this parody? Camp? Satire? No. It's just lazily provocative, the cinematic equivalent of that one classmate who says 'sex' loudly in every conversation just to get a reaction. Except here, the reaction is mostly cringe. And then, like a cherry on top of this confused sundae, the film dares — dares — to reference Rosemary's Baby. Yes, Polanski's masterclass in paranoia and maternal horror. It's not so much a homage as a name-drop, the kind you make when you want to sound clever but haven't actually read the book. Mentioning Rosemary's Baby in Prom Queen is like comparing an overcooked Maggi bowl to a seven-course meal by Massimo Bottura. One changed the horror genre forever. The other can't decide whether it's a slasher, a teen drama, or an extended TikTok skit. For a film branded as a slasher, Prom Queen feels oddly neutered. Yes, there are murders, and yes, the camera moves like it went to Wes Craven school, but the violence lacks bite, the suspense fizzles, and the killer – oh, the killer – has the charisma of a mannequin wearing a scream mask. There's no inventiveness in the kills, no rhythm to the stalking, and certainly no tension that makes you grip your armrest. What Prom Queen never understands is that slasher films – even the cheesy ones – work best when characters feel real, even if their situations are unreal. We need to root for someone, fear for someone, or hate someone passionately enough to want them gone. Here, we just watch people walk in and out of scenes, say lines that feel AI-generated, and then die without consequence. In a twisted way, Prom Queen is just like its killers – pretty on the outside, dead on the inside. The film postures as a horror flick, wears the right outfit, shows up to the party, but contributes nothing to the conversation. It's glitter without grit. The kind of horror film that's afraid of being too scary, too weird, too bold. So while horror continues to thrive elsewhere, on bigger screens and bolder scripts, Fear Street: Prom Queen is content being the background noise – the song that plays at the party that no one really dances to. It might think it's Carrie. In reality, it's a TikTok filter version of it. Fear Street: Prom Queen Fear Street: Prom Queen Cast – India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Katherine Waterston, Lili Taylor, Chris Klein, Ella Rubin Fear Street: Prom Queen Director – Matt Palmer Fear Street: Prom Queen Rating – 1/5
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Netflix's Fear Street: Prom Queen movie draws backlash from Fear Street book series fans: 'Disrespectful to the original trilogy'
Fear Street: Prom Queen, based on the 1992 book The Prom Queen by R. L. Stine, was released on Netflix over the weekend with much anticipation, thanks to the strong fan following of the Fear Street book series and the previously released film trilogy. Directed by Matt Palmer, the film stars India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, Chris Klein, Ariana Greenblatt, Lili Taylor, and Katherine Waterston. Set in 1988, the story follows a masked killer targeting prom queen candidates at Shadyside High. Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978, and Fear Street Part Three: 1666 were released on Netflix in 2021 on a weekly basis. While the film adaptation of the trilogy impressed fans with its mix of slasher horror and supernatural twists, this new entry has left many disappointed. What's the premise of Fear Street: Prom Queen? In 1988, Shadyside High's senior class gears up for prom, hoping to shake off the town's dark reputation. Lori Granger (India Flower), an outcast due to rumours surrounding her mother, runs for prom queen against the popular "Wolfpack," led by Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza). Vice Principal Brekenridge sees prom as a fresh start for the school, but the night before, candidate Christy Renault (Ariana Greenblatt) is murdered by a masked killer. On prom night, Lori arrives with her best friend Megan (Suzanna Son). A prank gone wrong creates a rift between them. Meanwhile, members of the Wolfpack and their dates are picked off one by one, Linda and Bobby are murdered, and Debbie dies in the basement. Lori receives anonymous flowers, while Tiffany taunts her about her mother's past. A dance-off ends with Lori stealing the spotlight, embarrassing Tiffany. After Tyler dumps Tiffany and flirts with Lori, he's murdered by the killer. Megan suspects the killer is Devlin, the vice principal's son, but Lori dismisses her theory. Megan discovers the bodies in the basement, and Lori narrowly escapes an attack. During the prom queen announcement, the killer strikes again, murdering students before Lori stabs him with her crown. He's revealed to be Tiffany's father, Dan Falconer. Dan is arrested, and Lori spends the night at Tiffany's, but the nightmare isn't over. Tiffany and her mother, Nancy, reveal they were also behind the killings. Nancy confesses she murdered Lori's father out of jealousy. Lori kills both Tiffany and Nancy in self-defence. As Nancy dies, her blood forms the Witch's Mark, suggesting evil still lingers. Why are fans disappointed by Fear Street: Prom Queen? Despite trending globally on Netflix, fans have voiced strong criticism against Fear Street: Prom Queen. Many took issue with the film's deviation from the original book, from character name changes to altering the killer's identity. Some felt the film took too long to get going, with many calling the first 30 minutes boring. One user wrote, "Why does Fear Street: Prom Queen not feel like Fear Street at all… It's not scary; everyone has iPhone faces, and everything they do is super cringe." why does fear street: prom queen not feel like fear street at all… it's not scary, everyone has iphone faces and everything they do is super cringe 😭😭😭 Another added, "Fear Street Prom Queen was so bad at making their characters distinguishable bc how did I JUST find out Tiffany's dad was a teacher in the high school." Fear Street Prom Queen was so bad at making their characters distinguishable bc how did I JUST find out Tiffany's dad was a teacher in the high school "Rewatching the Fear Street trilogy to make up for the disappointment that Prom Queen was," wrote another fan. rewatching the fear street trilogy to make up for the disappointment that prom queen was "Just finished FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN. almost feels like it could be a decent, entertaining time for the first half hour but it has like two tricks up its sleeve and just gets incredibly dull for most of the runtime. the most annoying characters of the year also. bleugh." just finished FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN. almost feels like it could be a decent, entertaining time for the first half hour but it has like two tricks up its sleeve and just gets incredibly dull for most of the runtime. the most annoying characters of the year also. bleugh. One user wrote, "fear street prom queen was so ass... i can't believe they ruined the crazy run that the Fear Street trilogy laid down." fear street prom queen was so ass... i cant believe they ruined the crazy run that fear street trilogy laid down "Fear Street: Prom Queen is now streaming on Street Prom Queen was the most predictable cliché movie I've ever seen. The moment 2 killers were shown, I automatically knew it was the parents... disrespectful to the original trilogy," one mentioned. fear street prom queen was the most predictable cliche movie ive ever seen 😭😭 the moment 2 killers were shown i automatically knew it was the parents... disrespectful to the original trilogy Fear Street: Prom Queen is now streaming on Netflix.
Express Tribune
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Fear Street: Prom Queen takes over LA's Fonda Theatre as Netflix turns to immersive experience
Netflix marked the release of Fear Street: Prom Queen with an immersive 1980s-themed prom event in Los Angeles, transforming a local theatre into the haunted halls of Shadyside High as cast members joined fans in celebrating the latest instalment in the slasher franchise. The fourth film in Netflix's Fear Street series, Prom Queen, began streaming on Friday. The horror film, directed by Matt Palmer and based on R.L. Stine's novels, follows a series of disappearances from a popular clique at Shadyside High in 1988. To promote the release, Netflix hosted a live experience from 17 to 19 May at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. The event recreated locations from the film — including the gymnasium, lockers, and girls' bathroom — to immerse attendees in the slasher setting. On 18 May, Palmer and cast members India Fowler, Suzanna Son, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, Ariana Greenblatt, and Rebecca Ablack attended the 'Shadyside High Senior Prom '88.' The actors mingled with fans exploring the interactive venue, which included staged jump scares and theatrical interactions with costumed performers. 'Fear Street is a beloved franchise, so our main goal was for the experience to mirror everything the fandom loves about the films — terrifying jump scares, solving a mystery and wall-to-wall fun,' said Jonathan Helfgot, vice president of film marketing at Netflix. The franchise began with Fear Street Part One: 1994 in July 2021, and each instalment is set in a different decade. For the new film, the team leaned into 1980s nostalgia, with decor and music from the era as fans encountered horror scenes, including an axe-wielding character emerging from a janitor's closet. Helfgot added: 'We meticulously recreated Shadyside High circa 1988 so that fans could fully immerse themselves in the world of the story. Whether it was cheering along to an impromptu dance-off or getting reprimanded by a strict teacher, everyone loved being at high school in the '80s — even those chased through it.' The film continues Netflix's attempt to build on the cult following of the Fear Street series, which blends horror, humour and teen drama. Critics of previous entries praised the series' balance of genre elements and nods to both the source material and modern classics like Scream. Fear Street: Prom Queen is now streaming on Netflix.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix 'Fear Street: Prom Queen' star was excited to go from real high school 'nerd' to popular jock in movie
The Fear Street films, based on the popular R.L. Stine book series, continue with the release of Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix. Starring India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Ariana Greenblatt, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, Chris Klein, Lili Taylor, Katherine Waterston, Rebecca Ablack and Ilan O'Driscoll, the Shadyside High prom season is in full force. But when the 1988 prom queen candidates starts disappearing, prom night ends up taking a terrifying turn. While the previous three movies are considered a complete trilogy, Fear Street: Prom Queen is a stand-alone story that intersects with the established lore. Among the stars in the film is Canadian Ryan Rosery, who grew up in Scarborough, Ont. He plays Chad, boyfriend to Rubin's character Melissa. "He's kind of a goofball, but he also is one of the jocks," Rosery told Yahoo Canada. "He enjoys being a jock. He loves his friends. He cares for his friends. He really cares about his girlfriend, Melissa, as well." "He's a little bit of an asshole too, but he's there to have a good time." Being able to go back to high school for a character was something the actor was really excited about. "I've always wanted to go back and do a high school role, because in high school I really wasn't the cool guy. I was actually such a giant nerd. I got made fun of. I like anime and they were like, 'What? This guy's weird,'" Rosery shared. "Going back now to being a popular character in this movie, ... this is such a different shift for me, and going back and .. replaying prom, it was a lot of fun." For Rosery, his passion for acting started in the fourth grade when he was watching an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Rosery thought, "I want to make people laugh like Will Smith." "I'd always been a funny, goofy, class clown kind of kid. I did all the drama in school, and then eventually in high school I started to get more serious about it, after a girl had broken my heart," Rosery said. "And I remember sitting there thinking, 'Oh man, I've got to get revenge. What can I do?' And I was like, 'Oh, I'm going to become an actor." "So from that point I was basically just going all in and trying to become an actor. Thinking to myself, I'm going to become famous and then make this girl regret breaking my heart. But then as time went on, [it was] less about the fame and more about the work, and I just fell in love deeper with the craft." But Rosery also admitted that getting a role, especially on a notable project with global reach, was difficult. "From 2014 until about 2018, I wasn't really getting auditions, it was very far and few between, and I wasn't getting the opportunities that I wanted," Rosery said. "And I actually remember running into a friend of mine in an audition and was like, 'Man, I haven't booked anything in like two years, three years.' And he's like, 'Bro, how have you not quit yet?'" "Then I ended up making a transition in 2018 to move to Vancouver and from that point, that moment on, I started getting on bigger projects. Riverdale, I got on Batwoman. ... It's been such a blessing, because it's a reminder that it takes time, and you have to be committed to what you want, ... and it's not for the faint of heart. You have to really love it. Among Rosery's work is playing Latrell in Mayor of Kingstown, working with Jeremy Renner in Ontario. Initially only set to be on the show for a short time, his role ended up being extended to the entire first season. "I'm actually very thankful for that as well ... because that was the same year my mom passed away, so I actually got to spend that last summer with my mom," Rosery shared. "But finding out ... that I got to be on this project, that I knew nothing about, and then to go on and meet Jeremy Renner, who's such a phenomenal talent, and even Tobi Bamtefa, who became a good friend of mine after that project, ... now I'm part of this amazing, beautiful universe by the great Taylor Sheridan." "It was such just a blessing to be part of something like that, because I had no idea what I was going into. And then ... to be put into eight episodes, that was a win for me." Something Rosery learned from that experience, from Bamtefa specifically, is to "take risks." "Also I learned, just kind of watching Jeremy, ... he knows that he's in such a blessed position in his life and he loves doing the craft, he loves making art and he's just about the work," Rosery said. "He's not about the fame, the acclaims, ... he doesn't care about that. ... Just focus on the work and let everything else fall into place." But being a huge anime fan, Rosery would love to get a role in a One Piece project. "Luffy talking about, 'I want to become king of the pirates,' ... I was like, 'Oh, I'm invested in this kid's journey. I want to see him become king of the pirates,'" he said. "I love One Piece and I would love the opportunity to audition to be on that show."
