Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (Exclusive Series) (Netflix)

Initial release date: July 2, 2021

Studios: Netflix/Chernin Entertainment

Tagline: Face the Evil

Three movies, Three weeks. One killer story.

Plot: After a series of brutal slayings, a teen and her friends take on an evil force that’s plagued their notorious town for centuries.

Cast

Maya Hawke (Netflix’s Stranger Things) - Heather

Charlene Amoia (The Conjuring 3) - Rachel Thompson

David W. Thompson (Amazon’s Panic) - Ryan Torres

Darrell Britt-Gibson (Judas and the Black Messiah) - Martin

Ashley Zukerman (FXs A Teacher) - Nick Goode

Kiana Madeira - Deena

Benjamin Flores Jr. (Showtime’s Your Honor) - Josh

Julia Rehwald - Kate

Fred Hecinger (Netflix’s Woman in the Window) - Simon

Matthew Zuk (Apple/Sony’s Greyhound) - Mayor Will Goode

Olivia Scott Welsh - Samantha Fraser

Jeremy Ford - Peter

Elizabeth Soopel - Sarah Fier

Jordana Spiro (Netflix’s Ozark) - Mrs. Lane

Writer(s): Phil Graziadei (Fear Street trilogy)

Leigh Janiak (Fear Street trilogy)

R.L. Stine (based upon the Fear Street books by)

Director: Leigh Janiak (Fear Street trilogy)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, drug content and some sexual content (107 min)

This adaptation of the R.L. Stine book series ‘Fear Street’ does have some decently scary moments, yet can be somewhat on the predictable side.

The opening sequence really reminded me of ‘Scream’ - having a masked killer chasing after a few teens in one area. When you see the movie, you can easily tell the comparisons. There is the supernatural element that is mixed into the plot, and that really does add a lot of the scares that ‘Fear Street - Part One’ offers.

Just like most horror movies (especially teen horror movies), once you get to know the main characters, you get a good idea of who’s not going to make it to the end credits.

The ending of the Netflix horror flick does surprise you and the twist eventually does lead right into the next ‘Fear Street’ movie, which I will be checking out later on!

So, if you’re looking for little scares on Netflix, check out ‘Fear Street: Part One - 1994.’ Even though it is on the predictable side, the movie is entertaining and does give you a few good scares.

Here are some interesting tidbits about Netflix’s ‘Fear Street: Part One - 1994’:

• In the opening scene, the book store shelves are filled with ‘Fear Street’ books with the author listed as Robert Lawrence. The “R.L” in R.L. Stine stands for Robert Lawrence.

• The opening scene is an homage to ‘Scream.’ The camera work and even the way he catches and stabs the girl mirrors the opening murder from the 1996 movie. The casting of Maya Hawke is also an homage to Drew Barrymore, as both movies open with the murder of their biggest star.

• On October 9, 0205, TheWrap reported a film based on Stine’s ‘Fear Street’ series was being developed by 20th Century Studios (then Fox) and Chernin Entertainment.

• The film would be the first to be released as part of a trilogy of films set in different time periods. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the trilogy would be shot back to back, with the films released a month apart. Ended up being released a week apart from each other.

• In March 2019, filming began in Atlanta and East Point, Georgia. Filming wrapped in September 2019.

• The film was scheduled to be released in June 2020 but it was pulled from the schedule because of the pandemic. In April 2020, Chernin Entertainment ended their distribution deal with 20th Century and made a multi-year first look deal with Netflix.

• By August 2020, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the ‘Fear Street’ trilogy, with a mid-2021 release date strategy for all three movies.

• Two sequels, entitled ‘Part Two - 1978’ and ‘Part Three - 1666,’ were scheduled for release in subsequent weeks, on July 9 and 16.