Fear Street is the first part of a trilogy film that Netflix has released on its streaming platform this year. First of all, Fear Street is based on a series of books under the same name written by the author RL Stine, I don't know too much about the guy but I do know that he has written horror novels that are part of the popular culture today, for example: Goosebumps. I actually read in the past one of the books of the Fear Street series, it´s called ¨Trampa Infernal¨(I´m not sure how it´s called in English) I recommend it, not the best horror thing I´ve ever read but good enough to keep you entertained and it´s short, I finished it in less of a day.
This film is about the story of some young teenagers who, due to certain circumstances that I won´t mention, are being persecuted by a group of people, these people try to murder our protagonists so they must find a way to survive the torment that awaits them, all of this while certain characters have emotional conflicts that must be resolved through the film, it´s a simple premise that reminds of slasher horror films of the 90s.
The decade of the 90s is so fashionable lately, the love of that time is something that this film is not shy to represent, Fear Street has an atmosphere with the looks of the time, from things as simple as music or costumes to the photography and lighting at night, this film was able to represent the 90s in a good way, so it´s not difficult for you to feel part of it, if you are an enthusiast of that time you will feel at home.
The characters are not the typical archetypes of this kind of genre, they are not the best characters in the world but they have an interesting charisma, being honest there are some of them that could be considered a cliché, but nothing that ruins the experience, the characters are usually competent for the situation in which they are trying to find a solution that is on the margin of the realistic.
The plot is basically what you would expect from this genre, kinda generic with some cliches, however I must say that the execution of said cliches is good, it´s not something new or innovative and if you expect something else you´ll get disappointed, even so, the film doesn´t lie in what it wants to offer you and from the first moment you can have a good idea of how the plot and other aspects will develop.
If we talk about the horror factor, it must be said that the film relies a lot on gore to make a strong impression on the viewer, it is not radical so it is cool, another thing that would be good to mention is that Fear Street is totally lacking screamers or jumpscares, so the film uses the environment to its advantage to give a tense atmosphere, this added to the gore as I mentioned earlier makes a good mix.
Fear Street is a film with a concept that we have seen replicated many times, it doesn´t take risks at all and in general terms, if I were to be more strict I would say that this product is even mediocre, however, I love this kind of movies, what can I say, I am passionate about this genre and I feel like you´ll only like this movie if you are into the slasher genre, it is better to keep in mind that this is only the first part of the trilogy, so I have to watch the others, I would like to see if the quality quotas goes up.
Lacking of jumpscares and screamers.
Good atmosphere, it helps to grow the tension.
Good characters, they are not the best of the genre but the attempt to get out of the routine is appreciated.
Good use of the atmosphere, the film transports you to the era of the 90s in an efficient way.
The photography is quite beautiful.
Generic plot, more of the same.
The ¨villains¨ are a bit boring, even in its character design.
Forgettable soundtrack.