Grove City Messenger - July 11th, 2021

PAGE 16 - GROVE CITY MESSENGER - July 11, 2021
In Entertainment
‘Fear Street’ a fun throwback slasher
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In 2015, the hallowed ground that was
built by the deep well of nostalgia shook as
xennials and millennials learned of plans
to develop a series of films based on R.L.
Stine’s beloved “Fear Street” books.
‘Would they be adapting the cheerleader
series first?’ they wondered. ‘Or perhaps
they would go to the start of the first horror
and then build the universe from there?’
It didn’t matter so much, they collectively
agreed, because they had been teased of
big screen and small screen adaptations for
decades. Now, they could finally see this
strange world brought to life thanks to the
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friendly church experience? Try
First Presbyterian Church
of Grove City
4227 Broadway, Grove City
In-person Worship 10 a.m.
Services will continue on
Facebook Live at 10 a.m. as well
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Saturday, July 24, 11:00 am- 1:00 pm
partnership between Chernin
Entertainment and 20th Century Fox.
In the years that followed, a team of
writers and directors who were making
waves in the independent horror genre
were brought on board, and a cast of
promising teen actors combined with veteran
character actors inked deals to animate
(or reanimate, in many cases) characters of
yore.
As the development progressed, news
started to trickle out that the writing team
(Phil Graziadei, Leigh Janiak, and Kyle
Killen) would not be doing any straight
adaptations of Stine’s popular trilogies:
Instead, they would create a new world
loosely based on the “Fear Street” series
that would serve as both a tribute to the
collection and a homage to the slasher films
of that era.
Though the shaking lessened, the interest
was still high.
Then, in 2020, just as the release dates
for the first of the three movies was slated
for release, the pandemic shuttered movie
theaters and put planned distributions on
hold. Not wanting to see their trilogy of terror
shelved for the foreseeable future,
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Chernin Entertainment pulled its distribution
and inked a deal with Netflix.
Several weeks ago, Netflix started to
unveil snippets of the “Fear Street” movies
and the ground started making a little
more noise as the teasers began to generate
buzz. Not only did these films — which take
place during three specific years — look
decent, but they were also going to be
released over the span of three weeks in
July. A strange move perhaps, especially
coming from a binge-friendly service, but
one that made sense given their commitment
to releasing a new film each week for
2021.
On July 9, “Fear Street Part I: 1994”
made its debut on the streaming platform.
And while it is definitely a decent film that
is true to the spirit of the books and all of
the entertainment that was released during
that time, it is weighed down by the
fact that it serves primarily as a set up for
the rest of the trilogy.
As most of its stakes are lowered as it
serves in this capacity, “Fear Street Part I:
1994” often comes across as more of an
overlong pilot in a limited television series
rather than the first installment of an epic
thriller with a trail of terror that spans
centuries. It tries to both establish the current
timeframe while harkening back to
others, but it often gets bogged down as it
teases its succeeding films. It makes for a
frustrating view, but one with good intentions
at heart.
It begins where all of the action took
place during this time — at a mall.
Teenaged Heather (Maya Hawke) is finishing
her shift at B. Dalton bookstore when
she begins to experience an escalation of
odd events. First, she hears scuttling noises
in the silence, and then horror books
begin to fly off the shelves. Suitably
creeped, she rushes to the neon-lit store
where her friend works for safety, but
instead finds a pool of blood and then later
her demise from a Skull Faced figure who
wears the face of a recently deceased
friend.
In any other town, this murder would
have been given plenty of attention from
the media, the local police and the school
where she was a student. But this is
Shadyside, Ohio, the “Murder Capital of
the United States,” and the less that is said
or written about this crime the better.
But just because the town would rather
not dwell on the trauma that took place
doesn’t mean they don’t acknowledge it in
some fashion. They do schedule a candlelight
vigil before an all-important football
game against their rivals at Sunnyvale, but
that too, brings out the fisticuffs.
Not wanting their altercation to end at
the stadium, a group of Sunnyvale students
race after the bus of Shadyside student
athletes and band members. Fed up
with their threatening behavior, Deena
The Reel Deal
Dedra Cordle
(Kiana Madeira)
opens the emergency
door to toss a
cooler full of water
at them but this
causes their vehicle
to crash into the
woods. Immediately
feeling contrite (but mostly because her exgirlfriend
Sam (Olivia Welch) was an
unwitting passenger), she gets the bus to
pull over the assistance but the damage
has already been done.
Though no one was harmed during this
incident, the teens manage to unearth —
and thus disturb — the burial site of Sarah
Fier, a town witch who is said to have laid
a curse on Shadyside before she was
burned at the stake in 1666.
Shortly thereafter, reanimated killers
from the town’s past begin to haunt Deena,
Sam, and their friends Kate (Julia
Rehwald) and Simon (Fred Hechinger).
Though several others are on the menu as
well, (basically anyone who gets in their
way) it is this little group that the spirits
seem to be particularly angry with.
With no ideas on how to stop these spirits
before it kills them, the teens turn to
Deena’s outcast brother Josh (Benjamin
Flores Jr.) who is well versed on
Shadyside’s murderous past. With centuries
worth of news clips on all of the town
terrors at their disposal, they have to figure
out how they can stop the curse and the
cycle of violence that has been plaguing the
town for centuries.
Because of how trilogy series are set up,
the first installment often feels like the
weakest link among the set so it is hard to
fully judge “Fear Street Part I: 1994” in
that respect as its succeeding films have
yet to come out. (“Part II: 1978 drops on
July 16 while “Part III: 1666” drops on July
23). But it could have been more creative
with how it set up the trilogy, rather than
rely on the tried and true method of low
stakes, back-end action, and slow roll
development.
Gripes on how the creative team decided
to construct this world aside, “Fear Street
Part I: 1994” is a rather fun throwback
slasher that is entertaining enough to
watch with its 90s style, slang and music.
Though some viewers will likely be torn as
to whether they want to continue with this
series, I think I’m going to stick with it
until the end.
Grade: B-
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer
and columnist.