Netflix’s R. L. Stine-inspired slasher series is back
Netflix released their well-received Fear Street trilogy in 2021, a sprawling chronicle of terror across multiple generations and centuries, from 1994 to 1978 to 1666. The films garnered generally positive reactions and invited the possibility of more tales from the world of R. L. Stine’s Fear Street series of novels, the teen horror step-up from his better known kid-lit, Goosebumps.
Prom Queen, the new entry in the franchise, based on the Fear Street novel The Prom Queen, takes place in the 80s – the era that many horror fans would consider the Golden Age of slasher moviess and their most iconic villains.
The high-school themed flick takes inspiration and cues from horror movies like Prom Night and Carrie, centering on Lori (renamed from the novel’s Lizzie, probably as a nod to Halloween‘s Laurie Strode), a nice girl who’s not somewhat well-liked but decidedly not part of the in-crowd, for a couple of reasons. The first is the rumors that swirl around her family: her father was mysterious murdered many years ago, and many believe it was her mother who did the deed.
The other is the company she keeps – her longtime best friend is Megan, the queer-coded school misanthrope who loves punk rock and horror movies.
Lori becomes the dark horse candidate for Prom Queen as the fifth contender, alongside the clique of four popular girls who rule the school. But social maneuvering and catty power plays give way to other more pressing concerns on Prom Night, when the prom queen candidates and others start disappearing.(Spoiler: they’re getting murdered).
Prom Queen feels pretty modern in style and tone while also definitely being a throwback. The 80s setting is definitely a tip of the hat to the classic slasher era, and the incredible, pulsating synthwave score provides a modern twist on a vintage-rooted sound.
There’s some light humor peppered in but for the most part it plays pretty straight, if a little familiar. The killer does have a pretty striking design, reminiscent of the masked, rain-coated figure in Alice, Sweet Alice.
While I definitely enjoyed Prom Queen, it doesn’t feel like particularly vital watching. To draw comparisons another recent teen slasher, Clown in a Cornfield, which is still playing in theaters, Clown handles very similar themes and characters with more success and a little less reliance on replaying the hit tropes. It’s definitely the better film of this pairing, while Prom Queen feels more like, well, a movie streaming on Netflix.
But entertain Prom Queen does, with plenty of carnage, attitude, and a killer soundtrack.
A/V Out
Nice movie and you will be hooked up with the other parts later due to connected stories from the past to present.