Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Four years ago Netflix produce and released a trilogy of horror movies under the banner of Fear Street based of the teen horror novel series of the same name. With a plot that spanned decades and a story split into distinct years and sub-genres of horror, the Fear Street Trilogy (1994, 1978 and 1666) was like a breath of fresh air slasher fans didn’t even know they needed. And while they weren’t perfect they were highly entertaining.
So, it seems like a no-brainer to continue releasing movies in this universe that surrounds two small towns — one the American dream (Sunnyvale), the other a cursed nightmare (Shadyside) — and keep the horror coming. Sadly, the new standalone entry Fear Street: Prom Queen is as entertaining as watching paint dry. So with a “that’s an hour and a half I’ll never get back” disclaimer, here’s my take on it.
The year: 1988. The location: Shadyside High School as it prepares for prom. Nice girl Lori Granger has hopes of becoming the next prom queen but she’ll have to beat out a group of girls nicknamed *sigh* The Wolfpack with the head wolf (I guess) being Tiffany Falconer, your typical rich and popular mean-girl. There are others involved are Lori’s best friend and horror makeup enthusiast Megan with a few familiar faces like Vice Principal Breckenridge, played by an embarrassingly wasted Lily Taylor (The Conjuring, The Haunting) and Chris Klien (American Pie series, Rollerball) as Tiffany’s dad Dan who admittedly is perfect casting as he does look like a dad named Dan.
The rest of the characters are unimportant, underdeveloped side notes who are there and gone. I’m talking people SO forgettable, when they get maimed or killed your biggest reaction will probably be a slightly raised eyebrow. No hate to the actors though as the blame for this borefest lies solely with the director (Matt Palmer) and writers (Palmer and Donald McLeary). The performers have little to nothing to work with, the shots lack energy (with the exception of one chase scene) and the killer’s reason for doing what they’re doing has to be the laziest most uninspired motive ever conceived.
The biggest travesty of all though lies in the way NONE OF THIS feels tied to the world of Fear Street. I’ve never read the books (this is based on the The Prom Queen by R.L. Stein) so I’m going off the film trilogy here which established a curse that made good people do bad things. Yet that’s never addressed!
This movie is simply a tired remake of 1980’s Prom Night…which already HAS a tired remake, so why even bother! Matter of fact, I would rewatch that a thousand times over before ever sitting to watch this drivel again.
Sommer’s Score: 4.5 out of 10
Have you seen Prom Queen? How would you rate it? And you slash into more horror content below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More