Rami Ungar The Writer

Netflix has been marketing this as the movie event of the summer, a trilogy of films based on the books by RL Stine (which I have not read, so I can’t tell how faithful it is to the books). While I’m more tempted to call the movie adaptation of In the Heights the movie event of the summer (prove me wrong!), I was willing to dive in and check the first film of the trilogy out.

It also gave me an opportunity to remind you all that in 1994, I was only a year old. Yeah, that’s right. I turned a year old in 1994. Plenty of you reading this blog are old! And you’re welcome for the reminder.

Taking place in 1994, Fear Street Part One takes place in the town of Shadyside, which is famous for its bloody massacres every 10-20 years. After a massacre at the local mall, teenagers from Shadyside get into a dispute with their counterparts from the more prosperous city of Sunnyvale. This has deadly consequences, as the violence ends up waking the spirit of Sarah Fier, a witch who cursed Shadyside over three centuries ago. And if they’re not careful, all of them will end up dead.

For a slasher, it’s not just a lot of fun. It’s well-written! For one thing, the characters are given quite a lot of development, given the film is less than two hours. I honestly forgot these kids were actors and actually believed they were these characters. Thus, I felt their pain and emotions when they went through interpersonal drama, as well as their own terror.

Not to mention, the writing for this movie was above-average. After a certain point in the plot, the film could have done a very simple, by-the-numbers plot, but they managed to include several plot twists and new directions that I wasn’t expecting. Combined with the great actors, the film not shying away from some seriously brutal violence, and a lack of distracting CGI, and the film ends up pretty good.

That being said, it wasn’t anything extraordinary. It was fun, but it won’t become anything classic like other horror films I could name. And some parts of the plot were kinda predictable by their tropiness. Not a bad thing, but still rather predictable.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I’ll give Fear Street Part One: 1994 an even 4. I would give it a higher score, but I don’t want to make this movie seem bigger than it is. Still, it’s an enjoyable slasher and I look forward to seeing how they continue the story in Part Two: 1978 (yeah, you’d think it’s a prequel, but technically it’s not). I’ll let you all know as soon as I see it what I think of it.

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Just a reminder, Followers of Fear: my ten-year blogging anniversary is coming up, so I’m marking the occasion with an AMA! Between now and 11:59 PM on July 28th, 2021, I’ll be accepting (almost) any question you send me. And one lucky questioner will be given a special prize for submitting their question! Just send an email to ramiungar@ramiungarthewriter.com with your question and where you’re from. I look forward to reading and answering your questions very soon.

I look forward to hearing from you all. Good night, pleasant nightmares, and remember to look up the local fireworks ordinances in your area before setting them off this weekend. For all you know, your patriotic celebration could be illegal because you don’t have a license, like in Ohio. Some of my neighbors are going to learn that the hard way.