Fear Street Part Two: 1978 releases globally on Netflix this Friday
Synopsis
Shadyside, 1978. School’s out for summer and the activities at Camp Nightwing are about to begin. But when another Shadysider is possessed with the urge to kill, the fun in the sun becomes a gruesome fight for survival.
Review
R.L. Stine’s book-to-film trilogy is back with Fear Street Part Two: 1978; a movie that has some truly great elements yet also has some incredibly derivative moments that bog it down. Part One truly captured the 90s horror genre and paid homage to the likes of Scream and even recent hits such as The Cabin in the Woods (2012). Sure, it had some fairly dull and cringe worthy elements but that didn’t takeaway how some of the other throwback sequences had me truly engaged. Now, with Part Two hitting Netflix globally later this week, does this live up to its predecessor? Read on to find out.
The film takes place in Shadyside, 1978. School’s out for summer and the activities at Camp Nightwing are about to begin. But, when another Shadysider is possessed by a demonic witch with the urge to kill, the fun in the sun becomes a gruesome fight for survival.
Sound familiar? That’s because it is. Fear Street Part Two pays homage to one of the most influential horror franchises of all time, Friday the 13th. You have the crazed axe-dwelling killer charging round the camp slaughtering kids in satanic ways but similar to Part One, the characters are the biggest draw to this film.
Taking place before the original film, weirdly it feels more of a sequel than an actual prequel. You learn more information about the main reoccurring threat throughout the trilogy while seeing this entertaining story play out on screen. Horror fans will certainly be pleased because this may be even more violent than the first film. There are people being thrown into tense situations while you have a blood-hungry killer charging around Camp Nightwing. At times, the gore may be a bit excessive and unnecessarily graphic but it really does show the terror that these characters have to face.
However, Part Two’s first act is a chore to get through. It focuses so much on the rivalry between these two towns in a way that felt incredibly childish and doesn’t work compared to how the characters must change in order to survive the killer. The way the children behave seemed very immature and, sadly, incredibly irritating. If you despised what you saw at the beginning of Part One, it is dialled up even more here unfortunately.
However, the cast are all on top form. Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Emily Rudd truly shine, stopping this movie from going off the rails. They are perfectly cast and embody the characters they are playing. By playing two sisters, there is a message about sibling love at the centre of the film that will be impactful for many people.
Verdict
Fear Street Part Two: 1978 had an incredibly iffy start, however by the end, won me over. There are some truly gnarly kills here in the same vein as Friday the 13th that may be a little bit excessive but keep that tension high. The first act is incredibly weak compared to the latter two acts but the cast and characters are wonderful. If you were a fan of Part One, you will have a good time with Part Two.
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