Fear Street: Prom Queen somehow became the most divisive horror film of 2025. What was supposed to be nothing more than light R-rated horror for young adults quickly turned into an extreme dichotomy of love and hate. Those who disliked it cited the by-the-book nature of the film as a detractor (there’s no need to mention the Gen Z losers who hated and review-bombed it on LetterBoxd because their TikTok star got killed). I found the by-the-books nature to be a positive. Prom Queen was a face value film, and that’s okay.
The Scream Effect: How Twists Can Overcomplicate Modern Slasher Films
One of my biggest issues with the slasher subgenre is how Scream has inadvertently ruined it. I love Scream, but now, every slasher film has to have a twisty story that’s nearly too stupid and blatant for its own good if it wants to “step out of Scream’s shadow”. Why can’t we just go back to the days when we accepted a slasher to be a slasher and that’s all? There’s obviously merit in writing a slasher film that makes sense, and as long as it does that and is good, then why can’t we be happy? Prom Queen was a straightforward slasher that was good, and I wish people could see it for that.
Since watching Fear Street: Prom Queen, I haven’t watched a single slasher film. When deciding what films to pick for August, I looked over at my shelf, and one DVD stood out. I picked up Jersey Shore Massacre on a whim in 2015 at FYE, but I never watched it. The idea of owning Jersey Shore Massacre was more novel than watching the film. Would this really be the first slasher I watch post Prom Queen? To my surprise…it’s kind of great. I couldn’t stop drawing parallels between it and Prom Queen. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Jersey Shore Massacre: GTL Turns to GTFO
Jersey Shore Massacre follows a group of friends, Gigi (Christina Scaglione), Teresa (Danielle Dallacco), Dina (Angelica Boccella), Joanne (Nicole Rutigliano), Val (Ashley Mitchell), Candi (Nicky Figueredo), and Rosemarie (Leonarda Jonie), who take a weekend trip down to the shore. They arrive at their rental property and learn that the property manager, Ronny (played by Ron Jeremy), has mistakenly rented out their property to another group of girls. Luckily, Teresa’s Uncle Vito (Dominic Lucci) has a sprawling mansion that the girls can stay at for the weekend. Unluckily, it’s in the Pine Barrens. After bringing a group of guys back to their house, things go from GTL to GTFO. Who will survive the Jersey Shore Massacre?
Let’s jump back a bit to the part where I said this film is kind of great. That’s a half-truth. Paul Tarnopol and Goldeneye’s (yes, that’s his name) script is as basic as can be; it’s bargain movie bin at Walmart-level writing. Characters state their emotions in their dialogue, it’s repetitive, and the men are so unbelievably unlikable that it’s beyond frustrating. (I’m looking at you, Freddy’s (Chris Lazzaro) laugh).
The Women of Jersey Shore Massacre Shine
But the kills and female characters are the saving grace. This may be a hot take, but all of the female talent knocked it out of the park. Whereas some of the cast of The Jersey Shore are beyond frustrating and somewhat irredeemable, the ladies here are just slightly annoying. That’s it. Danielle Dall’occo could truly be an incredible scream queen. Angelica Boccella completely embodies Dina and is a delight on screen. Part of me wishes the film was just the ladies because they were just so damn great. Though if that were the case, this film would feel a bit more misogynistic.
Many low-budget films like Jersey Shore Massacre make their kills the center of focus, but are too afraid to linger on the effects. With this film, cinematographer Jay Shropshire and director Tarnopol capture the up-close, gory details, AND they linger on it. They let you sit with the incredible SFX from Cat Bernier. One scene takes place in a barn where someone tussles with the killer while someone has a chair kicked out from under them. Throughout this fight, you see someone in the background the entire time while they kick, twitch, and squirm. It’s this horrific moment of background horror while you watch this life-or-death fight taking place simultaneously. A scene like that has more coordination in it than the majority of low-budget slashers I’ve seen.
Where It Falls Apart: The Disappointing Killer Reveal
Unfortunately, the film completely falls apart at the end. I liked Fear Street: Prom Queen because of how straightforward the reveal was. I almost disliked this film because of how un-straightforward the reveal was. I won’t say anything too spoilery, as I think everyone should give this film a shot. What I will say is that the killer’s motive is…just dumb. It’s basically “just because.” And not in a way that feels clever or overly meta.
Filmmakers should take note of both Fear Street: Prom Queen and Jersey Shore Massacre for a very important lesson: the journey must be justified by the finale, but the finale doesn’t need to make you question the journey. It’s also a lesson in how an unthoughtful killer reveal can nearly draw a movie that’s going 100 miles per hour to a complete stop.
A Surprising Slasher with Tons of Heart and Blood
Jersey Shore Massacre is a meta look at a group of people who were judged by the American public as nothing more than aging ne’er-do-wells, which isn’t far off. This film does a good job of humanizing those who deserve it and dehumanizing those who do. If you can make it through the slow-paced middle third, you’ll be rewarded with some intensely gnarly kills full of enough blood to satiate Richard Chase. It’s beyond crazy that JWoww was an Executive Producer on this film. At least she can look back and laugh at her antics.
Jersey Shore Massacre is streaming Tubi.
