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[REVIEW] ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ It’s Not Great…

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I was obsessed with Fear Street as a kid. I still have my collection of the popular YA horror detailing the murder and mayhem in Shadyside. These books have moved around the country with me. I even secretly hope to adapt a few of them for the screen someday. So, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I have to tell you that Fear Street: Prom Queen is a strong contender for the worst movie to hit streaming (so far) this year. Here is our review of Fear Street: Prom Queen.

I felt Netflix’s 2021 Fear Street trilogy, helmed by Leigh Janiak, was okay. We had some great kills, it added intersectional lead characters as canon, and the soundtrack was a banger. Did it feel more like a project that was moved to Fear Street rather than an adaptation of any of my beloved books? Yes. Was it the worst thing that could have happened to the beloved series? No.

However, I could not help getting more excited for this fourth installment. Mainly because the title Fear Street: Prom Queen is so close to Fear Street: The Prom Queen. It gave my nerd heart hope that we would finally see one of the actual books on screen. However, we rarely get what we want in life.

A Disappointing 1988 Vibe

Fear Street: Prom Queen does take place during prom season. It does have a group of high school girls who want the crown for various reasons. We even eventually get around to some underwhelming murders. However, this 1988 moment left a lot to be desired. When it opens with the synth music and the 1980s high school, giving us Stranger Things vibes, I knew it would be different than anything that came before.

I quickly made peace with that and gave the first act grace, even when it started to experience turbulence. Not only is this installment bad, but it also undoes all of the goodwill the first three movies built with the audience. The characters feel one note, the pacing never finds the gas pedal, and by the time it got to the revealsI wanted to take a nap. 

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Fear Street: Prom Queen and its One Dimensional Cast

We follow Lori (India Fowler), an outcast at her school who has been nominated for Prom Queen. As our narrator, she gives us the one-dimensional descriptions of everyone else. This includes her best friend Megan (Suzanna Son), who Lori tells us is a stoner and horror nerd.

We quickly realize Megan is also a Queer sidekick as this movie will not be following in the predecessor’s footsteps. There will be no queer Black characters at the front this time. Anyway, part of Lori’s deal is the town hates her mother because of mysterious events that transpired at her prom while she was pregnant with Lori.

This wild speculation and gossip has become the gospel that haunts Lori. It is also ammunition for her bully and prom queen competition, Tiffany (Fina Strazza).

Tiffany is one of the many characters that could be more interesting. However, the writing and direction will not let her be great. Each time she corners Lori to torment her with an exposition-filled monologue in whispered tones, I wondered if this was really the best option.

The way Tiffany runs her squad and twists the verbal knife into her bestie’s heart gives glimmers of a more interesting villain. Sadly, Fear Street: Prom Queen forces her also to be one-dimensional.

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The project also wastes Lili Taylor as Vice Principal Dolores Brekenridge. A woman who demands law and order in her school but is just a stock character. However, at least it allows the actor to stop the whole affair from being a complete flatline.

My fellow millennials will also get a kick out of seeing Chris Klein as Dan Falconer. Dan is a teacher at the high school who happens to also be Tiffany’s dad. He might also have the silliest character arc of anyone in this situation. 

The Killer in Fear Street: Prom Queen

Lackluster Kills with No Tension

One of the things Fear Street (the books and the first three films) has going for them is the kills. Not only do teens die, but also the rest of the teens have to carry on as their classmates get turned into charcuterie.

Fear Street: Prom Queen opted out of all of that. The first kill is an uninspired axe to the shoulder. There was no fight, no struggle or chase. Just a whimper of a weapon going into someone’s back while they look off into the night. That aspiring prom queen is a drug dealer, so a few people ask about her, but no one really looks for her. Any hope that Christy’s (Ariana Greenblatt) whimper of a death scene would not set the tone is dashed at the prom.

Matt Palmer’s direction never allows for any tension building. This would not necessarily be a bad thing if Fear Street: Prom Queen ever found a rhythm. Or at least picked up the pace during the kills. However, they are all as slow and uninspired as the rest of the movie. Co-writers Palmer and Donald Mcleary never gave any of the characters a chance to have texture.

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So, none of the deaths have weight on top of the killer just appearing next to the victims as if by magic. They also never got out of their way long enough to let the story do anything interesting or avoid being so formulaic. So, the few times they think they are surprising the audience falls flat.

Formulaic Storytelling and Flat Reveals

Each killer reveal was somehow equally ridiculous, expected, and underwhelming. This makes Lori’s fight for survival too tepid for us to root for her when she gets her final girl moment. 

I tried to gaslight myself into saying the movie was going for camp. After all, Tiffany and Lori have a weird dance-off to Gloria (a 1982 anthem) during the prom when things get too heated. However, as the entire runtime felt like a rehearsal instead of a performance, I might never know what the tone was supposed to be.

Sadly, I stopped trying to understand the mess and endured because that is my job. I finish things and tell people what I saw, and if I think it is worth watching. With great displeasure, I must tell you that Fear Street: Prom Queen feels like CW and Tubi had a baby behind a Radio Shack in hell. Not in a fun and chaotic way. More like the people didn’t understand the assignment and assumed their audience does not have standards.

A Letdown for Fear Street and Slasher Fans

I did not have a good time with Fear Street: Prom Queen and would like my time back. I love slashers and the books the movie is allegedly inspired by. So, I hate that it fails in both lanes.  It especially hurts because the Fear Street books are right there in all their fun glory.

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While this did not capture any of the thrills of my favorite parts of the series, it did force me to find even more ways to appreciate the 2021 Netflix trilogy. It was not the Fear Street of our youth, but it got a few things right. Also, it at least gave horror fans something to talk about.

So, it really sucks to see this one campaigning for a spot at the bottom of the discount bin. 

Fear Street: Prom Queen is now available on Netflix.

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Sharai is a writer, horror podcaster, freelancer, and recovering theatre kid. She is one-half of the podcast of Nightmare On Fierce Street, one-third of Blerdy Massacre, and co-hosts various other horror podcasts. She has bylines at Dread Central, Fangoria, and Horror Movie Blog. She spends way too much time with her TV while failing to escape the Midwest. You can find her most days on Instagram and Twitter. However, if you do find her, she will try to make you watch some scary stuff.

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[Tribeca Film Festival 2025] ‘Queens of the Dead’: A Fresh—and Fierce—Take on Classic Zombie Films

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Queens of the Dead starts, as so many wild stories do, with a sketchy app-initiated hookup.

Drag artist Z Queen (played by Julie J) makes a pitstop at her church on the way home from a night out. She drops some cash into the donation box, says a few words of prayer…and gets a notification from the Grindr-esque hookup app Skins saying that someone in the building swiped right on her profile. Intrigued, she goes to look for the mystery suitor, but instead of a casual encounter, she finds a zombie priest who promptly attacks her.

Brooklyn Drag Show Meets Zombie Apocalypse

In a Brooklyn warehouse, DJ and party organizer Dre (Katy O’Brian) is preparing for that night’s Easter-themed drag show, contending with drama between the performers, a backed-up toilet requiring the plumbing expertise of her brother-in-law Barry (Quincy Dunn-Baker)—who is spectacularly ignorant about queer culture—, and her spacey but well-intentioned intern Kelsey (Jack Haven). When one of the headlining drag queens, Yasmine (Dominique Jackson), flakes in order to do a paid appearance at a vodka launch, her former friend Sam (Jaquel Spivey) shows up to resurrect his drag persona, Samoncé. Sam, now a nurse working with Dre’s wife Lizzy (Riki Lindhome) at a local hospital, hasn’t performed in a while; the last time he was supposed to, at a major party that Dre organized, he got cold feet, forcing her to refund everyone’s tickets, amounting to $9,000. Sam is there now, though, ready to help Dre and perform with his drag mother Ginsey (Nina West).

But then, another problem arises: the zombie apocalypse hits New York. Now, as a horde of slow-moving but ravenous undead descend upon the warehouse, the group must put aside their personal conflicts and work together to survive.

Tina Romero’s Hilarious Horror-Comedy Debut

In her directorial debut, Tina Romero serves up a delightful zombie horror-comedy that’s hilarious and heartfelt. Her film, co-written by Erin Judge and brought to life by an outstanding ensemble cast (rounded out with Shaunette Renée Wilson, Cheyenne Jackson, Samora la Perdida, and Becca Blackwell), is filled with quippy one-liners, energetic zombie scenes, and well-developed characters with believable relationships with each other. Costumes designed by David Tabbert and hair and makeup led by Mitchell Beck and Christina Grant, respectively, steal the spotlight. And yes, there are a few references to the OG zombie picture helmed by Romero’s father in the forms of an Impala named “Barbara”, a character quoting, “They’re coming for you, Barbara”, and the line, “This is not a George Romero movie.” Tom Savini even has a cameo appearance.

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Most notable about Queens of the Dead is that it was clearly made specifically for queer audiences (in the best way!). In addition to the cast being populated by iconic queer and trans actors, there are drag culture references, cishet men getting tripped up by third-person singular pronouns, a butch power dyke wielding a power drill, and some raunchy humor: in one scene, an influencer’s presumably straight (or “straight”) boyfriend unwittingly simulates fellatio on a penis-shaped cake pop; in another, Kelsey—injured by a poorly-aimed axe meant for a zombie—tells her worried fiancée Pops (the aforementioned power dyke, played by Margaret Cho) that she wasn’t bitten, but instead has an “axe wound”, leading to one of the queens telling her not to brag about it. The sound bite of Kelsey saying, “I got an axe wound”, is sampled and remixed into an upbeat, danceable tune that plays during the closing credits.

Queens of the Dead Addresses Real Queer and Trans Issues

Interwoven with the comedy and zombie-fighting scenes are plot points that explore real issues that impact queer and trans communities, such as pervasive drug use in drag scenes and healthcare trauma among trans people. The character Nico (played by Tomas Matos) is a drug dealing (and using) dancer and aspiring drag queen who feels ostracized and disrespected as an artist by Ginsey and Sam. Meanwhile, Lizzy’s patient at the hospital—and companion as they outrun zombies—is a young trans woman named Jane (played by Eve Lindley) who has been getting her HRT from dealers rather than licensed doctors. It’s important to note that Romero and Judge don’t showcase these issues through a moralistic lens; they’re presented in a matter-of-fact and deeply compassionate way.

Why Queens of the Dead Slays

Although there could have been a bit more gore, overall, Queens of the Dead is a thoroughly entertaining zombie flick that also manages to be deeply comforting for queer viewers. The central cast is funny without being relegated to the butt of the joke; the lesbian characters aren’t sexualized for the titillation of straight male audiences; the creativity and DIY prowess for which drag queens are famous is highlighted in the fresh context of zombie-fighting weaponry and armor. The characters are messy, complicated, and bitchy. They’re also smart, resilient, and loving. They, like the film as a whole, slay in every sense of the word.

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[REVIEW] ‘The Fly 2’: Less Surrealism, More Slime

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You’ll never change my mind on this: handing over the reins of a horror movie franchise to a special effects artist is always the right choice. Case in point, The Fly 2.

The Case for Special Effects Artists as Horror Directors

Mastercraft horror needs masters to put it together, and the FX and makeup artists who stitch together the on-screen monstrosities we come to know and love are much more experienced with the directing and photography than their title would suggest.

Lighting the monsters, blocking them, choreographing their motions and how they pass through the sets they’re inhabiting, and even understanding character motivations and emotions and how to portray them. They have skills that transfer over to head-on directing and dealing with actors quite nicely that we often overlook.

Today we aren’t talking about Screaming Mad George’s foray into gooey sci-fi with The Guyver, or Alec Gillis’s viral crowdfunded Harbinger Down, although I do hope to cover both of those sooner than later.

Spotlight on The Fly 2: An Unconventional Sequel

We’ll be touching on the unsung and unsuspectingly great sequel to David Cronenberg’s classic, The Fly 2. Picking up where the previous film left off, Veronica’s nightmare has come true: her child by Seth Brundle, the genius scientist turned insect abomination by his own ambitions, has come to term.

Bartok Industries, the company Seth worked for, has taken the child Martin Brundle into their stead to study his rapid growth and abnormal intelligence. Suffering from the same symptoms as his father, Martin attempts to get the telepods working again in a desperate ploy to repair his damaged DNA. Things, as expected, go horribly wrong.

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While this might seem like a straightforward sequel, its quirks make it anything but normal. The Fly 2 eschews much of its previous film’s more surreal and philosophical qualities, exploring the nature of humanity, and leans into the campy science fiction aspects to match its body horror.

Tonal Shifts and Quirky Energy

That doesn’t make it a less worthy sequel, but it does make it unexpectedly off kilter. Tonally, it’s a screwball, starting with some wildly nasty pregnancy horror as we see Martin’s birth in a larval form. Then, for roughly the first 30 minutes, it bounces between children’s adventure film energy, to a college romance, back to horror occasionally before settling into its sci-fi horror nest.

The sharp contrast between the especially dark moments like Martin interacting with a failed telepod experiment and him dancing with his girlfriend give The Fly 2 a very odd energy that in some aspects I’d describe as off the wall, which at the very least makes it more memorable.

Standout Performances Amid Script Challenges

Issues with the script itself become exacerbated by a lack of strong voices; with no Jeff Goldblum and a regrettably absent Geena Davis, the only really notably great performance is Lee Richardson who plays the mustache-twirlingly devilish Anton Bartok with all the corporate nastiness of Ned Beatty in Network.

Credit is due to a returning John Getz, whose portrayal of a now physically and emotionally scarred Stathis Borans is a fun challenge he embraces.  

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While the film does spin its wheels with an honestly completely uncompelling romance for a good chunk of its runtime (think Dan and Megan from Re-Animator with no Herbert to play off of; dreadfully unimportant in the grand scheme of things and not enough humor to derive a good time from), this is alleviated by the rest of the film focusing on the slimy degeneration of our main character, as Martin’s mutations are good and truly off the rails.

Stellar Makeup and Creature Design by Chris Walas

Director Chris Walas and the rest of Amalgamated Dynamics work here is every bit as fantastic as the first film, bringing us plenty of foul fluid and far-gone flesh to make you nauseous. Martin’s slow transformation I would argue is even better than Seth’s, even if the scenes of Martin lamenting and later accepting his change lacks a lot of the dark humor that came with Goldblum’s ambitions to become the first insect politician.

The technical skill on display with this makeup plays best on screen in the film’s climax, featuring the brand-new creature in the Martinfly; it has a greater range of motion than the original Brundlefly, and the sprawling industrial facility the finale takes place in takes advantage of that.

The Climactic Chaos of the Martinfly

Slamming through windows, spewing acid vomit, and swiping with chitinous claws should sell you on the twenty-some minutes of mayhem Martinfly causes.

The Fly 2 isn’t a masterpiece, but this is where my pedantic nature shows; as I said in the opening, it is a masterfully crafted film. It’s a truly admirable attempt at a sequel trying to follow up on one of the greatest horror films of all time, made by one of the most talented special effects artists in American film history. Cronenberg’s fingerprint may not be on it, but it shows a good deal of respect for the original creation it is working off of without turning into a complete retread.

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And for that, it deserves much more attention and love than it gets.  

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