Murder, mayhem, and a crown: ‘Fear Street’ makes prom a killer affair

Fear Street: Prom Queen, Netflix’s latest installment in the Fear Street film franchise, promises more slashery goodness for fans of Leigh Janiak's highly successful trilogy that kicked things off in 2021 with Fear Street Part One: 1994, Part Two: 1978, and Part Three: 1666. The new horror entry, adapted from R.L. Stine's 1992 novel,  finds the Class of 1988 in danger as a hooded killer stalks prom queen candidates throughout the halls of Shadyside High. 

The movie (premiering on Netflix on May 23) is based on the 1992 R.L. Stine novel of the same name, and judging by the trailer, images, and character posters, co-writer and director Matt Palmer may have taken some liberties with the material. Which, as a die-hard fan (the photo above is from my own collection of all 100 Fear Street books), I’m not entirely mad at. 

So, as an OG fan deeply connected to the book series that dominated shelves in the ‘90s, I have certain expectations for Prom Queen and look forward to the potential Netflix can further squeeze out of this budding horror franchise. Here’s what I’m anticipating:

Bloodiest. Prom. Ever.

Compared to 1980’s Prom Night movie — the granddaddy of prom-themed slashers that starred Jamie Lee Curtis and unrelated to R.L. Stine’s novel — Fear Street: Prom Queen is poised to take the crown when it comes to a kill count. Actually, make that: a kill count that doesn’t involve any telekinesis (gotta give Carrie her flowers). I’m expecting literal murder on the dance floor. Lots of it. 

We haven’t heard the last from Camp Nightwing

In Fear Street Part Two: 1978, we saw campers and counselors alike get brutally butchered at the doomed sleepaway camp (again, thanks to the Shadyside curse), and according to the trailer for the 1988-set Fear Street; Prom Queen, we get a shot of a bulletin board memorializing the massacre that took place 10 years earlier. Could one of the Camp Nightwing survivors make a cameo in the new movie? Is there a connection between our killers, separated by a decade?

There’s something about the faculty at Shadyside High

While the cast of Prom Queen is filled with fresh talent and rising stars, it also features a who’s who of veteran actors we’ve loved for years. Chris Klein (the American Pie franchise) and Lili Taylor (Mystic Pizza, The Conjuring) play faculty members interacting with the Class of 1988, while Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) brings a parent's perspective to the growing horror as the student body count piles up. Casting these familiar faces could be reason enough to assume that some of these adults have a more peculiar role to play in the prom night mayhem. 

No matter the decade, mean girls are timeless

R.L. Stine’s book may have come out in 1992, but it tapped into the competitive nature of teen girls that still exists today, especially when it comes to winning the crown on prom night. Whatever the decade, there will always be rivalry, and Fear: Street: Prom Queen seems to demonstrate plenty of it. Why set it in 1988, though? Easy: the music and fashion were just more iconic, and the wilder the hair, the meaner the girl. Plus, back then, no one had smartphones to help them elude a serial killer. Slashing teens is just easier this way. 

Prom Queen’s killer could easily be supernatural 

As we’ve learned from Fear Street Part Three: 1666, Sarah Fier was used as a scapegoat for the curse on Shadyside, which was really a result of the Goode family’s deal with the Devil, turning residents into mass murderers throughout the centuries. So, it makes sense that the slasher stalking our teens in Fear Street: Prom Queen could be another everyday citizen possessed by the evil forces that have plagued this town. 

A playlist to die for

Speaking of the trailer, the inclusion of Belinda Carlisle’s highly repeatable “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” is a shining example of music supervision brilliance. And if Fear Street Part One: 1994 taught us anything, it’s that producers like Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping know how to set the tone of an era, even with a new creative team behind the camera. So, expect a giant wave of nostalgia in the form of a soundtrack filled with mid-to-late-80s pop hits. I’m thinking “Need You Tonight” by INXS, “Together Forever” by Rick Astley, and “Tell It To My Heart” by Taylor Dayne,  just to name a few.

After the prom ends…

With Fear Street being one of the biggest YA series in publishing history, Netflix currently has its hands on a franchise ripe with possibilities. There’s so much more material to adapt for future films. For instance, R.L. Stine’s much-beloved Cheerleaders trilogy follows a pair of sisters on Shadyside High’s cheer squad battling an evil spirit that possesses their pom-pom-shaking BFFs. And let’s not forget Fear Street’s holiday-themed horrors: Silent Night turned Christmas cheer into fear (spawning two sequels), Halloween Party trapped costumed guests inside a mansion with a killer, and long before Heart Eyes sliced and diced couples, Broken Hearts gave us a memorable Valentine’s Day slasher.

As Fear Street continues to make its mark on pop culture, there’s a special thrill in knowing the fandom is alive and well. I still keep the original paperbacks in mint condition, proudly displayed. A framed collage of my favorite cover art by Bill Schmidt hangs in my hallway, alongside a note from R.L. Stine himself — one I received after my very first fan letter. (I recently had him re-sign and personalize it when I met him for the first time at an event earlier this month.) This is my small shrine to a series that shaped my love for reading, writing, and all things horror.

Fear Street: Prom Queen premieres on Netflix May 23.