Although this weekend may be dominated by Marvel’s long-awaited Black Widow, Netflix has offered up the latest installment of their Fear Street trilogy for those who prefer frights over tights. This spooky sequel, as the followup to last week’s Part One: 1994, sheds more light on the monsters and lore that haunt the unlucky town of Shadyside.
Part One concluded with our heroine Denna (Kiana Madiera) and her younger brother tracking down the elusive C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs) to learn more about how she survived her encounter with the witch’s curse. Part Two picks up at this exact moment and uses the visit with Jacobs’ character as a framing device. The real action of the movie takes place in 1978 when, as the adult C. Berman explains, she was the only survivor of a summer camp massacre that claimed her sister’s life. We’re then treated to a 90 minute Friday the 13th Part One homage, where a masked killer stalks and kills the teens and tweens unlucky enough to attend Camp Nightwing.
Playing the unfortunate sisters are Stranger Things standout Sadie Sink and relative newcomer Emily Rudd, both of whom shine throughout the action of the movie’s climax. I’m trying to be careful in my wording here, as to avoid spoiling a detail that’s treated as “the big twist.” However, it doesn’t really work as a surprising reveal, in part because the trailer attached to the end of Part One basically gave this information away already. Regardless, both actresses are very impressive with what they’ve been given. Sink plays the troubled problem-child, lashing out at everyone around her, whereas Rudd’s character is a Final Girl so comically pure she makes Halloween’s Jamie Lee Curtis look provocative.
The main issue I have with Part Two is the sincerity with which they act out these tired horror movie clichés. Part One subverted these tropes by combining different aspects of them to create unexpected characters (the straight-A cheerleader dealing drugs on the side, the queer final girl, etc.), while Part Two is content simply rehashing archetypes without adding anything new to say. It’s certainly still a fun watch, just not as inventive or fresh when compared to last week’s film.
If there’s one thing that does set this movie apart from other teen slashers, it’s the ruthlessness of the kills. Most horror movies of this subgenre act out a sort of morality play, where the characters who have behaved “wrongly” are, therefore “punished” with graphic deaths. 1978 does not care if you think a character deserves their fate. This movie kills everyone equally. Young adults, little kids, it doesn’t matter. Everyone at Camp Nightwing is subject to the killer’s reign, which, totally messed up as it may be, is somewhat refreshing. The kills in this movie are genuinely surprising, which is something you can’t say about many similar movies.
In the end, this is a deeply nostalgic, somewhat repetitive sequel to a better movie. Perhaps it was mostly laying the groundwork for something really great with next weekend’s final installment, Part Three: 1666. Based on the trailer attached to the end of Part Two, it seems to be a truly bizarre way to conclude a trilogy. Big Back to the Future Part III vibes. Here’s hoping it’s as satisfying as Part One.
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