Fear Street Part One: 1994

Director: Leigh Janiak
Starring: Kiana Madeira, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, Ashley Zukerman, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Maya Hawke, Jordana Spiro, Jordyn DiNatale, David w. Thompson, Elizabeth Scopel, Gillian Jacobs
Running Time: 107 min.
Rating: R 

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

It's almost impossible to watch Netflix's Fear Street Part One: 1994 without wondering if the project would have existed in this incarnation without the success of Stranger Things. Despite being based on YA horror author R.L. Stine's Fear Street series of books that began in 1989 and being earmarked for an adaptation for years, you wouldn't be wrong to assume it was really The Duffer Brothers' achievement in mixing supernatural horror with Goonies-like nostalgia that really pushed this through. 

Drawing upon that series for far more than just mere inspiration, director Leigh Janiak employs a tone and style that will seem very familar to anyone who's even seen so much as a minute of that show. While she's hardly the first to borrow the template and it can be either good or bad depending on the execution, there's no question the bubble will have to burst at some point, even if we're not there yet. But as far as Stranger Things disciples go, it still ranks as one of the stronger efforts by managing to walk the very thin line of appealing to the younger demographic with its story and placating older horror fans by not cutting corners on the gore and violence.

Even as someone who wouldn't be a part of Netflix's target audience for this three-part series of films released over consecutive weeks, they've kind of made it impossible not to have a great time with it anyway. With familarly likeable, throwback characters, clever dialogue and a decent enough premise, it's also a giant mess of sorts, but one that has the noblest of intentions. So even if the MTV meets Riverdale aesthetic is starting to wear a little thin in pop culture of late, this makes as good a case as any that it can be partially overcome with the right approach. 

The name "R.L. Stine" isn't exactly synonomous with graphic violence, sex or murder, so that Janiak is  able to push things in this direction in a way that doesn't feel forced is impressive, even managing to secure an 'R' rating. Certain aspects are weird, flawed and occasionally cringeworthy, but you definitely won't be bored. Whether it has enough creative gas in the tank for two sequels and beyond remains to be seen, but even when the material goes overboard, it has a compulsively watchable quality that should suck most viewers in.

It's 1994 when mall bookstore employee Heather (Maya Hawke) is murdered by her friend Ryan (David W. Thompson), who's shot to death by authorities, marking the latest in a long line of murders plaguing the town of Shadyside. Many teens believe the source of these troubles stem from a witch named Sara Fier who was executed in 1666, shortly after allegedly placing a curse on the town, even if Sheriff Nick Goode (Ashley Zukerman) remains skeptical. 

Deena Johnson (Kiana Madeira) also has doubts, despite her brother Josh's (Benjamin Flores Jr.) obsession with collecting newspaper clippings of the murders, frequenting AOL chatrooms and researching the town's sordid history to confirm the witch theory. But when Deena's closeted girlfriend, Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) moves to the rich neighboring town of Sunnyvale, her drug-dealing friends Simon (Fred Hechinger) and Kate (Julia Rehwald) get involved in a brawl with the Sunnyvale teens during a vigil. When the fight leads to a terrible accident, Sam sees a vision of the Fier witch, forcing the four teens to band together to stop the murderous rampage that's descending upon Shadyside.

The film's opening might be its best overall sequence, with Maya Hawke playing a quirky B. Dalton employee being hunted after hours in the mall by a skeleton-costumed killer. Even if the Stranger Things vibes are heavily present due to the setting and actress, it's really meant to echo the opening of Scream, with Hawke's character and performance paying homage to Drew Barrymore's role in that film. And it does so successfully, with Janiak making it clear right away that she's come to play, delivering a payoff a whole lot more violent and atmospheric than expected given Stine's scholastic roots. And from there things really hit the ground running with an onslaught of action and exposition that rarely pauses for us to take a breath, introducing all the characters and setting the stage for the overarching mythology that follows. 

We're also inundated with a plethora of 90's music and cultural signposts that leave absolutely no doubt as to what decade we're in. With Nine Inch Nails, Bus, White Zombie and other era-specific hits all making soundtrack appearances within the film's first half hour, it wouldn't be unusual to hear complaints about nostalgic overkill. Since 1994 is pretty much my favorite period in music, I can handle being hammered with it, especially since the soundtrack is spectacular and Netflix didn't cheap out, securing the rights to original versions of these songs rather than inferior covers.

Thankfully, the breakneck pace slows down some when the horror plot begins unraveling and we settle in with the characters, who are suprisingly compelling considering each are very much fulfilling a specific 90's movie horror "type." The relationship between Deena and Sam bucks this trend a bit, as both have enough to them that they defy categorization while confidence-challenged underdog Josh (played really well by Flores, who was so good in Showtime's Your Honor) is the easiest to get behind. The screenplay gets a good amount of mileage out of his crush on the popular, but outwardly cold Kate while Fred Hechinger brings the same unhinged, off-the-wall eccentricity and charisma to Simon as he did to the recent The Woman in the Window, with loony mannerisms that at times recall a young Joaquin Phoenix.

The supernatural mythology involving the Fier witch, her ties to the multiple Shadyside killers and what's necessary to break this curse isn't where the film most excels. It's possible this changes in the next two installments when more layers of explanation are added, but right now it seems convoluted and too dependent on "rules" not yet fully established. The plot's fine for what it is, but where the picture's bread is really buttered is in its 90's setting and Janiak's willingness to not hold back on the violence when its story unquestionably calls for it. 

One particular killing toward the end is a brual shock considering Stine's reputation and the genre of books this is based on, so give Netflix credit for doing the opposite of watering things down. As a property, Fear Street was always going to be a cash grab, and while it's presentation doesn't exactly contradict that, it's at least done with some dignity and respect for the new audience it's aimed toward. But more importantly, it's just plain fun. It may also be one of the few times where a "To Be Continued" title card makes sense instead of causing viewers' to roll their eyes in frustration.

Occupying this strange content space that resides somewhere between an anthology horror series and a feature film trilogy, Netflix was the only feasible fit for this experiment. That the following entry takes place in 1978 and will supposedly be patterned after Friday The 13th and other camp slashers of that era would seem to carry even more promise on paper. Having it tangentially related to this but still existing independently as its own entity is probably a wise idea, even as all of them still share the same director. Fear Street's an intriguing concept, but also one that can get tired very quickly if each doesn't distinguish itself enough or gets all tangled in knots trying to sort out the mythology. If it can void that, 1994 has a promising enough start to believe Netflix might have another mini-franchise on its hands.