When it comes to movies that’ll turn into franchises, Netflix has become infamous for chucking truckloads of money at popular directors and known faces just to turn out something that’ll increase their subscriber count. That’s how we got Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead and the Rebel Moon duology. The Russo Brothers made The Grey Man and The Electric State. Ryan Reynolds did 6 Underground, The Adam Project, and Red Notice. Jennifer Lopez did Mother and Atlas. So, amidst all of these over-expensive bloat-fests, it was quite surprising to see the streaming giant give the keys to a Fear Street trilogy to Leigh Janiak, who had directed a few episodes of Scream, Outcast, and Panic. And, boy, did she deliver. Those three movies not only paid homage to horror classics like Scream, Friday the 13th, and The Witch, but also managed to be impressive in their own right through the storytelling, visuals, and performances. Anybody in their right mind would’ve brought Janiak back into the director’s chair, especially for a Fear Street sequel (or interquel), but Netflix thought otherwise. And the results are… bad.
Matt Palmer’s Fear Street: Prom Queen, which Palmer and Donald McLeary have adapted from R.L. Stine’s The Prom Queen, is set in 1988 and follows Lori Granger, the underdog of the titular race. The other students who are in the running are Christy Renault, the members of the Wolfpack (Melissa, Debbie, and Linda), and its “alpha,” Tiffany Falconer. Being the “it girl,” Tiffany is slated to win the tiara. Christy is just in it for the kicks. And nobody really expects Lori to achieve anything, not even sympathy votes, because of her sordid past, where her mother, Rose, allegedly killed her father in cold blood. The only person who has Lori’s back is her good friend, Megan Rogers. She not only agrees to go prom shopping with Lori, but she also agrees to be her prom date because apparently no one else will. Although Lori seems too busy with her job at the local diner and the weight of her mother’s actions on her shoulders to think about anything else, she silently hopes that winning the title of “prom queen” will change her future. However, since there’s a killer who is hacking apart the candidates of this competition, Lori probably needs to think about whether all this is worth it or not.
Fear Street: Prom Queen is like a massive nothingburger. It has nothing interesting to say. It doesn’t have any interesting characters. It doesn’t have any interesting twists and turns. And that makes me wonder, what’s even the point of this movie? I mean Janiak’s trilogy, which she’d co-written with Phil Graziadei, Zak Olkewicz, and Kate Trefry, clearly wanted to talk about classism, homophobia, drug abuse, corruption, generational trauma, abuse, and so, so much more. Meanwhile, Palmer and McLeary are like, “You’ve seen Carrie and Prom Night. Well, we’ve brought you the watered-down version of that. Don’t ask us for anything else.” Even when they have to simply build on the groundwork that has been laid by Janiak and her co-writers, specifically in terms of the Shadyside vs. Sunnyvale rivalry or the lack of initiative shown by the police, they just mention that stuff in passing and move on. Move on to what? The most flaky, empty, and superficial drama that you have ever witnessed. Why? I don’t know. Do Palmer and McLeary think that they’ve made the first-ever ‘80s slasher throwback? If that’s the case, they really need to watch all the nostalgia-bait nonsense that Netflix has produced since Stranger Things.
From a visual standpoint, Prom Queen is such a massive departure from the standard set by Janiak and her team that it’s both deeply depressing and hilarious. Even if you don’t like the storytelling of those movies, you have to admit that the cinematography, production design, art direction, costume design, and editing in them are excellent. They look like proper movies that you could project onto a massive screen and not think even for a second that this was only intended to be viewed on the small screen. Palmer’s film is barely watchable even on the small screen, so I won’t even dare to put it to the test on the big screen. In a weird way, this sequel or interquel actually does have the same overall appeal as direct-to-DVD sequels of popular movies, e.g., Candyman 3, Children of the Corn 3, Darkman 2, and I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer. It has some of the familiar elements, like the gore, the retro vibes, and the high school setting. But it seems like most of the film’s budget and attention have gone into purchasing the rights to every popular song from the ‘80s. I mean, it’s supposed to be a horror movie, right? Where are the scares? And this is coming from someone who is incredibly lenient towards horror films that at least have something of substance.
Since this has already become an article comparing the Fear Street trilogy with Prom Queen, I might as well extend it to the performances. Ashley Zukerman, Olivia Scott Welch, Kiana Madeira and everyone in the supporting cast were so relatable and memorable. Of course, they were guided by talented writers and a great director, but all of them did their best to elevate the material. Sadly, India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Ariana Greenblatt, Davia Iacono, Ella Rubin, Rebecca Ablack, Ilan O’Driscoll, and the rest of the young actors have next to nothing to work with. The only thing that’s worse than that is that Palmer got Katherine Waterston, Lili Taylor, and Chris Klein on his team and wasted their talents for reasons known only to him. Seriously, the way that he has directed this whole project makes it seem like he has done it out of obligation and not as something that he was passionate about. And these are the guys who worry about AI taking over their jobs. I mean, if this is the state of your filmmaking, you might as well hand over the reins to a program or a robot.
Look, I don’t want to assume what has happened behind the scenes between the end of the Fear Street trilogy and the pre-production phase of Prom Queen. I don’t know if Leigh Janiak and her team of writers could’ve turned R.L. Stine’s story into something watchable. But I always feel sad when a female horror movie director isn’t flooded with opportunities to helm the next big thing after making something that’s genre-defining. Jennifer Kent made The Babadook, The Nightingale, one episode of Cabinet of Curiosities, and then nothing. Michelle Garza Cervera made Huesera, and then nothing. Prano Bailey-Bond made Censor, and then nothing. And now it seems like Leigh Janiak has joined this never-ending list too. This is why I don’t show any kind of inhibition while talking about the works of Rose Glass, Julia Ducournau, and Coralie Fargeat, even when I don’t really “understand” their films, in the hopes that it’ll reach someone who will, thereby opening more doors for them. I’m not saying that men haven’t made good horror movies. I’m just saying that when you have a female director with legit credentials and a story about women that deserves to be told from a female perspective, maybe give her the first chance instead of opting for some man who is more interested in the fat paycheck than the tale at hand.
