Four years ago, Netflix went all out on Fear Street, a sprawling, slasher trilogy that took the book series by R.L. Stine and delivered a franchise event that took the full advantage of it’s streaming home by audaciously unleashing all three films over a three week period. While I would argue that the sordid story that spread each entry over a different time period (1994, 1978 and 1666 respectively) was an experience that was greater than the sum of its parts, it blended shameless nostalgia with surpringly gory, young adult thrills that gave us a fun time.
Well now, Netflix has insisted we return to the cursed town of Shadyside in the form of a fourth edition, Prom Queen, that plonks us in the middle of 1988 as the local school gears up for that prime slasher real estate known as Prom.
But while the previous movies were linked quite closely, can this late-in-the-day addition manage to recreate those goofy thrills as well as the original trilogy, or will Prom Queen be a slash below the rest?
Welcome back to Shadyside, a town that has been cursed with an influx of tragedy and horror due to numerous killing sprees that go back as far as anyone can remember. Of course, we know that it’s unhealthy rate of masked killers are caused by a supernatural curse, but in 1988, all anyone cares about is using the upcoming Prom night to undo a troubling legacy. That legacy concerned the mother of put upon Lori Granger, who was accused of knifing the father of her child to death on Prom night and years later, even though her mother was proved innocent, Lori has been declared an outcast by the Wolfpack, Shadyside High’s resident cluster of mean girls.
However, this year things are going to change and in an effort to try and beat her past, Lori has entered herself in contention for Prom queen which obviously causes some issues as the entirety of the Wolfpack, led by the arrogant Tiffany Falconer, are also up for nomination. But while this creates a certain amount of tension between everyone involved, it also threatens to tear apart Lori from her horror loving, weed puffing best (and only) friend, Megan, especially when Tiffany’s boyfriend starts flicking glances her way.
Of course, this is Shadyside and no drama ever seems to occur here without the appearance of some sort of masked lunatic slicing their way through a predetermined set of victims and so after the only other, non-Wolfpack nominee bows out of the race thanks to a judicial use of an axe, the rain coat clad killer starts targeting the remaining Prom Queen hopefuls as the party gets into full swing. But who would hope to gain from chopping, slicing, hacking and sawing the competition into last place; is the curse still in full effect, or is history simply repeating itself for the poor, confused Lori?
I have to admit, while I was impressed with the use of a streaming site to deliver a slasher experience that felt quite new, there were times when Fear Street’s excitable nature and enthusiasm to recreate super exagerated period pieces left me feeling a little bit old when I was old enough to enjoy the original slasher craze the first time round (as it ended, though: I’m not that old – yet); but while it’s overzealous take on years and fashions gone past sometimes veered into near parody, Leigh Janiak understood her audience enough to tread the line between full blown gorefest (the breadslicer was sublime) and the YA novel origins that birthed the franchise in the first place. However, with its sprawling curse story pretty much wrapped up, there’s a real feeling that in the style of a famous Sesame Street skit, one of these things just don’t belong.
Directed by Matt Palmer, Prom Queen is a stand alone entry that only has the slightest references to the other three movies and as such is supposed to be one of those self contained massacres that were detailed in the main trilogy. This means that with no established cast members present and no real link to the devilish curse that twists seemingly normal killers into brutal maniacs, this new entry sort of feels surplus to requirements as its not really a sequel, but it’s not truly a spinoff either. Therefore, anyone hoping for some devestating new information to suddenly change how we see the original trilogy is frankly, shit out of luck as what we get is merely a glossy, excitable slasher with the slightest connecting tissue available.
While this frequently left me wondering why Prom Queen exists in the first place, I have to say, judging it on being just another neo-slasher that attempts to split you skull with the blunt force trauma of 80s nostalgia that none of its going cast could possibly understand, it’s actually quite a fun, if staggeringly basic, little hack and slash that works hard to win you over with as many dated references as it can. As such, not only does that mean we get an 80s soundtrack so full on, it even knocks the music featured in MaXXXine into touch, but it personally hooked me in with numerous references to Phantasm II and a cameo from Fangoria Magazine issue #75 (a personal favorite). But if Janiak pushed the nostalgia into the realms of the amusing, Palmer uses it like a bull in a china shop and frequently comes dangerously close to jumping the permed shark with phrases like “Gag me with a spoon” and “What’s your damage” being hurled around alongside a couple of bizarre dance sequences. The movie also doesn’t exactly have a good grasp on its own script as it’s characters are all unabashed archetypes and it’s attempts to create a suspect list for its masked murder just seems lazy and half-hearted.
However, just pulling it back from the brink are two points that kept it firmly in the realms of watchable with the first being the continued use of flashy, splashy gore thank truly confirms that the era of the PG-13 slasher is long dead. Head stabs, bandsaw kills and a killer gag involving a victim desperately trying to turn a door knob after both their hands have been cut off manage to find the right balance between teen goofiness and hard-core gore and while the identity of the crimson raincoated killer isn’t that hard to discern, the cast manage to keep things on track. A near unrecognisable Katherine Waterston gives great mega-bitch as Tiffany’s demanding mother, Ariana Greenblatt does the Drew Barrymore thing that Maya Hawk did by being a recognisable face who bows out early, Lili Taylor is a strict headmistress and – holy shit, is that Chris Klein?
While the original trilogy was more intriguing than truly ground breaking, it still managed to do something different with a very familiar subgenre. Prom Queen on the other hand, is simply content to go through the motions while never seemingly settling on whether it wants to celebrate influences or simply take the piss. Thankfully, despite being stuck in the limbo of a stand alone sequel that technically isn’t, it brings enough gore and glitz to keep things fun. Just don’t be expecting to remember ’88 as fondly as you did the other years.
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