“We filmed all three Fear Street movies over one crazy, bloody summer,” director Leigh Janiakrevealed in June 2021. “It’s a dream that audiences now get to experience the story in the same way—back to back to back with only a week of waiting in between.” Adding to the excitement, Stine recently said about the Netflix adaptations, “Fear Street fans are in for a treat—and some major surprises. Readers know that the book series is rated PG, but the movies are rated R. That means a lot more thrills—and a lot more terror!” The Goosebumps author added, “I have seen [the] epic trilogy and I can tell you the scares and the SCREAMS are more than I ever expected. What fun to see the horrors of Shadyside come to life.” Here’s everything you need to know about Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy!
Is there a Fear Street trailer?
There are several! Here’s the most recent one for the third and final Fear Street installment: If you’re still catching up, here’s the official trailer for Part Two: And here’s the Fear Street: Part One, 1994 trailer:
What happens in Fear Street?
The first Fear Street film is set in 1994, when a group of teenagers unravel the downright scary events that have led to their town being haunted for generations—and realize that they might just be the next targets. In Part Two, things jump back in time to 1978, when the daily events at a summer camp are punctuated by multiple murders. Eventually, the 1978 and 1994 casts collide (at least, what’s left of the 1978 cast) and work together to figure out how to make it all stop. The answer? You have to go back to where it started. Cue one more jump back in time, this time to 1666, where it all began and where the trilogy itself ends in PartThree.
What are the Fear Street books about?
A teenage horror fiction series, Stine’s Fear Street books are about a group of teenagers who find themselves the target of evil adversaries. Most of these stories can be traced back to the Fier family—a cursed clan that lived in the teens’ fictional town of Shadyside in the 19th century. Angelica and Simon Fier brought the curse with them when they moved to Shadyside after the Civil War. But it started long before that; in Puritan times, their predecessors, Benjamin and Matthew Fier, burned an innocent mother-daughter duo at the stake, accusing them of witchcraft. Susannah and Martha Goode, the innocents, died, but were outlived by their family’s patriarch, William Goode, who avenged the deaths of his wife and daughter by cursing the Fiers forever. The books sometimes feature paranormal elements—such as ghosts and the undead—while other stories from the series have straightforward murder plots.
How many Fear Street books are there?
When Stine first came up with the idea of a young adult horror series, publishers weren’t too keen on the idea. “Publishers didn’t want a series because you couldn’t have these horrible things happen to the same kids over and over,” Stine said. “That would be ludicrous, right?” But as we all know by now, those publishers were wrong. Fear Street culminated in 51 main series books and various spin-offs as well. And they were definitely successful. Stine started writing them in 1989 and as of 2014, had sold more than 80 million copies.
Is Fear Street like Goosebumps?
Fear Street is a lot like Goosebumps, so fans of one series might enjoy the other—but they’re also different in a few key ways. While the Goosebumps series usually features preteen protagonists, the main characters in Fear Street are teenagers who sometimes feel significantly older and more mature. In both series, it’s not uncommon that the “villains” cross over into paranormal territory, though some stories in Fear Street are just murder mysteries with no fantastical element at all. The main difference, of course, is the gore level. Both books were written for kids and young adults, but you’ll find far fewer deaths in the Goosebumps series. In Fear Street, death is super common—and not just death, but murders that are gruesome, bloody, and altogether horrific. Despite both series being classified for young adults, Netflix’s Fear Street films are rated R. Comparatively, the recent 2015 and 2018 reboots of the Goosebumps movies both had PG ratings.
What is Fear Street rated?
Although Stine’s Fear Street books have always been considered kid-appropriate, the Fear Street movies are very much rated R. “I think readers of those books are gonna be in for a shock with the movies, because the movies are R rated,” Stine has said. “There’s a lot of screaming. A lot of kids die.” Fear Street earned its R rating thanks to “strong bloody violence, drug content, language, and some sexual content,” and the film definitely delivers on all four (although the sexy-time scenes are relatively low-key). There’s a main plot line in Part One: 1994 all about selling, taking and overdosing on drugs, plus a ton of F-bombs. (Like, tons.) Not to mention that when people die (particularly toward the end of the first film), it’s about as gory as it can get. It’s a stark difference from how Fear Street started. In fact, when Stine first began writing the books, his editors and publishers advised him not to kill off anyone. “When we first started doing the teen horror novels, I wasn’t allowed to kill anyone,” Stine told CNN. “We started getting bolder, one per book, maybe two or three. It’s a bloodfest.” So, why make a rated-R film adaptation of a kids’ book series? According to director Janiak—who is married to Stranger Things co-creator Ross Duffer—the first five minutes of Part One: 1994 are an homage to Drew Barrymore in Scream. Beyond that, the films are so violent and scary for the sake of authenticity; Janiak also wanted to appeal to an even wider audience than the books’ fan base. “It’s one thing to have a PG-13 haunted house movie. It’s a very different thing to have a PG-13 slasher movie. And to be true to the spirit of what slasher is, you gotta have all the things!” Janiak told The Wrap. “You’ve gotta have the blood and the crazy deaths and you have to have the sex. You have to have a little bit of all of that.” Janiak added, “I think back to when I was 10, 11 or 12 and sneakily watching Child’s Play or Nightmare on Elm Street at sleepover parties. And for me the sweet spot of having Fear Street was having the authenticity of people that are my age so that you can experience the nostalgia, but if you’re a younger teenager, you feel like you’re doing something a little subversive. Am I allowed to watch this? Am I allowed to sneak into the theater or stream this?”
Who is in the Fear Street cast?
The Fear Street cast features Kiana Madeira as Deena, Olivia Welch as Sam, Benjamin Flores Jr. as Deena’s brother and “witch-nerd” Josh, Fred Hechinger as Simon, and Julia Rehwald as Kate. It also stars Stranger Things alums Sadie Sink and Maya Hawke and Community star Gillian Jacobs.
When does Fear Street come out on Netflix?
Part One: 1994 debuted on Netflix Friday, July 2. Part Two: 1978 premiered on Friday, July 9, and then the finale, Part Three: 1666, dropped on Friday, July 16. “This is movie watching—three movies, three weeks in a row. That’s kind of fun,” Stine said.
How to watch Fear Street
All three parts of the Fear Street trilogy—Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666 are available to stream now on Netflix. Next up, these are the best horror movies to watch on Netflix right now.
