‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Review: Retro Netflix Slasher is Better Than ‘Prom Night,’ Worse Than ‘Prom Night II’

We don’t talk enough about Leigh Janiak’s impressive “Fear Street” film trilogy, based the young adult horror novels by R.L. Stine. Four years ago Janiak unveiled, one week after another, three mostly-fantastic interconnected horror films inspired by different historical eras. The first was based on slasher movies from the 1990s. The second was based on slasher films from the 1980s. The third was based on folk horror… and also slasher movies from the 1990s. They all told a complete story with rich and fascinating characters. They were also scary as hell.

The time has come — finally! — to go back to “Fear Street,” and this time Netflix is doing something a little different. Instead of harkening back to, for example, slasher movies from the 1980s, “Fear Street: Prom Queen” harkens back to [checks notes] slasher movies from the 1980s. But wait! This time it’s prom night 1980s slasher movies. Last time it was summer camp 1980s slasher movies. Also last time it was really good. Those are the two main differences.

To be fair, despite the existence of the relatively-lengthy “Prom Night” franchise, there aren’t as many prom night slasher movies as you might think, and there are even fewer great ones. Heck, this might get me kicked out of the snootier horror film critic societies but the original “Prom Night” wasn’t all that hot to begin with. (“Hello, Mary Lou: Prom Night II” and “Prom Night III: The Last Kiss” are timeless classics. Yes, really. Yes, really.)

So “Fear Street: Prom Queen” had a relatively low bar to clear in the slasher department. And it clears that very, very low bar.

“Fear Street: Prom Queen” stars India Fowler (“The Agency”) as Lori Granger, a high school outcast in 1988, whose mother allegedly murdered her father when they were teens. She’s about to graduate and she’s only got one last chance at fitting in, so she’s running for Prom Queen. The problem is, her competition is The Wolf Pack, a murder of vapid teen girls led by Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza, “Paper Girls”), who will stop at nothing to become… you know, prom queen.

Lori and her Fangoria-reading best friend Megan (Suzanna Son, “Red Rocket”) got to prom together, with Megan wearing her 1980s queer-coding like a badge of honor. When they get there, Prom Queen candidates start getting killed by a mysterious slasher in a rain slicker and a nondescript mask. (We’ll get back to that but first, as a side note, let’s be fair to “Fear Street: Prom Queen.” The year is 2025 and it’s nearly impossible to come up with a scary slasher mask that hasn’t been done before.)

Director and co-writer Matt Palmer (“Calibre”) knows one thing about 1980s slasher movies: If the kills are gnarly enough, horror fans will probably forgive everything else. So say what you will about the rest of the production but he’s got some really gross murders in here, many of which look like they could have been pulled off 40 years ago using 1980s practical effects. It’s a nice touch, and it keeps the film punctuated with memorable horror schlock.

Yup, thanks to all those kills, horror fans will probably forgive everything else. If only there wasn’t so much to forgive. Leigh Janiak’s “Fear Street: Part 2 — 1978” didn’t just emulate the early slashers, it went to great lengths to ensure that the new film had a similar impact as when films like “Friday the 13th” and “The Burning” debuted. “1978” was recognizable, not rote.

Palmer’s throwback has a much less ambitious tone, and seems content to emulate the clumsy dialogue, misplaced tension, and flimsy plotting of its progenitors. It never captures the energy that films like “Prom Night” did when they came out, so it can only come across like a Xerox that’s been Xeroxed a few too many times.

“Fear Street: Prom Queen” isn’t a bust, it’s just not very inspired. Again, those brutal murders will help you get through it. (If you can get on the wavelength and accept seemingly smart teenagers getting snuck up on in the middle of a well-lit vacant lot as a feature, not a bug.) And some members of the cast bring their A-game. Katherine Waterston and Chris Klein play Tiffany Falconer’s uptight wealthy parents, and it’s clear that Waterston in particular relishes this chance to go camp.

Lily Taylor is here too, playing a conservative Vice Principal, just in case you thought the casting of some older, recognizable stars meant they were definitely the killers. There are lots of red herrings in “Fear Street: Prom Night,” which sadly leaves some of the more talented cast members with precious little to do other than look suspicious and then fade away in the third act. If you’re a name actor generously bestowing some respectability unto a slasher movie I think you should get to kill people or you should get a spectacular death. Put it in the contract. It’s the standard “Slash or Heinous” clause.

“Fear Street: Prom Queen” is not the best “Fear Street” movie. But to be fair, it’s probably the third best “Prom Night.” There are moments when this cast overcomes this material, and inspired gore galore, but it makes the cardinal mistake of copying the best parts of 1980s slashers while doing little to improve the worst. It may be a “Prom Queen” but it definitely ain’t valedictorian.

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