Netflix And Chill: Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021)

Here we are, the third and final part of the Fear Street trilogy (or, perhaps, the first of a number of film events adapted from the R. L. Stine books). I'll try to avoid spoilers, although I advise that you have at least seen the previous two films before reading this review.

Following on immediately from the end of the second film, Deena (Kiana Madeira) finds herself in the body of Sarah Fier in 1666. We already know the fate of Sarah Fier, which makes almost half of this film seem a bit redundant. There are one or two twists, but they're not executed well enough to make this an instalment that is even on a par with the previous two films. And the last 20-30 minutes whisk us all back to 1994 for an enjoyable, if altogether implausible, finale.

Where to begin here? Let's start with a compliment. Director Leigh Janiak, who was this time joined in the writing department by Kate Trefry, as well as a returning Phil Graziadei, does a decent job of making this consistent in the way it has one main tale to focus on and the overarching storyline that links all three movies. The production design is decent, and there are some nice shots here and there, particularly in the finale. And I still like Gillian Jacobs, who returns for a very small amount of screentime.

That's about it for the good stuff.

Taking the main action back to 1666 means that everyone has to try on an accent. If you thought some of these cast members weren't that great in the 1994 instalment then you're going to tear your hair out watching them pretend to be in 1666. Madeira is, once again, a disappointingly weak lead. And there's no relief this time around, with her character remaining the focus for the majority of the film. Olivia Scott Welch is just fine, but given a lot less to do (in terms of characterisation), and Ashley Zukerman at least gets to have some fun with his role this time around, coming to the fore as the story fully unfolds. Sadie Sink and Emily Rudd are both underused, while McCabe Slye is annoyingly overused (playing a drunken villager who can see signs of evil everywhere and helps agitate people to find a scapegoat and punish them).

I'm not sure if things are a lot clearer in the book(s), but a big problem with Fear Street Part Three is the way things seems to work against the rules that were previously established. The twists and turns may be interesting, to some degree, but they also make you rethink previous situations and wonder why certain moments played out as they did. I might have missed a detail here and there, admittedly, but I don't believe this script holds together as well as any of the others. That applies to a moment in which someone is accused of evil deeds, despite being able to lead everyone directly to an "altar" that would at least cast doubt upon their guilt.

The very end saves it. It still doesn't make as much sense as it should, but it's at least fun, and goes back to the neon-lit mall where we started this journey. You also get some timely music tracks once again, just in case you forget that it is 1994 within minutes of a title card explicitly stating that we're now back at 1994.

This has been a fun way to draw out the experience, overall, but I have to say that this third Fear Street movie is easily the weakest of the three. It lacks the fun of the previous films, for the most part, and also lacks the smarts. I know that some will disagree with me on the notion of the previous two movies actually having smarts, but they did. There was intelligence and decent internal logic there. This film reminds you of that fact, because of it lacking both.

5/10

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Netflix And Chill: Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (2021)

Based on the books by R. L. Stine, and directed by Leigh Janiak (who co-wrote the screenplay with Phil Graziadei), Fear Street Part 1: 1994 (which I will just be referring to from here on out as Fear Street) is an unsophisticated slasher movie that is happy to wallow in the familiar tropes of the subgenre until a supernatural element comes to the fore, providing a mystery that needs to be solved by some plucky leads.

Kiana Madeira is Deena, a young woman who is upset after recently separating from her partner. Her friends, Kate (Julia Rehwad) and Simon (Fred Hechinger), want to help her through the grieving process by helping her direct her rage towards Sunnyvale, the neighbouring town that her ex has moved to. Sunnyvale seems nice and prosperous, which is the exact opposite of Shadyside, where Deena and her friends reside. Shadyside seems to be cursed, deranged killers cropping up every few years, creating a bloody and murderous timeline that intrigues many who try to connect the dots, with one of those people being Deena's young brother, Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.). Anyway, in typical slasher movie tradition, a prank gone awry sets off a chain of events that leaves Deena and friends on the run from a killer who seems unstoppable. And that killer isn't alone. 

Although I was in the minority with my lack of love for the debut feature film, Honeymoon, from Janiak and Graziadei, there was something there that makes it surprising that it took so long for them to land another chance to show what they're capable of. Fear Street is a much easier sell for them, superficially. It's got the Netflix push, it has many moments that play out as a simple throwback to the many post-Scream slashers of the late '90s and early 2000s, and it's obvious that the budget is a nice chunk of change (judging from the soundtrack choices alone). But it's clear why Janiak and Graziadei were good choices for this material when twists and turns start to occur, and one or two tropes are subverted on the way to a third act that keeps moving further and further away from the slasher movie template viewers were given in the opening sequence.

The youthful cast all do a pretty good job. Madeira may not be a great lead, but that's easier to put up with in the second half of the movie, when Flores Jr. gets more screentime. Rehwald and Hechinger are both entertaining enough, and Olivia Scott Welch isn't too bad in the role of Samantha Fraser, the young woman who unwittingly becomes the target of killers out for blood, literally. Ashley Zukerman is the local Sheriff, and there's a small voice cameo for Gillian Jacobs, who I assume will be onscreen for a while in the next instalment(s).

It may be a bit dim throughout, but you also get a good share of neon here and there and it's never too dark to stop you from seeing everything that's happening onscreen. The score is decent, the soundtrack is a busy clash of tunes from "Now That's What I Call 1990s" throughout the first half, and the pacing picks up in the second half to ensure that viewers should be looking forward to the next part of the story. 

It's just a shame that some may be put off by the first half, with that opening homage to Scream feeling a bit too slavishly close to something that was already quite perfect and the lead character lacking much warmth or charisma. Sticking with it proves ultimately worthwhile though, and it's still a decent bit of bloody fun, overall.

6/10

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Shudder Saturday: The Wind (2018)

A horror Western that keeps two female characters at the front and centre of everything, The Wind is an interesting movie that mixes well-crafted scares with a character study that shows viewers a strong, pained, female character being taunted and terrified by a supernatural force.

Caitlin Gerard is Lizzy Macklin, a woman who lives in an isolated part of the American frontier with her husband, Isaac (Ashley Zukerman). They end up gaining some neighbours, Emma (Julia Goldani Telles) and Gideon (Dylan McTee), and things seem quite pleasant, if occasionally tense. Lizzy ends up trying to be helpful when everyone finds out that Emma is pregnant, but the characters are living during times that are far less forgiving to any problems in pregnancy. Which leads to Lizzy being left alone for some time, and having to confront something that doesn't want her to have any peace.

Although not ever quite as good as it could be, The Wind has a lot going for it, not least of which is the fact that this was written and directed by two women, both of them making their feature debuts, in the world of fiction film anyway. Director Emma Tammi has previously co-directed and directed a couple of documentaries, while Teresa Sutherland here makes the leap from shorts to a full feature, even if her writing here seems to expand upon The Winter, a short film that she both wrote and directed back in 2012. I've not seen that, but there's certainly a similarity in the plot summaries available online. Regardless of their respective past achievements, both director and writer seem very much in simpatico here, with Sutherland providing a thoughtful chiller that doesn't skimp on moments of full-on horror genre entertainment while Tammi overlays everything with visuals that show the kind of sparse beauty of the American West of this time, also getting the timing and visuals of the scares perfectly balanced to please horror fans without disrupting the earthy tone of the movie, a tale that never lets you forget the only thing keeping the main character from the dark danger outside is a wooden house and a small fire.

Gerard is very good in her role, understandably on edge for many scenes without ever taking her performance to the level of hysteria. Telles is also very good, and gives the air of someone who may want to have, or keep, a secret (although maybe she's just happy to be in a MUCH better film than Slender Man). Zukerman and McTee both do fine as the menfolk, neither one as supportive as he could be to either of the women, and Miles Anderson is a highlight as The Reverend.

So many Westerns are directed by men and about men. It is, like so many other genres (and, arguably, the whole world of film), an area so dominated by males that it's easy to forget just how many more interesting tales we could have, simply by switching the focus to the many women who also have to go on some difficult journeys. That's the biggest plus point for The Wind, in my view, but I wouldn't be heaping praise on it if it didn't get the horror genre elements right. It does though, and holds up as a title to recommend ahead of many others I have seen so far this year.

8/10

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