‘Fear Street Part 3: 1666’ Review: A Satisfying Ending to Netflix’s Fun, Fresh Horror Trilogy

The third Fear Street movie—the final entry in Netflix’s horror trilogy based on the R.L. Stine stories, which began streaming today—is really two different movies. The first half, Fear Street Part 3: 1666, is a smart, suspenseful, and chilling witchhunt horror film that shines as a triumphant final entry in the Shadyside saga. The second half, dubbed Fear Street: 1994 Part 2, is a somewhat muddled finale to an otherwise solid horror trilogy.

The previous film, Fear Street: 1978, left our heroes Deena (Kiana Madeira) and her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) at the grave of Sarah Fier, the so-called witch who, according to the legend, placed a curse on Shadyside back in the year 1666. After hearing so much about her in the first two films, audiences finally get to meet Sarah Fier in the opening scene of Part 3, when Deena is thrust into a living flashback. She becomes Sarah Fier, which means we get to see Madeira as a whole new character, complete with 17th-century English settler clothing and an accent. There are plenty of other familiar faces, too. Flores Jr. plays Sarah’s brother Henry. Olivia Scott Welch, who played Deena’s ex-girlfriend in Fear Street 1994, is now Sarah’s secret lover, Hannah Miller. Ashley Zukerman, who plays sheriff Nick Goode in 1994, is now Solomon Goode, a friend to Sarah and a voice of reason in a town of superstition.

The year is 1666, English settlers are forging a new life on American soil, and the young folks of the settlement—made up entirely of actors from the previous films—throw a party in the moonlit forest. Sarah and Hannah share a passionate, romantic night together, but somebody sees them. As rumors of their supposed sins spread, bad things start happening in town. A pig kills its young, someone poisons the water supply, and, eventually, the pastor murders the town’s children. It’s not long before the townsfolk go all “I saw Goody Proctor with the devil” on Sarah and Hannah, and the girls are forced to flee a witch hunt.

Fear Street Part 3: 1666
Photo: Netflix

While the historical accuracy is questionable, the colonial horror vibes are impeccable. Arthur Miller’s The Crucible is a clear influence, as the townsfolk, driven by fear, turn on anyone who is different. The script smartly incorporates Sarah’s own struggle with internalized homophobia, when she begins to think that perhaps her “wicked” desires are the cause of the town’s troubles—making it all the more satisfying when the true villain is revealed. Not all of the accents are flawless, but it’s impressive that the cast is able to step back in time so smoothly. (Zukerman is particularly convincing.)

Less of a slasher than the first two films, director Leigh Janiak instead gets her scares in with some visceral, effective body horror—a squelching pile of disembodied eyeballs, a hand being physically ripped from an arm with a horrible crunch. Maybe you’ll see the twist coming and maybe you won’t, but you’ll be on the edge of your seat regardless. Or at least you will be until the movie flashes forward, back to 1994, for the remaining 50 minutes.

The way that Sarah Fier’s origin clicks into place with the story thus far is rewarding, but the ultimate showdown feels like a bit of a letdown. It drags on and suffers from the same problems as the first film—sloppy exposition dialogue and a plot that doesn’t quite make sense. Still, it helps that we’ve spent three movies in Shadyside, and feel the full weight of this town cursed with centuries of bad fortune. In the end, the Fear Street trilogy is a classism revenge fantasy, and damn if it isn’t satisfying to watch.

If the Fear Street Trilogy, released over the course of three consecutive weekends, was an experiment by Netflix, it feels like a success. These are three distinct movies—not episodes in a TV show—but they slot together to tell one story. It’s a violent, sexy, r-rated take on R.L. Stine, and in the age of the Disney takeover, it feels refreshing to have a story about teenagers that’s not afraid to get some hands dirty. The obligatory after-credits scene that suggests the story isn’t over is not unwelcome, either. I wouldn’t mind spending more time in Shadyside.

Watch Fear Street Part 3: 1666 on Netflix

source: nypost.com