Review: Netflix's 'Fear Street' trilogy is extremely gory horror for kids

Netflix already upended just about everything movie and television-consuming audiences expected in terms of how and when we watch anything. Now, it's doing the same thing for sequels. The streaming service on Friday released "Fear Street: Part Three — 1666," the third film based on the R.L. Stine horror book series of the same name. What's novel about it, besides being the rare satisfying third installment of a trilogy, is that "1666" is coming out only a week after "Fear Street: Part Two — 1978" and two weeks after the franchise's first installment, "Fear Street: Part One — 1994." Putting out an entire trilogy of films in a two-week period is a bold move in an industry that thrives on anticipation to build hype for upcoming projects. For the most part, the three "Fear Street" films justify that strategy by leaving viewers with enough questions that they might as well just boot up the next one if it's already there. Interesting release model aside, all three "Fear Street" movies are also varying degrees of entertaining. Some of the more over-the-top horror tropes make it tough to tell exactly who these movies are for, but there's definitely a certain kind of thrill in watching teens and adults try to survive a supernatural curse over the course of 300-plus years. "1994" does a solid job explaining why the town of Shadyside, Ohio, has become a hot spot for grisly mass murders while its neighboring town, Sunnyvale, is perceived as a wealthy, perfectly safe place to reside. Legend has it that the witch Sarah Fier cursed Shadyside back in the 17th century before the town unjustly executed her. That becomes a huge problem for a group of local teenagers whose friend, Sam (Olivia Scott Welch), becomes the unwitting target of the witch's wrath. It's up to her ex-girlfriend, Deena (Kiana Madeira), her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) and a few other folks around town to keep Sam safe and figure out a way to liberate Shadyside once and for all. Their quest eventually leads them to C. Berman, who regales them with the story of the summer camp massacre she barely survived that makes up the bulk of "1978." That film is mostly centered around the exploits of sisters Ziggy (Sadie Sink) and Cindy (Emily Rudd) at Camp Nightwing and features some younger versions of previously established characters as well. As you might expect, "1666" goes all the way back to the season of the witch and has many of the actors in the previous two films playing entirely different characters in Shadyside's puritanical era. This film is split between revealing what led to the town being marked for evil and how those in 1994 use that information to try to get Shadyside back to normal. All three "Fear Street" films were directed and co-written by Leigh Janiak, a smart move that ensured they displayed a uniformity in terms of aesthetic and atmosphere. That said, the shifting settings in each film add a fascinating wrinkle to the central story as the layers slowly peel back on why Shadyside has become murder central. There are good performances throughout from all the kids, especially Madeira, Welch, Sink and Rudd, who all play multiple roles throughout the trilogy. Jacobs, probably most well-known for her comedic television work in shows like "Community" and "Love," is underused in the first two films before finally getting in on the action in "1666." What's a tad confusing about "Fear Street" is its target audience. These movies seem to be positioned as horror for kids, as most of Stine's work is. But they're all very, very gory, with axes being thrust into skulls and creative kills that would fit right into the "Saw" or "Final Destination" franchises. If the goal of the "Fear Street" films is to get children into horror, the shock value throughout all three may prove to be too much for younger audiences. At least most of the jump scares are easily telegraphed in advance. Though the first two installments are squarely in the horror genre, "1666" is more of a cat-and-mouse thriller and is probably the most digestible of the three for all ages. The best thing about "Fear Street" is that if you enjoy one movie, the other two are just a click away. As Netflix gimmicks go, this is a pretty nifty one, and they picked a set of films that lend themselves well to a six-hour fear fest. ——— 'FEAR STREET' 2.5 stars (out of 4) Starring: Gillian Jacobs, Olivia Scott Welch, Kiana Madeira, Benjamin Flores Jr., Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd. Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, drug content, language and some sexual content) Playing: Now streaming on Netflix ——— ©2021 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.