"Fear Street: 1978" a solidly fun, emotionally resonant Part Two indebted to the camp slashers
Fear Street: 1978 (2021) It feels like we were just with the survivors of “Fear Street: 1994,” the first installment of a trilogy based on R.L. Stine’s literary series, a week ago (because we were). Beginning with a helpful “Previously on…” ahead of the Netflix ta-dum , “Fear Street: 1978” picks up immediately where the mystery of Shadyside left off before heading back 16 years before. If writer-director Leigh Janiak was indebted to the pinnacle of teen-centric late-‘90s slasher horror for “1994,” “1978” still plays in the shag-and-get-killed slasher pool, though dedicates itself more to “Friday the 13th,” “The Burning,” and “Sleepaway Camp” (even if, technically, those were in the ‘80s). While it’s hard to match the giddiness of Part One and supply enough connective tissue to justify a middle chapter, “Fear Street: 1978” still rips as a solidly fun, unapologetically stabby, and unexpectedly emotionally resonant camp slasher that bridges the trilogy’s introduction and climax. ...