Movie Review: ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’

‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.

On Netflix May 23rd is ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen,’ co-written and directed by Matt Palmer, who adapts R.L. Stine’s novel ‘The Prom Queen,’ published in 1992.

The new movie stars India Fowler (‘The Agency: Central Intelligence’), Suzanna Son (‘Red Rocket’), Fina Strazza (‘Paper Girls’), Chris Klein (‘American Pie’), Ariana Greenblatt (‘Barbie’) and Lili Taylor (‘The Nun’).

Related Article:  Author R.L. Stine Says That Netflix has Three New ‘Fear Street’ Movies in Development

Initial Thoughts

Released across three weekends back in 2021, Netflix scored itself a success with the ‘Fear Street’ trilogy, which brought a trio of terrifying tales drawn from R.L. Stine’s work to bloody, effective life.

Yet this new standalone entry, even though it is set in the same divided town as those previous entries, has a lot of pressure riding on it to keep the kills sharp and the characters memorable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really achieve either aim.

Script and Direction

Director Matt Palmer worked with co-writer Donald McLeary (‘Calibre’) on the screenplay for the new movie, but the results are disappointing.

While the other ‘Fear Street’ movies were full of inventive moments, gnarly kills and compelling characters, ‘Prom Queen’ kicks off with a seen-it-all-before exposition dump opening narration which briskly outlines who’s who and why they’re competing.

Unfortunately, it’s all surface level stuff, barely rising beyond the most basic slasher movie cliches –– how many high school tales have we already seen with mean girls, outsiders and the rest. And honestly, this new offering is so first-draft that we really only get those two types.

Everyone else is also barely sketched out –– the imperious educator who is trying to turn the reputation of the Shadyside High School around, the driven parents of the primary Prom Queen candidate, and one or two others.

Nothing here truly stands out, from stock characters to dull kills that come across as carbon copies of other, better moments from other movies, including the other ‘Fear Street’ entries.

And McLeary’s direction is also sadly fairly inert, offering little in the way of invention or interest. While there is one extra sting in the tale once the chaos is seemingly over, it’s not enough to save what has gone before.

Cast and Performances

Without a really chewy script to draw from, the cast never really comes alive.

India Fowler does what she can as Lori Granger, the outsider-with-a-dark past who is swimming against the current of public opinion about her by trying to win the Prom Queen title. Fowler’s got some spirit to her, but Lori is really just another stock heroine.

Slightly more interesting is Suzanna Son as Lori’s best –– and pretty much only –– friend Megan Rogers, a creative outsider herself who specializes in horror pranks. She also has a few more moments of heart that even Lori is allowed.

Fina Strazza as queen bee Tiffany Falconer falls into several expected mean girl pitfalls, saddled with a character who is so annoyingly perky/plotting that you can’t really see as a human being.

Ariana Greenblatt, playing Christy Renault is barely in the film, so any attempts to make her character interesting are wasted.

On the adult side of things, Katherine Waterston is at least having some fun playing Tiffany’s alpha mother Nancy, who channels her own frustrated legacy through demands on her daughter. She’s well matched by Chris Klein as her husband, who expects a lot from both his students (he’s also a teacher at the school) and his family.

Lili Taylor, playing the no-nonsense Vice Principal Dolores Brekenridge (the real power behind the throne, pulling the strings of Principal Wayland, played by Darrin Baker), mostly just gets to scowl and shout.

Final Thoughts

‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ would seem like a misfiring, less-than-satisfying stalk ‘n’ slash effort even take on its own hardly stellar merits.

But matched up against the impressive previous ‘Fear Street’ outings, it’s that much more disappointing, filled with shallow characterizations and vapid stabs at horror.

If it’s looking for high school horror glory, it’s not worthy of your support.

What’s the plot of ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’?

Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked ‘Fear Street’ franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown.

But when a gutsy outsider puts herself in the running, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.

Who is in the cast of ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’?

• India Fowler as Lori Granger
• Suzanna Son as Megan Rogers
• Fina Strazza as Tiffany Falconer
• Chris Klein as Dan Falconer
• David Iacono as Tyler Torres
• Ella Rubin as Melissa
• Ariana Greenblatt as Christy Renault
• Lili Taylor as VP Dolores Brekenridge
• Katherine Waterston as Nancy Falconer

The Killer in ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen.’ Photo: Alan Markfield/Netflix © 2025.

List of Movies in the ‘Fear Street’ Franchise:

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