Fear Street Part 2: 1978 - Movie Review
Let’s get this out of the way now. I love slasher films. I especially love the stereotypical wilderness / camp slashers. Think Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, The Burning, Hatchet, etc. There’s a guttural Americana to this section of the genre that tickles my childhood memories. We all grew up with stories about our local boogeymen or boogeywomen. We can all relate to being alone in the impenetrable darkness of nature with only the “what-the-hell-is-that” screams of the cicadas as company. The rustling of leaves turns you around, a twig snap ramps up your anxiety, and then a strand of spiderweb tickles your ear—you run screaming back to camp, your bowels be damned. It’s frightening without a hulking avatar of vengeance chasing you.
The camp slasher sub-genre is held to a fairly high standard by those of us who grew up in the 80’s/90’s. Recent hits like Hatchet (only the 1st one), Final Girls, and The Hills Run Red have all expanded the genre in different ways. Some lean into the camp, some go meta, but overall they all stick to the basic spirit of the sub-genre = FUN.
Fear Street Part 2: 1978 misses that mark by a wide margin.
Rising superstar Sadie Sink is typecast as her character from Stranger Things. She’s a fantastic actress and I hope she gets to play an actual leading lady soon. She is a beautiful girl who oozes charisma. The rebellious tomboy character she is forced to play is a by the numbers affair named Ziggy. Ziggy is on her final strike at Camp Nightwing. She’s fed up with the Sunnyside Delta Bravos, and is acting out. She would come off as annoying, if she wasn’t right. All of the Sunnysiders are horrible, irredeemable monsters. Well, all of them except the future Sheriff Nick Goode, played by Ted Sullivan. Ziggy is only saved from ejection from camp by Nick and her sister Cindy’s intervention. Cindy, played by the beautiful Emily Rudd, is Ziggy’s older sister and camp counselor. Cindy is trying to fit in with the Sunnyside group, as a way to escape the fate of her deadend parents, much to the chagrin of Ziggy. Insert stereotypical little sister / big sister banter here. Their interactions are by the numbers to the extreme, but are made palatable by having two talented actresses deliver the lines. Sink and Rudd have good chemistry, and their performances are the only reason to watch this entry.
When Cindy’s boyfriend is possessed by the witch Sarah Fier and becomes a Jason-like killer, Sadie and Cindy scramble to find away to stop Sarah Fier before its too late.
I can’t say more, as I don’t want to spoil anything. However, there isn’t much to spoil. This entire film is a set-up for the third entry, but the insights it provides are of little impact. There’s a twist, sure, but its not earth shattering or all the effective beyond a limp gotcha moment. There’s no new information about the legend, only a hint at the location of the witch’s house. You could skip this entry in the series and be just fine in watching the third film.
Even as a standalone slasher this film falls short. The kills are uninspired and the killer doesn’t get his iconic mask until the last few minutes. I was most excited for this entry, but was left disappointed in the wasted potential. Multiple killers show up, but only for split-seconds. Beyond the story shortfalls, the film runs long. There is a lot that could have been trimmed off in this one. The film is similar length to the other two, but it feels longer. There’s just a lot of time where nothing happens. I forgot who half the characters were because the script keeps shoehorning in sacrificial lambs that have no impact on the overarching story.
Part 1 was fantastic, Part 2 was disappointing, and as for Part 3—
To Be Continued…
