Fear Street: 1978 (2021)
Directed by Leigh Janiak
In 1978, two rival groups at Camp Nightwing must band together to solve a terrifying mystery when horrors from their towns' history come alive.
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11 films that influenced Fear Street: 1978
What critics say influenced Fear Street: 1978
If “Fear Street Part 1: 1994” was a spiritual cousin to “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” then Leah Janiak’s lively sequel/follow-up “Fear Street Part Two: 1978” is in the same ballpark as “Friday The 13th” and “Sleepaway Camp.”
The follow-up to "Fear Street Part One: 1994" — a fun, frenzied "Scream" homage that introduced viewers to the cursed town of Shadyside and the teens who inhabit it — unfolds 16 years earlier, and is styled after "Friday the 13th" or "Sleepaway Camp," horror films set in the world of horny teens and hornier camp counselors holed up inside wooded cabins and mess halls at summer camp.
While there is a clear Friday the 13th inspiration, you could even say that this second film brings a bit of Sleepaway Camp to the table by casting a few younger-looking actors to make their ages more believable.
The aforementioned genre is, of course, used to populate — for better or worse — the 80s horror films seen in the likes of Friday the 13th (1980) and its subsequent sequels, The Burning (1981) and Sleepaway Camp (1983).
The sleepaway-slaughter hallmarks of the 1980s such as The Burning, Friday the 13th, Madman, Sleepaway Camp and Cheerleader Camp belonged to a disreputable, sleazy sub-genre that cannot be genuinely replicated by such mainstream studios as Fox (which produced Fear Street) and Netflix (which eventually bought the films).
All three “Fear Street” flicks were co-written and directed by Leigh Janiak, who has the difficult task of balancing the source material’s teenage sensibility with the rated-R trappings of “Friday the 13th,” “Sleepaway Camp,” and other slashers.
Feeling more like a direct homage to 1970s slashers such as Friday the 13th and The Burning, with plenty of genre references like Carrie and Stephen King, 1978 delves much more into the classic slasher elements.
The aforementioned genre is, of course, used to populate — for better or worse — the 80s horror films seen in the likes of Friday the 13th (1980) and its subsequent sequels, The Burning (1981) and Sleepaway Camp (1983).
The sleepaway-slaughter hallmarks of the 1980s such as The Burning, Friday the 13th, Madman, Sleepaway Camp and Cheerleader Camp belonged to a disreputable, sleazy sub-genre that cannot be genuinely replicated by such mainstream studios as Fox (which produced Fear Street) and Netflix (which eventually bought the films).
Especially given films like Friday the 13th , The Burning , and Sleepaway Camp all being beloved by horror fans for their campground setting, it seemed like an obvious choice to deliver a straightforward, summer-themed slasher, only for Janiak to once again totally circumvent expectations.
A decidedly ’80s trend, its ingredients — teens holed up in a secluded spot away from adults, ripe for sex, drugs and mayhem — have been employed to various degrees of success, from the classics ( Friday The 13th , The Burning ) to the forgettable ( Cheerleader Camp , Sleepaway Camp ).
Feeling more like a direct homage to 1970s slashers such as Friday the 13th and The Burning, with plenty of genre references like Carrie and Stephen King, 1978 delves much more into the classic slasher elements.
The aforementioned genre is, of course, used to populate — for better or worse — the 80s horror films seen in the likes of Friday the 13th (1980) and its subsequent sequels, The Burning (1981) and Sleepaway Camp (1983).
The sleepaway-slaughter hallmarks of the 1980s such as The Burning, Friday the 13th, Madman, Sleepaway Camp and Cheerleader Camp belonged to a disreputable, sleazy sub-genre that cannot be genuinely replicated by such mainstream studios as Fox (which produced Fear Street) and Netflix (which eventually bought the films).
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If “Fear Street Part 1: 1994” was a spiritual cousin to “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” then Leah Janiak’s lively sequel/follow-up “Fear Street Part Two: 1978” is in the same ballpark as “Friday The 13th” and “Sleepaway Camp.”
Janiak still makes time to reference horror classics, swapping out Scream for Friday the 13th Part 2 , but this film is markedly better at approximating the thrills of its reference point.
And Shadyside is much like Derry, the town at the centre of Stephen King’s It.
One that requires patience as Janiak, who again serves as a co-writer and this time with Zac Olkewicz (his prior credit include co-producing David F. Sandberg’s Lights Out in 2016) taking their time to tell the story.
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Like their ’90s counterparts, the young adults of Camp Nightwing have a halo of invisible scare quotes hovering around them as they mumble out “Shagadelic” like the extras in an Austin Powers movie.
But as we descend down the rabbit hole with the writer-director, we can guess the real suspense will come from in the third film, set in “The Witch” era — 1666.