Written by Dakota Hornak, Staff Writer
*Spoilers Below*
Written by R.L Stine, “Fear Street” has reawakened Netflix-watcher’s love for all things scary. This horror trilogy takes place in three different eras, all split into their own film in the series. Last week, we dissected “Fear Street: 1994,” the first of the series where we met our main characters Deena, her brother Josh, and her girlfriend Sam as they discover the reality of the curse that has haunted their town of Shadyside, Ohio since 1666.
The second installment opens on Deena and Josh bringing a now possessed Sam to the house of the only person that has ever survived the curse, C. Burman. After tying Sam up to prevent her from attacking, Deena and Josh listen to the story of one of the most infamous massacres in the film series: Camp Nightwing. This is the point where the movie seamlessly transitions into a flashback of when C. Burman went to camp that year, officially kicking off “Fear Street: 1978.”
In the first scene of flashing back to Camp Nightwing, Shadyside resident Ziggy is sprinting through the woods until she’s caught by a group of Sunnyvale kids. They scream about the witch’s curse and tie her to a tree before the main bully, Sheila, starts to burn Ziggy with a lighter before two counselors show up to stop it. This leads to meeting Ziggy’s sister, Cindy, another counselor at the camp and it’s clear to see that they don’t have the best relationship.
One of the great things about this series is its ability to make the audience care about the characters. As we see Ziggy and Cindy fight and talk about their lives in Shadyside, you can’t help but wish that things could be better for them. The scenery and cinematography skills, again, add an extra dimension to this film as well, pulling the audience fully into the lives of the Burman sisters. Filmed in Georgia, the sets of Camp Nightwing add elements of fear and unknown into the already compelling storyline.
Cindy’s boyfriend Tommy is attacked by the camp nurse, mother of infamous town murderer Ruby Lane, and Nurse Lane warns Cindy that Tommy will “die tonight either way.” The audience quickly realizes that the curse is going to force Tommy to snap, triggering the start of the Nightwing massacre during a town v. town color war.
This installment is genuinely my favorite of the trilogy. It is reminiscent of a lot of horror movies that take place at camps, like “Friday the 13th,” but still has the same matured “Goosebumps” script and cinematography; the styles together make an original summer camp horror film that also boosts the story and characters from the first film. The only thing that could make this series scarier is having to wait for our next review installment of the third and final addition, “Fear Street: 1666,” releasing soon from The Quill. Enjoy the thrills.
