Fear Street: 1978

Fear Street: 1978, also known as Fear Street Part 2: 1978 is an American horror film directed by Leigh Janiak from a screenplay by Leigh Janiak and Zak Olkewicz. It is based on Fear Street trilogy of the same name by R.L. Stine. It is the second installment in the Fear Street Trilogy, and a sequel to Fear Street: 1994.

On August 11, 2020, Deadline reported that sources told them that Netflix just closed a deal with Disney to acquire a trilogy of interconnected Fear Street films adapted from R.L. Stine’s bestselling book series. Director Leigh Janiak has wrapped all three films, and the early plan is to run them a month apart next summer. This will be wrapped into a themed event that will be marketed by Netflix as The Summer of Fear.^[1]

The movie premiered at the Los Angeles State Historic Park on July 8, 2021, and was released by Netflix on July 9, 2021. It is followed by the the final installment in the trilogy, Fear Street: 1666, was released on July 16.

Summary[]

"In the cursed town of Shadyside, a killer's murder spree terrorizes Camp Nightwing and turns a summer of fun into a gruesome fight for survival."

—Official Netflix synopsis

Plot[]

In 1994, Deena and Josh Johnson restrain Sam, Deena's girlfriend who is possessed, and travel to C. Berman's house for help. Initially reluctant, Berman allows them inside and begins recounting the events of the Camp Nightwing massacre.

On July 19, 1978, Ziggy Berman from Shadyside is accused of stealing by Sheila, a Sunnyvale camper, and her friends. They accuse her of being a witch and rope her to a tree beginning to burn her before camp counselors Nick Goode and Kurt intervene. Ziggy's older sister, Cindy, and her boyfriend Tommy Slater are cleaning the mess hall when Nurse Lane, the mother of Shadyside killer Ruby Lane, attacks Tommy, saying that he will die that night, before she is removed from camp by police. The teenagers from Sunnyvale believe she was possessed by Sarah Fier, as was her daughter. While investigating the infirmary, Cindy and Tommy encounter counselors Alice, Cindy's former friend, and her boyfriend Arnie. They find Lane's diary which says that Fier made a deal with the devil by cutting off her hand on Satan's stone, thereby earning eternal life. They also find a map in the diary leading to Fier's house.

At the house, they find empty graves dug up by Nurse Lane and discover the witch's mark below the house. Alice and Cindy find a wall carved with the names of all the Shadyside killers and Tommy's name included. Tommy, now possessed, kills Arnie with an axe and the girls escape into a cave. At camp, Nick helps Ziggy prank Sheila and lock her in the outhouse. As the two bond and share a kiss, Tommy reaches the camp and murders several Shadyside campers, including counselor Joan. Meanwhile, Cindy and Alice try to escape using the witch's mark in the diary as a map of the cave. They come across a pile of beating organs, which, when Alice touches, gives her flashbacks of all the past killers and their victims. After Alice injures her leg, she reconciles with Cindy and the two reach a cave opening beneath the outhouse.

After fighting an angry Sheila and knocking her unconscious, Ziggy and counselor Gary try to rescue Alice and Cindy until Tommy decapitates Gary. Ziggy hides with Nick, until he is injured by Tommy, and escapes to the mess hall. As the rest of the camp leaves via bus, Cindy finds a route to the mess hall while Alice stays behind. Tommy attacks Ziggy, but Cindy intervenes and kills him. Alice arrives and tells them that she found the witch's hand. She had started bleeding and realized that she was sitting near Satan's stone, where she dug it out.

The trio decide to end the curse by reuniting Sarah's hand when Ziggy suddenly bleeds on the hand and sees a vision of Sarah Fier. This triggers the curse, resurrecting several Shadyside killers. Tommy kills Alice before Cindy decapitates him. Ziggy and Cindy run to the tree where Fier was hanged, with the Shadyside killers in pursuit. They dig around the tree and find a rock saying "The witch forever lives". When Cindy realizes they are after Ziggy, she drops the hand and sacrifices herself. The two are murdered and the killers disappear, until Nick finds them and saves Ziggy via CPR.

Deena and Josh realize that C. Berman is Ziggy, whose real name is Christine. They tell her that they found the witch's body and now, with the hand, they can end the curse. Deena and Josh go to Shadyside Mall, which was built after the closure of Camp Nightwing, and dig out the hand from under the same tree. They take it to the place where the body is buried and Deena reunites the body with the hand. Deena's nose bleeds and she sees a vision where she is in 1666 as Sarah Fier.