Fear Street: 1994

Fear Street: 1994, also known as Fear Street Part 1: 1994 is an American horror film directed by Leigh Janiak from a screenplay by Leigh Janiak and Phil Graziadei. It is based on Fear Street trilogy of the same name by R.L. Stine. It is the first installment in the Fear Street Trilogy.

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 was to run them a month apart next summer. They would be wrapped into a themed event that was marketed by Netflix as The Summer of Fear.^[1]

The movie premiered at the Los Angeles State Historic Park on June 28, 2021, and was released on Netflix on July 2, 2021, and followed by Fear Street: 1978 and Fear Street: 1666.

Summary[]

"In 1994, a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets. Based on R.L. Stine’s best selling horror series, the trilogy follows the nightmare through Shadyside’s sinister history."

—Official Netflix synopsis

Plot[]

In 1994, Heather Watkins, a bookstore employee, is murdered by her friend Ryan Torres, who had previously shown no indication that he planned on killing her. After murdering her and several mall employees, he is shot to death by the police. The media report the massacre as the norm for Shadyside, which they dub the murder capital of the United States. Meanwhile, the neighboring town of Sunnyvale is its polar opposite, as it is considered one of the richest and safest cities in the country. Many of the Shadyside teenagers believe that this is the result of the witch, Sarah Fier, who placed a curse on the town before being executed for witchcraft in 1666.

Deena Johnson does not believe in the Fier witch and has recently broken up with her closeted girlfriend Sam, who has since moved to Sunnyvale. Josh, her brother, spends his time researching the town's history and her friends Simon and Kate sell drugs in hopes of eventually leaving the town. Deena and Sam meet again at a vigil in Sunnyvale for the victims of the mall killings, where a brawl between the students of Shadyside and Sunnyvale breaks out. While returning home, Sam's boyfriend, Peter, taunts them, leading Deena to almost throw a large barrel at the car but a sudden nosebleed causes her to lose her grip on the barrel and Peter's car to crash. Sam survives, however before she is taken to the hospital, she sees a vision of Sarah Fier.

The following night, Deena and her friends begin to be stalked by whom they initially believe to be Sam's boyfriend Peter and his friends. However, when Deena and her friends visit Sam, Skull Mask murders Peter and several others in the hospital, and is revealed to be Ryan. Sam and Deena fail to convince the police while Simon is attacked by Ruby Lane, one of Shadyside's past killers. The group realizes that the accident disturbed the grave of Sarah Fier and that Sam bled on her bones. They attempt to offer her a proper reburial but are attacked by the Camp Nightwing Killer. Realizing that the killers only want Sam and are attracted to her blood, they set a trap at school in an attempt to destroy the killers by burning them, but the killers reform nonetheless.

Sam reluctantly agrees with the group to be sacrificed, despite Deena's protests. However, the group saves her when they discover that C. Berman, a survivor of the Camp Nightwing massacre in 1978, died but was resuscitated. They attempt to call her, but receive no answer. The group organise a plan to kill and revive Sam using drugs from a supermarket pharmacy, only for Sam to vomit up the pills. The Shadyside killers attack and murder Simon and Kate, as Deena drowns a willing Sam. The killers disappear and Deena revives Sam using a combination of EpiPens and CPR.

Afterwards, the police decide to place the blame on Simon and Kate, as they were known for selling drugs. Sam and Deena reconcile and publicly come out as a couple. Later that night, while Sam is at her house, Deena receives a call back from C. Berman who tells her that there is no escaping the witch. Sam, now possessed, attacks Deena but is subdued and tied up.