"Fear Street" Trilogy Review: More RL Stine Adaptations Please

"Fear Street" is based on the YA books by RL Stine (he's most famous for the "Goosebumps" series). The novels began in late 80s and ended up encompassing some 51 main series novels and several spin offs.Stein was extremely prolific-- often producing one book a month. Wow, that is fast.

The NetFlix series has a "Stranger Things" vibe. That's no coincidence. Both shows are focused on the same YA audience. "Fear Street" director/screenwriter Leigh Janiak is also married to Ross Duffer (co creator of "Stranger Things"). Several of the same actors appear in both series-- Sadie Sink (Max), Maya Hawke (Robin), etc.

The three installments in the trilogy are: "1994", "1978" and "1666". The story follows Deena (Kiana Madeira), her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr), and friends Kate and Simon. They live in Shadyside where all manor of bad things happen. The town is literally cursed. Meanwhile everything is bright, shiny and perfect in sister city Sunnyvale.

Deena recently broke up with Sam (who moved to Sunnyvale). We later find out that Sam is short for Samantha. It's not often that you see a gay couple in horror movies. And if so, they will most definitely die in a horrible, painful way. There are typically no happy endings for gays (especially in the horror genre).

In first installment, several people are killed at a mall. This leads the group to investigate the legend of Sarah Fier. She was hanged for witchcraft in 1666 in what later became Shadyside. Sarah can apparently take possession of random Shadyside residents and make them go on killing sprees. The list of baddies she has created include: 1. Skull Mask Killer (Ryan Torres in 1994), 2. Nightwing Killer (Tommy Slater in 1978), 3. Ruby Lane (from the 60s), 4. the Milkman (from the 1950s), 5. Billy Barker (from the 1920s, he's a kid with a mask and baseball bat), 6. the Pastor (Cyrus Miller in 1666), 7.the Grifter (from the early 1900s, he likes to drown people), and 8. the Humpty Dumpty killer (from the 1930s, from Josh's research although we never see him). The kids try to find the witch's hand and reunite it with her body in an attempt to stop the curse.

In "1978" we learn more about the sole survivor of the Nightwing camp massacre. How did C Berman survive when no one else could? She technically died but was brought back when Nick Goode did CPR on her. Otherwise the killer would have stalked her I guess forever. Nick later becomes a sheriff.

In "1666" Deena is transported to colonial times and takes the place of Sarah. There she falls for Hannah (a definite no no back then). We eventually learn the truth about what's going on. I wont't go into specifics here so as not to spoil it for ya. Suffice to say, things are not as they seem..

Grade: 4 3/4 Monsters (out of 5). The "Fear Street" movie trilogy is based on a series of RL Stine novels that began in the late 80s. I havent read any of the books so had no preconceived notions going into the movies. I must say I surprisingly (for me) enjoyed the series.It's visually very polished, the action scenes are great and the actors are all compelling (especially Kiana Madeira), I'll be interested to see what she does next. .

One unique thing about the series is that the central couple is same sex. You definitely dont see that much in horror. And if you do, they are going to suffer a horrible, painful violent deaths. It seems they can NEVER a happy ending. So this series was a breath of fresh air compared to all the disappointments that have come before it.

"Fear Street's" target demographic is the YA market but there's something here for us oldies as well. It has a vibe similar to "Stranger Things. "Fear Street" director/writer Leigh Janiak is married to Ross Duffer (co creator of "Stranger Things"). Several of the same actors appear in both series. I hope NetFlix continues with more RL Stine adaptations. With fifty something books and several spin offs there's more than enough material to play with.