KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy
Length: 1h 35min
Rating: PG
Director: Chris Appelhans, Maggie Kang
Writer: Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan, Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, Bo Yeon Kim, Erika Lippldt
Actors: Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyoo-seop, Yunjin Kim, Ken Jeong, Lee Byung-hun, Daniel Dae Kim, Rumi Oak
 
Blurb from IMDb: A world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
The trailer for KPop Demon Hunters was insane. I was looking forward to seeing it, but I just couldn’t find the time. Then my daughter saw it while she was visiting with some cousins, and her reaction made it essential that I see this film. My daughter doesn’t like movies. She’ll occasionally watch one for my sake, but if she genuinely likes a flick, that speaks wonders for it. She LOVED KPop Demon Hunters.
 
Honestly? I loved it too.
 
The animation style was gorgeous. The few times it wasn’t, was on purpose. Either because it was exaggerating excitement or because it was pointing out a flaw we were meant to see. Not unlike most anime. The soundtrack was also exceptional, and I recommend having captions on so that you can catch as much meaning in the lyrics as possible your first time around.

The best part about KPop Demon Hunters, though, is how easily I was able to relate to the characters. Anyone who’s ever had to deal with a brain that attacks them will.
 
When that happens with me, I call it “Mean Brain.” That means my brain is saying awful things to me, and I can’t seem to shut it up or block it out. The influence of Gwi-ma sounds exactly like mean brain to me. It was interesting, and maybe even a little triggering, to hear it on screen.
 
KPop Demon Hunters is so much more than I thought it would be, and I went into it with HIGH expectations. I can’t recommend it enough.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 97%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 92%
Metascore – 76%
Metacritic User Score –8.2
IMDB Score – 7.7/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
 
P.S. Some behind-the-scenes looks during the start of the credits.
 
Movie Trailer:

Barbarian (2022)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Barbarian (2022)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Length:  1h 42min
Rating: R
Director: Zach Cregger
Writer: Zach Cregger
Actors: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Patrick Davis, Richard Brake, Kurt Braunohler, Jaymes Butler, Sophie Sörensen, Rachel Fowler, JR Esposito, Kate Nichols, Kate Bosworth, Brooke Dillman, Sara Paxton, Will Greenberg

Metacritic Blurb: In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that her rental has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway, but soon discovers that there is much more to be afraid of in the house than the other house guest.

Cat’s Point of View:
The first time I watched Barbarian; I did have some expectations because I had watched the trailer in preparation for September 2022’s Top 20list. This made my #11 spot and Selina had Barbarian listed as her #12. In another month, it might have cracked the Top 10 for me, but it had really stiff competition at the time with the likes of The Munsters reboot, Clerks III, and Hocus Pocus 2 releasing during the same general timeframe. I digress…

The trailer had given me chills and left me with a lingering sense of disquiet and dread, as well as many questions. I compared my initial perception of the story to a crazy amalgamation of nightmare Reddit stories and an Airbnb double-booking from hell.

That being said, it’s almost spoilers to even talk about that much of the plot. I think the trailer actually gives away too much. If you want the full impact of this movie – go watch it blind. Don’t watch the trailer, and try to forget anything you’ve read here that has given anything away.

If you need some training wheels with your psychological horror and thrills, then some fore-knowledge might soften the blow of what’s to come…a little.

Barbarian does, in fact, offer us a bleak story of barbarism on multiple levels, in addition to the wink wink, nudge nudge play on words involving the film’s setting. Some of it is quite intentional, while, I’ve read that writer and director, Zach Cregger (The Civil War on Drugs, Newsboyz, Weapons) chalks some up to coincidence.

Whether the many fan-theorized layers to the title of Barbarian are substantiated or not is beside the point, however. Cregger has woven together a truly horrific story that was cringe-inducing and eerily plausible (if a bit far-fetched).

I am really looking forward to watching Cregger’s new horror movie that is releasing soon in 2025. With the skillful twists and turns he employed with Barbarian, I expect that not only will the next one hit hard, but it will find a way to blindside audiences with chilling surprises much like Barbarian did.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 92%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –70%
Metascore – 78%
Metacritic User Score – 6.8/10
IMDB Score – 7.0/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4/5

Movie Trailer:

Clown in a Cornfield (2025)

Streaming Service:  Shudder / AMC+
Movie Name/Year: Clown in a Cornfield (2025)
Genre: Horror, Mystery & Thriller, Dark Comedy
Length:  1h 36min
Rating: R
Director: Eli Craig
Writers: Carter Blanchard, Eli Craig, Adam Cesare
Based On: novel "Clown in a Cornfield" by Adam Cesare
Actors: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Vincent Muller, Kevin Durand, Will Sasso, Cassandra Potenza, Verity Marks, Ayo Solanke, Alexandre Martin Deakin, Catherine Wreford, Daina Leitold, Jean-Jacques Javier, Noah Craig, Heath Vermette, Bradley Sawatzky, Jeff Strome, Dylan McEwan, Kaitlyn Bacon, Blake Taylor, Anders Strome, Samantha Hutchings, Robert Borges, BJ Verot, Darren Ross, Krystle Snow, Alan Castanaga

Shudder Blurb: Quinn and her father have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Welcome to Kettle Springs. The real fun starts when Frendo the clown comes out to play.

Aaron Abrams and Katie Douglas in Eli Craig’s CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD.
Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.

Selina’s Point of View:
Fifteen years.

Fifteen long years since Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010) and I still recognized the flavor of Clown in a Cornfield. I wouldn’t have been able to name writer/director Eli Craig from memory, but I knew I recognized the feel of the flick.

When we first saw Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, I fell in love immediately. Nothing about it was anything I’d ever seen before, and the humor was deliciously dark. I saw bits of that here.

I’ll admit, the beginning didn’t have me hopeful. It felt very Friday the 13th (1980). Like it would be following an overused slasher recipe from start to finish.

Craig is creative with that kind of thing, though. He has a recipe. He follows the recipe. From whatever different angle he can find. In this case, the recipe was followed through the eyes of the new teen norms.

Verity Marks, Cassandra Potenza, and Katie Douglas in Eli Craig’s CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD.
Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.

I’m a Millennial. Cat’s a Gen X. When we were in high school the world was different and that showed in our movies. Bullies took aim at anyone even remotely different. Parents were removed and indifferent to their kids. Teens were all sex-crazed maniacs. You know all the tropes and, if you don’t, watch Scream (1996). It lays them all out for you.

Clown in a Cornfield knows what you expect. It uses that. It even provides a prologue from the 1990s to set you up for all the expectations it wants you to have. Then it looks at the familiar slasher stories we all know so well through the eyes of the next generation. The kids that are growing up with more tolerance and parents that go to therapy.

I thought I had the story down by about a quarter of the way through. I wrote down my predictions in my notes and waited for them to come true. Only one did and not in the way I expected.

Clown in a Cornfield was fun. It was everything you want from a slasher and somehow not at all what you expect.

I don’t know much, if anything, about the projects Eli Craig has headed since 2010, but if he gives the rest of his work the same unique perspective as Clown in a Cornfield and Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, then I’m guessing they’re worth a watch too. 

Kevin Durand in Eli Craig’s CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD.
Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.

Cat’s Point of View:
I’ve been eagerly anticipating Clown in a Cornfield since I had a lovely chat with Kevin Durand (The Strain, Locke & Key, Abigail) at Geek’d Con last summer. He’d mentioned the film as one of his upcoming projects. Of course, he couldn’t say anything else other than he was in it – and I’m glad for the lack of spoilers for this one. As usual, Durand didn’t disappoint.

Once I looked a little further into the production info available at the time, I couldn’t help but notice that Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Brothers & Sisters, Little Evil) was directing. I didn’t expect this corn-fed slasher spree to duplicate the brilliant lightning in a bottle that was Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010). I did, however, feel it was a reasonable hope that if Craig pulled off one of my favorite movies of all time as his horror genre debut, the chances were going to be good I’d enjoy Clown in a Cornfield.

The title alone is worth some giggles – especially when you realize it’s somewhat of a modern twist on a throwback teen slasher. You know, where the teens are all the ones getting slashed.

I enjoyed how the Clown in a Cornfield paid homage to the slasher villain staples from Scream (1996) and Friday the 13^th (1980) through Halloween (1978) and Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), among others. There were laughs sprinkled through the tension. While this bloody fun ride didn't have the obvious elements of the near 4^th-wall breaking of some modern elevated horror, I did enjoy how Clown in a Cornfield poked fun at generation gaps and some of the tried-and-true clichés. It subverted expectations and when I thought I had it figured out, there was a twist out of left field.

Will Sasso and Carson MacCormac in Eli Craig’s CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD.
Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.

If you’re thinking to yourself that the Terrifier (2016) franchise has the killer clown sub-genre market cornered, think again. Frendo certainly isn’t Art the Clown, but neither of them is IT’s (1990 or 2017) Pennywise, either. There’s plenty of room at the Slasher Circus.

Aside from aforementioned Durand, I was generally pleased with the overall cast here, as well. There was a good mix of fresh faces with recognizable ones. Katie Douglas (Level 16, Mary Kills People, Lazareth) was absolutely a stand-out. I was also happy to see Aaron Abrams (The Lovebirds, Code 8: Part II, Children Ruin Everything) here too. (Abrams was actually one of the very few cast members that was in all 3 of the Code 8 productions, from the Kickstarter proof of concept short in 2016 through both movies starting with Code 8 (2019). I digress…)

What I didn’t realize at the outset of this bloody adventure through corn country was that Clown in a Cornfield was based on a novel. There is, in fact, a series of books featuring our friend Frendo. I am curious as to whether or not we’ll get to see more of them come to life in sequels.

For now, however, you can find Clown in a Cornfield on Shudder/AMC+ beginning Friday, August 8^th.

Frendo the Clown in Eli Craig’s CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD.
Courtesy of RLJE Films & Shudder. An RLJE Films & Shudder Release.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 73%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –57%
Metascore – 55%
Metacritic User Score – 5.0/10
IMDB Score – 5.6/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5

Movie Trailer:

Brick (2025)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Brick (2025)
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi
Length:  1h 39min
Rating: TV-MA
Director: Philip Koch
Writer: Philip Koch
Actors: Matthias Schweighöfer, Ruby O. Fee, Frederick Lau, Salber Lee Williams, Murathan Muslu, Sira-Anna Faal, Axel Werner, Alexander Beyer, Josef Berousek, Daniele Rizzo, Nader Ben-Abdallah, Daniela Galbo, Markus Ransmayr

IMDb Blurb: A couple whose apartment building is suddenly surrounded by a mysterious brick wall must work with their neighbors to find a way out.

Cat’s Point of View:
My daughter and I selected Brick to watch out of a completely random impulse – just because it was new and interesting, based on its description. When we began to watch the trailer, I got a bit excited because I recognized Matthias Schweighöfer (Army of the Dead, Oppenheimer, Elio) was one of the leads.

Selina and I had really enjoyed the Zack Snyder (Sucker Punch, Man of Steel, Zack Snyder's Justice League) movies Army of the Dead (2021) and Army of Thieves (2021). Of course, Schweighöfer actually directed the Thieves movie while Snyder wrote and produced that one… but I digress. We knew then that we really enjoyed Schweighöfer’s performance as Ludwig Dieter.

The concept of some sort of mysterious wall appearing instantly around a whole building and its impervious nature in the face of power tools sparked my interest. The fact I recognized a couple people in the movie was really only a secondary factor. I was intrigued by their problem-solving process, and appreciated the multiple layers to the story.

As I began to pull together the movie information for this review article, I was a bit baffled as to why the aggregate review scores for Brick were so low. This film really wasn’t bad. It wasn’t the most amazing thing I’d ever seen, but it was solid – not to make a wall pun.

Once I read through a few of the summaries, I began to piece together why this particular production fell flat for some Netflix viewers. I think it might have been a slight case of “lost in translation.”

While I felt that the literal translation and dubbing of Brick was just fine, and everything meshed better than expected for a film that wasn’t shot in English, I decided to watch it again in its original German with the subtitles just to compare.

I see what some viewers were getting at.

Don’t get me wrong, the actors that dubbed Brick for English did a good job. There was just a little loss of emotional nuance in the difference between the actor’s performance in the original filmed scene and the one in the voice-over, recording after-the-fact. There was a slight exception, however. Matthias Schweighöfer was able to dub his own lines in English. He was the only actor from the German language original to do so. 

That being said, if you don’t mind the subtitles, I would recommend watching Brick in its original language. Either way, I found this shiny new Netflix original to check off most of the proverbial boxes for elements I appreciate in a sci-fi movie. There were real stakes, the solution wasn’t spoon-fed to the characters and they had to reason things out. There was even a good example of why it’s not generally a good idea to drink the conspiracy theory Kool-Aid.

Brick might just be one of the hidden gems of the summer.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 35%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 27%
Metascore – 53%
Metacritic User Score – 4.2/10
IMDB Score – 5.4/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating –  3.5/5

Movie Trailer:

Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)

Movie Name/Year: Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Length:  2h 13min
Rating: PG-13
Director: Gareth Edwards
Writers: Michael Crichton, David Koepp
Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, Audrina Miranda, Philippine Velge, Bechir Sylvain, Ed Skrein, Adam Loxley, Niamh Finlay

IMDb Blurb: Five years post-Jurassic World: Dominion (2022), an expedition braves isolated equatorial regions to extract DNA from three massive prehistoric creatures for a groundbreaking medical breakthrough.

Cat’s Point of View:
The fact that I wanted to watch Jurassic World: Rebirth pretty much went without saying. I am down for any trip into the universe created by the belated Michael Crichton. I adored the 2 books that spawned this expansive franchise, and I’ve been in love with the movies – every single one of them.

I know, I know… they messed with the plot from the books and have taken things into different directions. Not only that, not every foray into the world of these genetically engineered dinos has had the most effective plot. I don’t care about all of that. I love the thrill of watching the meticulously executed dinosaurs on the screen interacting with the modern world.

I will never forget my first experience with Jurassic Park (1993). It was the first movie I was dropped off to watch with a friend without an adult present. I had already read the books and I was so awestruck by what I saw on the screen that I didn’t care there were differences between the page and the production. I left the theater easing back from my adrenaline rush and awash in the glow of being mesmerized by the magic of the special effects.

Even to this day, this series holds a special place in my heart and I will stop and watch any of them, even if I catch them in the middle – especially that first Jurassic Park. They’re comfort movies for me.

Jurassic World: Rebirth brought me back to some of those more primal feelings and reminded me about my love for this franchise. There were moments that were heartwarming, awe inspiring, and the tension was also on point. It checked the box of plans going sideways unexpectedly, and I even accidentally squeezed my daughter’s hand too tightly during a particularly harrowing scene.

If there was one thing that I missed from the original book that wasn’t in the first movie, it was the river encounter. The 3^rd installment of the original trilogy did somewhat remedy the omissions with its aviary and river scenes. If you thought that the trip along the river in Jurassic Park III (2001) was even a little scary, though, hold on to your proverbial hat for Jurassic World: Rebirth. I had white knuckles and what felt like heart palpitations.

One of the themes that I really enjoyed about Rebirth was that it paid homage to the original Jurassic Park movie in so many ways. I was delighted by all of the Easter eggs that were sprinkled throughout the entire movie. It seemed to live up to the promise of a fresh start in the wake of the Jurassic World (2015) trilogy conclusion. Jurassic World: Rebirth showed that it is, indeed, possible to move forward with stand-alone stories that don’t depend on legacy characters, dinosaurs, or even locations. We're all just living in a fully immersive world where dinosaurs are now a fixture of life on the planet.

If you love the Jurassic Park franchise or are even curious about it and haven’t seen the 6 prior movies, Jurassic World: Rebirth would offer an excellent cinematic experience for you. It can be enjoyed on its own, or with the knowledge carried forward that lets the subtle reminders of the past layer in some extra depth.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 52%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –72%
Metascore – 50%
Metacritic User Score – 5.5/10
IMDB Score – 6.2/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5

Movie Trailer:

Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year:  Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025)
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Length:  1h 30min
Rating: R
Director: Matt Palmer
Writers: Matt Palmer, Donald McLeary, R.L. Stine
Based On: Fear Street book series by R.L. Stine
Actors: India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Katherine Waterston, Lili Taylor, Chris Klein, Ariana Greenblatt, David Iacono, Darrin Baker, Ella Rubin, Rebecca Ablack, Ilan O'Driscoll, Ryan Rosery, Damian Romeo, Dakota Taylor, Luke Kimball, Eden Summer Gilmore, Brennan Clost, Cecilia Lee, Joseph Chiu, Tom Keat, Dale Whibley, Christopher B. MacCabe, Joanne Boland, J.D. Nicholsen, Colin Platt, Alexander Eling, Jai Jai Jones

IMDb Blurb: When the "it" girls competing for prom queen at Shadyside High start to disappear, a gutsy outsider discovers she's in for one hell of a prom night.

Cat’s Point of View:
On the heels of taking a look at the Fear Street trilogy, it was only natural for us to bring you a review for the latest installment of book adaptations from R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series.

Fear Street: Prom Queen took place on the Shadyside timeline between the 1978 camp massacre and the 1994 events. Sara Fier’s curse was still in full effect during the events of this teen slasher – though it wasn’t the focus of this story, as it was in the trilogy.

This movie was quite the trip through nostalgia for me. Thankfully, it wasn’t the blood, guts, and trauma. The big hair that defied gravity with aid from copious amounts of hairspray, the fashion, and the idioms of the time were spot-on. It was like I was back in 1988 again for a little while. I had a real laugh out loud moment when I heard the phrase “gag me with a spoon!” (That was a real saying back in the day. I might have said it a time or two…or three.)

Fear Street: Prom Queen both played with familiar horror tropes and teen slasher camp, and offered us something new. It was a love letter to movies like I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), Scream (1996), and Carrie (1976)… sort of put through a blender with Mean Girls (2004). I wasn’t mad at it, either.

I really enjoyed a few of the inventive kills by the red-raincoat slasher. The heavy-duty paper cutter desk machete was a brilliant murder tool. A hint of that was shown in the trailers and it was something that actually got me excited for the movie, and interested in new twists and turns were in store. Seriously, every kid has looked sideways at that dangerous contraption because we know that thing is capable of taking off fingers… or more.

We do need to address the proverbial elephant in the room, however. Fear Street: Prom Queen has gotten some rather low ratings across the board. A lot of the key complaints focused on character building and having enough to invest us in the plight of the characters.

I feel like Prom Queen suffered by comparison to the trilogy from 2021. There were 3 whole movies where we got to know those characters and what they were going through, with whole movies devoted to back-story. Prom Queen focused on new characters that weren’t featured in the trilogy, so we were having to glean info on the fly rather than having all the details spoon-fed over multiple installments.
Personally, I thought that the balance was fine between the current events of the film and flashes of background. There were breadcrumbs to follow. I fell for a couple red herrings along the way. The twist was fantastic and had me palming my forehead.

This was a solid offering for a retro teen slasher. The acting was good, the killings unhinged, and it was a generally accurate time capsule for the era it depicted. If this sort of thing is your cup of tea, or maybe rather spiked punch, I’d encourage you to give it a try.

Fans of Stine’s Fear Street series do have at least 2 more films to look forward to, according to R.L. Stine’s interview with The Hollywood Reporter. I can’t wait to see which one’s next.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 28%
Rotten Tomatoes Popcorn Meter Score – 24%
Metascore – 41%
Metacritic User Score – 4.3/10
IMDB Score – 5.1/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5

Movie Trailer:

Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (2021)
Original Title: Fear Street: 1666
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Length:  1h 54min
Rating: R
Director: Leigh Janiak
Writers: R.L. Stine, Kate Trefry, Phil Graziadei, Leigh Janiak
Based On: Fear Street book series by R.L. Stine
Actors: Kiana Madeira, Elizabeth Scopel, Benjamin Flores Jr., Randy Havens, Julia Rehwald, Matthew Zuk, Fred Hechinger, Michael Chandler, Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Olivia Scott Welch, Lacy Camp, McCabe Slye, Ashley Zukerman, Jordana Spiro, Jeremy Ford, Charlene Amoia, Mark Ashworth, Todd Allen Durkin, Ryan Simpkins, Ted Sutherland, Gillian Jacobs, Darrell Britt-Gibson

IMDb Blurb: In 1666, a colonial town is gripped by a witch hunt that has deadly consequences for centuries to come, while teenagers in 1994 try to put an end to their town's curse before it is too late.

Cat’s Point of View:

The third and final act of Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy made for a satisfying book-end to the three-film run of this story.

The first movie sparked so many questions, and the second offered few answers, whetting the appetite for more. Fear Street Part Three: 1666 offered not only an origin story to this tale of a curse enveloping twin cities, but also a fitting resolution in the “present day” where the narrative began in 1994.

Part Three offers revelations that aren’t quite as shocking as they likely were intended to be, and yet the twisty shenanigans still entertained.

I understand some of the detractors from this third installment complaining that it felt like this was 2 whole movies smushed together. In some ways, it could be seen that way. I, however, appreciate the way that the extended flashback occurred. It more viscerally brought us into the story of the origins of the curse that befell Shadyside. It pulled our present-day characters into the parallel scenario of the past.

The setting of 1666, while likely a year selected for the numerical significance with its dark connotations, did fall in a period of time when witch fever was still high between the general timeline of The Burning Times in Europe and the Salem Witch Trial era in the 1690s. The segment from the past felt plausible and harrowingly fitting to that time period.

The transition between the past and the present were done well. I enjoyed seeing how the familiar faces wove into the past and brought the situation in 1994 into greater focus.

Of course, the climax was as campy as you would expect based on the build-up from the first 2 teen slasher installments. There was still plenty of blood to be spilled and inventive plans to be hatched.

Over all, I really enjoyed the entirety of the experience of this trilogy. I do strongly suggest that anyone interested in Fear Street Part Three: 1666 go back and watch the movies in order. Just a reminder that they are a continuous story from Part 1 through Part 3. Netflix does offer skippable recaps, but why read the Cliff’s Notes when the whole of the tale is so entertaining? Each movie ends with a “to be continued,” and is nicely concluded with this third installment.

Sometimes trilogies don’t pay off in the way you would hope, and leave questions and missed opportunities in their wake. This was not the case with the Fear Street trilogy encompassing 1994, 1978, & 1666.

If you’re a fan of R.L. Stine’s work, or the nostalgic horror of campy teen slasher flicks, this trilogy and specifically its conclusion will be right up your alley.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 89%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 76%
Metascore – 68%
Metacritic User Score – 6.5/10
IMDB Score – 6.6/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5

Movie Trailer:

Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (2021)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (2021)
Genre: Horror, Drama, Mystery
Length: 1h 49min
Rating: R
Director: Leigh Janiak
Writer: Leigh Janiak, Zak Olkewicz, Phil Graziadei, R.L. Stine
Actors: Gillian Jacobs, Kiana Madeira, Benjamin Flores Jr., Olivia Scott Welch, Sadie Sink, Brandon Spink, Chiara Aurelia, Marcelle LeBlanc, Eden Campbell, Ted Sutherland, Michael Provost, Drew Scheid, Emily Rudd, McCabe Slye, Jordana Spiro, Ashley Zukerman
 
Blurb from IMDb: Shadyside, 1978. School's out for summer and the activities at Camp Nightwing are about to begin. But when another Shadysider is possessed with the urge to kill, the fun in the sun becomes a gruesome fight for survival.

 
Selina's Point of View:
We're catching up on the Fear Street movies we missed, so expect part three next week. Cat and I discussed it, and we couldn't believe we had skipped reviewing these. It was an easy choice to fix that oversight. R.L. Stine was childhood for both of us.
 
It was a great idea for the three parts to be released in the same month, since two and three start where the last left off. It keeps the movies fresh in the mind of audiences. When there's a situation like this, where it all leads into each other, this should be common practice. Think about how much better it would have been to watch something like The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) at the beginning of the month and then The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (2015) at the end of the same month if they'd come out the way the first three Fear Streets did. There could have been special showings where theaters put them back-to-back with a short intermission for bathroom breaks. I would have paid out the nose for that.
 

But I digress.
 
Like in the first part, Fear Street felt nostalgic. It followed all the horror movie rules that we once had laid out for us in Scream (1996), and it had the familiar setting that we saw in Friday the 13th. It also has that distinct R.L. Stine flair to it, though I'm sure the movie took liberties with the original material.
 
I did like part one a little better, though not enough to make a difference. They're on equal footing with story, and slightly campy acting, but the kills in part one were much more creative. Part two was bloodier though. It depends what you want from your slasher flick.
 
I look forward to seeing how the third movie ties in, and if there actually is an end to Sara Fier. R.L. Stine's endings aren't always happy. That makes it a little difficult to predict.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 88%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 81%
Metascore – 61%
Metacritic User Score – 7.0
IMDB Score – 6.7/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina's Rating – 3.5/5
 
P.S. Don't look at the IMDb page before watching the movie, it spoils something.
 
Movie Trailer:

Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (2021)

Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year:  Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (2021)
Original Title: Fear Street: 1994
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Length:  1h 47min
Rating: R
Director: Leigh Janiak
Writers: R.L. Stine, Kyle Killen, Phil Graziadei, Leigh Janiak
Based On: Fear Street book series by R.L. Stine
Actors: Maya Hawke, Charlene Amoia, David Thompson, Ryan Torres, Noah Bain Garret, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Ashley Zukerman, Kiana Madeira, Benjamin Flores Jr., Julia Rehwald, Fred Hechinger, Matt Burke, Matthew Zuk, Olivia Scott Welch, Jeremy Ford, Elizabeth Scopel, Eric Mendenhall, Todd Allen Durkin, Jordyn DiNatale, Lloyd Pitts, Kevin Waterman, Emily Brobst, Keil Oakley Zepernick, Michael Chandler, Lacy Camp

IMDb Blurb: A circle of teenage friends accidentally encounter the ancient evil responsible for a series of brutal murders that have plagued their town for over 300 years. Welcome to Shadyside.

Selina’s Point of View:
I’m going to start by saying I was a rabid fan of R.L. Stine as a kid. I read every single Goosebumps that came out. Hit up the Scholastic book fair with the few dollars my mom gave me and bought out any R.L. Stine books I came across. Because of that, Fear Street: Part One – 1994 felt like a warm childhood hug.

It’s a horror that utilizes a bread slicer as a weapon, so I understand how strange that sounds. Cat and I have been discussing what goes into the definition of a “comfort movie” for someone, and I think this fits right into that discussion. My favorite comfort movie is Jurassic Park (1993), after all, and people get eaten in that.

But I digress.

I never read the Fear Street books, but the story still feels familiar. It’s reminiscent of 80s and 90s horror flicks like Friday the 13th (1980) and Scream (1996). It follows a lot of the same familiar horror movie rules and still manages to end in a way that’s a bit unexpected.

There are some plot holes that could be attributed to either the books or the adaptation. I have to hold it against the film, though, because I’m unfamiliar with the original material. Some people die in situations that don’t make sense, seeing how the secondary characters manage to stay safe as long as they do.

Despite that, the acting is on point, and the film is a pleasure to watch. For horror fans, I could absolutely see it being someone’s comfort flick.

Cat’s Point of View:
I was rather surprised to discover that we hadn’t already reviewed the Fear Street trilogy that had premiered as Netflix Original features back in 2021. I remembered that I had watched them and enjoyed them. I also recall distinctly writing about them. Alas, it was apparently just regarding my #12 entry on July 2021’s Top 20 list, where I placed all 3 together as a unit due to their release dates following only a week apart within that same month. I digress…

When the newest Fear Street movie, Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) hit Netflix recently, it took me back to my fond memories of watching the first three. It would be weird if we covered the newest without visiting the trilogy that came first, though. Thus, here we are.

I was happy to watch Fear Street: Part One – 1994 again to refresh my memory. This time, my daughter was excited to watch with me. She hadn’t been into horror movies when these first released. We fell all the way down the rabbit hole and binged the trilogy. I’m only covering the first installment here, however.

Part One sets the stage for the overall adventure. There’s a good bit of lore both touched on in obvious and subtle ways. Some of the characters don’t seem to have quite as much depth in this first bit of story, but trust me when I say that things do develop as the overall 3-part story arc progresses.

From odes to the era in which this movie was set and the slasher genre to the details that highlighted the contrast between neighboring rival towns of Sunnyvale and Shadyside, this really felt like a R.L. Stine book come to life. Of course, he is the author of the Fear Street series these stories were adapted from.  One of the aspects I appreciated about these films, beginning with Fear Street: Part One – 1994, was that the production team wasn’t afraid to lean into the darkness and give the teen-scream series an R rating. Stine’s Goosebumps series felt more appropriate to the PG-13 range. R. L. Stine is great for offering chills for a wide age range.

One thing to note about this trilogy is that it is not, in fact, an anthology as I originally guessed. Each movie leads directly into the next. While the three films lean heavily into the time mentioned in their titles, they are exploring an interconnected story that spans hundreds of years. The end of each movie closes with “to be continued” and dives right into a sneak peek at the next installment. It was very easy to binge all three, and Netflix also offers an option to skip the recap in the next installment.

If you’re a fan of slashers, I’d highly recommend giving the Fear Street trilogy a try. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 84%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 63%
Metascore –  67%
Metacritic User Score – 5.8/10
IMDB Score – 6.2/10

Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3.5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5

Movie Trailer: