Fear Street Part 2: 1978
Year: 2021
Director: Leigh Janiak
Starring: Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins, Sadie Sink, McCabe Slye & Ted Sutherland
Runtime: 110 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 16/07/21
Director: Leigh Janiak
Starring: Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins, Sadie Sink, McCabe Slye & Ted Sutherland
Runtime: 110 mins
BBFC: 18
Published: 16/07/21
The first of Netflix’s trilogy of weekly slasher films Fear Street Part 1: 1994 was an enjoyable return to campy slasher flicks of old; but as a result, it also suffered from an over-simplistic plot, a runtime that I felt was slightly too long, and also had surprisingly few interesting deaths. So, does the sequel continue in the same stead as the first film but improve on what didn’t work quite so well? The answer is a definite yes.
Fear Street Part 2: 1978 opens in the immediate aftermath of Part 1’s conclusion with Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) possessed by the witch Sarah Fier. Deena (Kiana Madeira) and her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores) have taken Sam to the home of the only person to have survived Fier’s bloody vengeance, Christine Berman (Gillian Jacobs). Berman then recounts how she survived the summer of 1978 (Young Berman played by Sadie Sink) as Fier possessed her sister’s boyfriend Tommy (McCabe Slye) who massacred dozens of children at the summer camp they were attending.
Fear Street 1978 is better than its predecessor in almost every way, and it does this by narrowing the scope, providing more depth to the legend of Sarah Fier, and by showing more frequent and gorier deaths.
I was curious when I learned that each subsequent sequel would take place earlier in time than the part that preceded it, (with the third and final part taking place all the way back in 1666) as to how the series would function with the sequels essentially being prequels but with 1994 ending on a cliff-hanger. But seeing how 1978 handles the prequel premise by being told as a story to the characters in 1994 to give them more understanding of their current problem now makes a whole lot of sense.
Fear Street Part 2: 1978 opens in the immediate aftermath of Part 1’s conclusion with Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) possessed by the witch Sarah Fier. Deena (Kiana Madeira) and her brother Josh (Benjamin Flores) have taken Sam to the home of the only person to have survived Fier’s bloody vengeance, Christine Berman (Gillian Jacobs). Berman then recounts how she survived the summer of 1978 (Young Berman played by Sadie Sink) as Fier possessed her sister’s boyfriend Tommy (McCabe Slye) who massacred dozens of children at the summer camp they were attending.
Fear Street 1978 is better than its predecessor in almost every way, and it does this by narrowing the scope, providing more depth to the legend of Sarah Fier, and by showing more frequent and gorier deaths.
I was curious when I learned that each subsequent sequel would take place earlier in time than the part that preceded it, (with the third and final part taking place all the way back in 1666) as to how the series would function with the sequels essentially being prequels but with 1994 ending on a cliff-hanger. But seeing how 1978 handles the prequel premise by being told as a story to the characters in 1994 to give them more understanding of their current problem now makes a whole lot of sense.
I feel like the characters in 1978 are much more varied and likable than the ones presented in 1994. With Ziggy/Christine being the most interesting and likable character of them all. This is mostly because Sadie Sink is an incredible actress, I love her in Stranger Things and she outdoes herself once again in this. Her sister Cindy (Emily Rudd) has the best character arc and is also arguably the main character of the story as we do spend the most time with her.
This brings me to one of the few problems I have with Fear Street 1978, and it’s a big one; it tries to make you think that Christine is actually Cindy by presenting her as the main character, then pulling a ‘twist ending’ where Cindy is killed. But the thing is that it’s so obvious that Christine is Ziggy throughout the whole thing it makes me wonder why they bothered. It then also makes no sense as to how Christine knew what Cindy went through because she never gets the opportunity to tell her what happened, and yet Cindy is the only who found out all the important information relating to Sarah Fier, but Christine knows everything to tell Deena. To some it may not bother you, but for me it did put a downer on the ending because it just presented this massive plot hole.
There’s not a lot more to say about Fear Street Part 2: 1978. If you enjoyed the first film then you’ll definitely enjoy the second, and if you weren’t keen on the first then it depends on what you thought needed improving to sway you. If like me, you thought that there needed to be more kills and better pacing then 1978 will have you covered. Here’s hoping that Part 3: 1666 continues in the same stead as 1978 rather than making the same mistakes as 1994.
This brings me to one of the few problems I have with Fear Street 1978, and it’s a big one; it tries to make you think that Christine is actually Cindy by presenting her as the main character, then pulling a ‘twist ending’ where Cindy is killed. But the thing is that it’s so obvious that Christine is Ziggy throughout the whole thing it makes me wonder why they bothered. It then also makes no sense as to how Christine knew what Cindy went through because she never gets the opportunity to tell her what happened, and yet Cindy is the only who found out all the important information relating to Sarah Fier, but Christine knows everything to tell Deena. To some it may not bother you, but for me it did put a downer on the ending because it just presented this massive plot hole.
There’s not a lot more to say about Fear Street Part 2: 1978. If you enjoyed the first film then you’ll definitely enjoy the second, and if you weren’t keen on the first then it depends on what you thought needed improving to sway you. If like me, you thought that there needed to be more kills and better pacing then 1978 will have you covered. Here’s hoping that Part 3: 1666 continues in the same stead as 1978 rather than making the same mistakes as 1994.