PLOT SUMMARY: When Samantha accidentally disturbs a witch's grave, her girlfriend Deena and her friends must find a way to save her before it is too late.
Growing up in the 90s meant that I grew up reading some pretty excellent young adult books. There was Sweet Valley High, Shivers, Fear Street, Goosebumps, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew...the list goes on. Sure, some of these books were written before the 90s but they became such a huge part of my young adult life.
In fact, I remember reading Fear Street and Goosebumps, even after I graduated from school. They were addictive and I must have read each book I owned at least five times.
As I developed my interest in horror fiction, Stephen King and R.L. Stine books became a staple read for me. I loved the taut thrillers, the characters who faced such frightening circumstances and still managed to succeed in the end. The teenagers depicted in the Fear Street books were so brave, so tactful, so resourceful. They were teenagers I couldn't be like. They loved stories I wouldn't live like in.
They loved exciting lives and had something exciting happen to them on every page. It was so easy to completely immerse myself in those novellas and be inspired by them.
I wanted to write like that and so my first book, Repeated Lives, was inspired by all the Fear Street books I had read. I imagined Repeated Lives being one of the stories in Fear Street.
That's how impressed and influenced I was by the Fear Street series.
So when the Fear Street trilogy was announced, I was so excited. After all, Fear Street was also one of the reasons why I wanted to write YA horror and thrillers.
The first part is a big slice of nostalgia served on a silver platter. It does well with the fashion and the stuff that belonged to the 90s era. I especially noticed the fibre optic lamp in one of the scenes.
In the 90s everyone had that in their house, except for us. Every time I went to someone's house, I would be mesmerised by the lamp because it looked so unique and colourful. Yet, I don't think I ever wanted one for myself for some reason.
FEAR STREE PART ONE Movie Plot
A girl called Heather is working in a bookstore at a mall. Her last customer has just bought a Fear Street book and insults it by saying it is low brow horror. Heather makes a face at her and then closes the store and sets about to place books on the shelves. There are several Fear Street books written by Robert Lawrence (full form of R.L...get it?). 'The Wrong Number' in particular is shown at least twice probably because the protagonist shares a name with the protagonist of this movie.
Heather puts away the books and gets a call from Ryan who is her classmate and also the guy who works in a costume store at the mall.
He makes a remark about her working after hours and then comes to see her bringing along an inflated doll.
After a little banter, he goes away and Heather hears a noise. She sees a man in a skull mask and hoodie who immediately starts chasing her.
This was the 90s so there were no security guards or cameras or anything. Heather just about manages to call the police before she is dragged away. She hides, runs, is almost stabbed, and then actually stabbed.
Finally, she is straddled by the masked man who she unmasks to reveal none other than Ryan.
Before he can stab her again, he is shot in the head by a lone officer. But it is too later and Heather succumbs to her injuries.
As the credits roll, we are informed about how the town called Shadyside has such a high crime rate as compared to Sunnyvale. Apparently, life is sunny in Sunnyvale where crime is nonexistent. Shadyside is well, shady. No one can understand why there is so much crime in Shadyside. All that is known is that Sunnyvale and Shadyside have a history of rivalry because the Shadysiders hate that their town isn't safe and jealous of the neighbouring town. Or something like that.
We are then introduced the Deena, a teenager who is sulking and trying to write a hateful note to her ex. In the background, the news is going on but she barely pays attention to it. It's just another day, another murder at Shadyside. Who cares?
Her brother does. Deena's brother Josh is obsessed with the murders taking place in his shady little down and frequently chats with someone about it.
Perhaps the mysterious online stranger will be revealed in one of the sequels but not in this instalment.
Josh theorizes that the murders are taking place because of the curse placed on the town by a witch who lived in the town in 1666. We will know what actually happened to the witch Sara Fier in the third and final part but for now, we are informed that the witch had cut off her cursed hand before she was hanged for witchcraft. She was buried somewhere and her cursed hand was hidden elsewhere, as a final act of revenge on the townsfolk who tortured and hung her.
Before he can continue his chat on that subject, Deena comes and starts pulling the blanket under which Josh was hiding for some reason, and then takes away the keyboard reminding him how expensive the internet was. Josh claims to have found a way to save costs but doesn't reveal how.
Josh makes a remark about Deena being in a bad mood because of her breakup with Sam and she sulks even more. There isn't any clarity on the parents' situation because Deena takes on the responsibility of taking Josh to school.
At school, Josh ogles at Deena's best friend Kate while Deena feels tortured by looking at all the students who are more interested in making out rather than heading to class. All we get to see of the school is the hallways and the bathrooms. Maybe if Shadyside placed more importance on proper education for its citizens, the crime rate might go down? Maybe.
And how about if they place restrictions on sharp objects being brought to school? How about that one? Because in the very scene as Deena is sulking, a boy comes next to her and starts to carve RIP on Heather's locker with a pen-knife.
But I suppose this is all to show why the crime rate is high in this town-- the lax security measures.
I mean, there were hardly any security guards at the mall.
At the assembly, it is announced that all the students who were athletes, cheerleaders or were in the band, had to go and partake in the vigil the people of Sunnyvale had kept as a show of solidarity.
Deena had quit the band but her friends are going so they convince her to join them. This conversation happens in the bathroom that is covered in graffiti and a rhyme about Sara Fier wanting to collect souls. Kate and Simon are also drug sellers and they have to do that so that they can finish school and support their families. So it's okay if they are selling drugs, no big deal. It is Shadyside and anything goes.
We no longer need to wonder about the crime rate because clearly, the problem stems from the teens who are selling and buying drugs, interested in witches more than studies, and have to get jobs in malls where they get stabbed easily.
Attending the vigil is just an excuse for Deena who wants to see her ex Samantha who is in her cheerleader uniform and with a boy, Peter who is publicly groping her as the principal mourns the death of a young girl.
Deena walks away, carrying the box of stuff she wanted to return to Sam.
She sulks some more while Sam comes to see her. Deena then kicks the box to her and starts blaming her for moving to Sunnyvale when she should be living in terror in Shadyside and wondering if she could be the next victim.
Sam reminds her that Deena was the one who broke up with her. But Deena implies that Sam is simply embarrassed by their relationship and coming out in public.
Meanwhile, the other students at the vigil get into a fight about whose town is better. The Shadysiders want to make sure the Sunnyvalers understand they are messing with future criminals and throw the first punch. A fight ensues, Kate is also punched when she tries to intervene and Deena returns the box to Sam and leaves.
Inside the bus, Kate riles up everyone by promising revenge. And how are they going to get their revenge? By killing them, of course. This is Shadyside after all. It's not going to be about beating the rival school in a match or competition. It's all about murders here. Then again, with a murder taking place every week, and the lack of interest by the authorities, it's no wonder that killing is the first thing on their mind.
But of course, just this one time, all talks of killing are told in the heat of the moment. Deena notices a car following them and sees two boys in a skull mask and Sam sitting in the front seat. The Shadysiders decide to show their butts to them and make faces while Peter advances towards them and throws stuff at the bus.
Deena comes up with the brilliant idea to throw a cooler at them.
But before she can open the emergency exit, her nose starts to bleed and she loses concentration, causing her to throw the actual cooler at the car rather than the contents. The car swerves and crashes in the woods.
Deena asks to stop the bus and gets down. Sam crawls out of the car and touches something on the ground that gives her visions of a witch in red hues. Her nose bleeds and Deena comes to check on her.
Simon asks Sam if she can see how many fingers he is holding and she replies correctly before spitting blood on him.
The police and ambulance finally arrive because it is the 90s and at least in this scene everyone arrives on time.
The Shadysiders and Sunnyvalers lie about what actually happened and pretend they didn't just try to kill each other.
Sam is taken to the hospital and everyone returns home. The next day, Deena wakes up from a nightmare and lies to Josh about why she was later. She looks at the blood on her sneakers with disinterest. It's just a little blood on her shoe which is okay because well, it's Shadyside and who doesn't have blood on their attire?
Later that night, Deena notices a guy in a skeleton costume that she shoos away, thinking it's Peter trying to harass her. If Peter can make it all the way to Shadyside, then Deena too could have driven to Sunnyvale to meet Sam and keep her relationship alive.
But she doesn't do that and breaks up with Sam because...she felt betrayed that she left a dangerous life in Shadyside for a crime-free Sunnyvale?
I think it should have been mentioned just how far the two towns are from each other.
The skeleton guy then shows up at Kate's house. She's hanging out with Simon and freaks out when the skeleton guy rummages in the house. Pissed that the guy had a knife, she shoos him away too but thinks it's better to leave her two young siblings with the neighbour. In Shadyside, none of the teens has parents and has to do everything on their own.
It's no wonder Sam left.
Kate and Simon land up at Deena's house and they all decide it is Peter who is stalking them. Deena thinks Sam is on it too and storms off to see her at the hospital. Josh is invited on the adventure too.
At the hospital, Deena starts harassing an injured Sam while the others try to get free snacks from the vending machine. Josh manages to get Kate so much candy, impressing her and letting on he has a huge crush on her.
While Deena and Sam are arguing about their relationship, Peter comes in, denies being the stalker and then is stabbed immediately. It's the skeleton guy and everyone starts running about. Again, there are no security guards here because it's the 90s and the world was considered too safe to employ any security officers.
The teens all run about until Deena just about manages to unmask to stalker only to receive a shock. It's Ryan, the guy who was shot in the head by the officer.
They all rush out and carjack an ambulance. They go to the police who of course don't believe the girls and think it's a prank.
Deena comes with an ingenious plan to pretend to attack a cop and steal his gun which is quite easily accomplished because all the teens in Shadyside are well, shady and well-trained in all sorts of crime, including theft.
Meanwhile, Simon has to pee and goes somewhere in the street to do his business. That's when he hears a woman sitting on the road and singing to herself.
Simon is mesmerized by her singing and how hot she looks. But the woman, clearly not from this era going by her clothes, starts attacking Simon with a razor blade. Simon barely manages to save his throat from being slit and is saved by Deena who stole a gun from the cop.
When Simon goes on about the hot girl with a razor blade and one who magically grows back eyes, Josh shows off his knowledge about the town by revealing the woman he's talking about died years ago after going on a throat-slitting spree.
FEAR STREET PART ONE Ending Explained with Spoilers!
The history of Sara Fier is revealed as well as the fact that the dead witch is using the undead as henchmen to go after whoever disturbed her grave.
It's Sam; she disturbed her grave when she crawled out of the car after the accident.
The friends all go back to the woods to give the witch a proper burial, finding a large lock with Fier's name on it and chains and skulls.
They apologize while Sam stands like a zombie getting a vision of the witch.
An undead killer with an axe comes rushing by and heads straight for Sam. The friends manage to save her just in time but have to face fact that reburying the witch didn't solve their problems.
They decide to set up a trap for the undead killers and try to save Sam. They do all this at school because the school is always open for kids who want to set the undead on fire, or simply want to hang about or do their drug dealings there. It's Shadyside after all.
The friends set up an elaborate trap using Sam's blood and clean themselves up properly to make sure they don't have her blood on them. Josh and Kate make out, Deena and Sam reconcile and make out. Simon is all by himself, enjoying his company.
When the trap is set, the three undead come over and start looking for Sam and instead hack a mannequin wearing her sweater and smeared with blood. The undead killers realize that isn't Sam and are trapped in a room where the friends set them on fire.
They all think they are safe until all of the melted zombies come back to life, angrier than before.
They start the chase again and Kate tells Deena that it is all Sam's fault and they all don't have to die because of her.
Sam agrees and puts herself out while Josh takes this moment to actually properly read the article he's cut out for so long.
Before the undead can kill Sam, she's pulled aside.
Everyone has had a change of heart because Sam was willing to sacrifice her life for them, so now they too want to return the favour by putting their life at risk for her.
But first things first, Josh tells them that the survivor of the last massacre in 1978 (the second part in the trilogy will reveal more), died and had to be revived by the paramedics. That meant Sam had to die and be brought back in order for the undead to leave her alone. They all agree that's the best plan they've ever heard and head to the pharmacy where Simon is Employee of several months and probably explains where he's getting drugs to sell from.
There's no such thing as inventory or anything to see if the drugs are being stolen or misused. Simon has an excellent plan to feed Sam a lot of drugs and then bring her back with adrenaline injections.
Everyone immediately agrees. While Sam consumes the drugs like candy, Deena gives an emotional speech, and Kate goes shopping for deodorants and lighters to use as weapons.
Simon is loitering about and all of them use Sam's blood on themselves to confuse the monsters. They arrive and the friends have clearly underestimated them.
While Sam and Deena are saved by Kate with a makeshift blowtorch, they don't return the favour in helping their friends.
Sam is throwing up drugs and Deena spots a lobster tank to dunk her girlfriend's head in. Sam doesn't mind it at all because she's going to die either way but she needs Deena's help and everyone else to be around her for some reason rather than tell them all to hide while she did the deed herself.
Kate is stabbed and pushed through the bread slicer. Simon gets an axe to his head. Josh is almost killed and one of the undead is about to attack Deena, but this is when Sam decides to finally die.
The undead disappears and Deena puts Sam on the floor and starts stabbing her with epi-pens. Finally, after performing CPR, Sam is revived.
At the police station, they give a story about falling through the glass and getting hurt. The officer tells them that the blame was going to go on Kate and Simon because they were drug sellers. Deena pointedly states they are dead anyway even though they were her friends.
Afterwards, Sam's mother comes to pick her up and Sam makes a show about kissing Deena.
In the evening, Josh has ordered pizza while Deena and Sam are laying on the bed listening to a mixtape.
When Deena thinks she hears the doorbell and goes away, Sam hears her name being called.
Deena gets a call from the survivor of the 1978 massacre, C. Berman. She states their nightmare isn't over and that the witch isn't defeated yet. Deena turns around just in time for Sam to stab her in the stomach.
The girls struggle while Josh is chatting online and telling his friend that Kate and Simon were his friends and innocent.
Deena interrupts him and Josh is shocked to see so much blood on her and the upstairs rug. The people in Shadyside may lose a lot of blood and are used to being stabbed which would explain why Deena still has her wits about.
Sam grunts and groans and is tied up with the telephone cord. Deena tells Josh that Sam is possessed and they have to bring her back.
Meanwhile, a witch is performing a ritual and Sam's name appears carved on a rock.
Sam grunts again and the movie ends not explaining if everyone's name on the rock had disturbed the witch's grave.
If it was there in the woods, why didn't the authorities seal off the area? Can anyone simply go into the woods and step on the grave? Why wasn't the witch buried deeper into the ground?
Hopefully, some answers will be revealed in the second part. And then hopefully the questions in the second part will be answered in the third. It is a trilogy after all.
Scare scale: 3/5
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