Fear Street: Prom Queen is based on the books by R.L. Stine and follows Lori (India Fowler), who is not the most popular person at school and often finds herself the target of bullies. Her school is having prom and Lori decides to run for prom queen. However, she’s unaware that a killer is targeting the prom queen contestants who all want to win the crown, one by one. As the night unfolds, Lori must fight to survive and uncover the motive behind the murders—before she becomes the next victim.

Fear Street: Prom Queen exceeded my expectations and, in many ways, surpassed the original Fear Street films. What drew me into the story was the tone. The film is a lot more fun and less heavy and serious than previous Fear Street movies, which made the plot more engaging and the characters more relatable. I connected with Lori which made me more interested in the story. Her relationships with the people in town add a lot of interesting character dynamics, especially with her neighbor, who also happens to be one of her bullies. The film also did a great job of exploring different types of relationships, from toxic friendships to unexpected friends. One of the most satisfying arcs was watching one of the bullies begin to recognize their poisonous behavior and slowly start standing up against the group. I loved the film’s look—the colorful outfits and shoes stood out and gave the movie its own unique style. Prom Queen also had some good comedy and there was even a dance-off scene. The suspense was handled well, with lots of clever moments that misled you into thinking something had happened, only to find out it hadn’t. There’s a good blend of action and some slightly emotional moments throughout. There was also a clever twist I did not expect or see coming which I was very surprised and shocked by. The cast are all fantastic and it feels like you really are watching school kids interact with each other. Fear Street Prom Queen made me wonder what real proms or similar parties are like having not experienced any for myself.

The plot did have some flaws such as the killer’s overall motive felt predictable, and I was able to guess early on the general category they’d fall into (like whether they were a teacher or a student, etc). I also thought While the twist was clever, there were parts of the twist that didn’t add up with what had been shown earlier in the film, which made the ending feel slightly inconsistent and not as believable. I also felt the movie could’ve used a few more chase or fight scenes. Another disappointment was I had hoped certain characters would have been given more development, as many were interesting—or had the potential to be—but were killed off before they could be fully explored. The film ended very Abruptly so I would have liked a final scene to conclude the ending.

Overall, though, Fear Street: Prom Queen was a fun, slasher film with great characters and style. Even with a few flaws, it kept me hooked all the way through, delivering a clever twist on the Fear Street formula, and in many ways surpassed the original trilogy with a more fun, entertaining watch.