The conclusion to R.L. Stine's Fear Street trilogy has finally dropped on Netflix. The trailers promised something quite different to, and potentially a lot darker than, the first two installments and people were very curious to see how this story would end. Ultimately, Fear Street Part Three: 1666 absolutely delivers on something dark and scary with a neat ending. However, its flaws seem to be a bit more noticeable than in the other films.
The first two Fear Street films, Fear Street Part One: 1994 and Fear Street Part Two: 1978 were released to Netflix over two consecutive Fridays this month. Both of them received a lot of acclaim for breathing some life into the seemingly dead slasher genre, and giving a lot of nostalgia to people who grew up loving shows like Goosebumps which is of course also based on books by R.L. Stine.
All of these films tell different parts of the same story. The overall narrative tying them together, is that a group of teens in 1994 are attempting to break a curse put on their town, Shadyside, by a witch named Sarah Fier. The first film focuses specifically on this group, specifically main character Deena and her girlfriend Sam, and the second film goes back in time to tell the story of the only person to survive this curse, revealing a lot of lore and information about how to stop it. Fear Street Part Three: 1666 serves as both a prequel and a sequel, beginning with a depiction of Sarah Fier's story and finishing with their final attempt to end the curse.
While this very different first half set in 1666 is necessary to the story and pretty effective on its own, it also kind of feels like the biggest flaw of this film. The tone of it is just so different from the rest of the series. It's so much more grim and gruesome, and it's so much more serious and sad. The first half-hour of this film also contains some pretty gross animal death and violence, which can be really hard to stomach. It is a horror movie, and the other installments don't shy from gore either, but the first half of the final film really pushes the limits and it'll absolutely be off-putting for some.
These films have been filled with violence and a lot of gore, they haven't even shied away from things like killing children, but the other installments still maintained a lighthearted and fun tone. They have that teen scream slasher quality that makes the movie fun to watch even though it's a bit gross. The first half of Fear Street Part Three: 1666 loses all of its fun. It ends up coming off as a bit of a ripoff of The Witch but not as good or scary.
The story is still interesting, the characters are still good, and the violence is well done. But it feels so different from the other films, and it's a bit exhausting to watch. Fans of the other installments might really be hating the third film for half of it, because of this stark change in tone. It just caters to someone with completely different tastes to what the other films do. That being said, once the Sarah Fier origin story ends the film really picks up.
Once Deena stops experiencing this flashback and knows the truth, and that things were nowhere close to what they seemed, the film is again set in 1994. And that means the fun and exciting tone returns, which is much welcome. It's also at this point that all of the truths are revealed and there's a bit of a twist. The twist is a little predictable but not overly obvious, and definitely fits in really well with both the continuity of this film and the world's political climate. It's interesting and some people will see it coming a mile away, but that might not matter because it's still very well done.
The final part of this film, and this trilogy, is very fast-paced and action-packed. The group gets their plan together pretty quickly, and thankfully it's an actually competent plan. The characters in this film are smart and brave, which makes them fun to watch, and they're one of the best assets of this series. That is except for one issue that some will find problematic.
While this series has overall been a little more inclusive than people might be used to, this film features a weirdly jarring racial stereotype. One of the only Black characters in the film, who isn't even really a main character, is the only one who seems to know how to commit crimes and he also seems to be a bit of a hustler. It's just kind of unnecessary and weird, as there aren't many other Black characters. Most will recognize this as a trope or stereotype, and some will find it offensive.
With that being said, that character still comes off as pretty likable and so do all of the others. The brother-sister relationship that Deena and Josh have is really sweet and it's super apparent that they really care for and worry about each other. Deena and Sam also have a beautiful relationship that's easy to root for. The villain is a little bland but still quite scary, and the monsters coming for the heroes are awesome.
The final fight sequence in this film is wonderful. It's so much fun. They're back to the mall, where the first scene in the first film takes place. It's a nice callback that ties everything together. The plan they execute is smart and fun to see play out. And the coloring and use of neon lights and glow-in-the-dark paint is absolutely amazing. It's captivating and just overall awesome, and the way this film looks as a whole is one of its greatest assets.
This film has flaws and gets off to a slow start. But be patient, everyone invested in this trilogy needs to see its ending. Things aren't what they seem in the first and second films. The ending is pretty satisfying and fun to watch. It may have been better released though if the flashback sequence had been its own short film or something. The difference between the first and second halves just makes it feel like two different films and that's not great. Still a solid horror movie, but probably the weakest of the trilogy.
Fear Street Part Three: 1666 is available now to stream on Netflix.