Becoming A Fan Of Fear Street, R.L. Stine And Growing Up With Horror

 Hello World... I'm your wild girl

I grew up on R.L. Stine. It has always been a huge part of my life. As I've gotten older, horror has become my favorite genre. I realized the horror bug has always been a part of me. Monster House, Coraline, and Are You Afraid of the Dark. Goosebumps, though, was always my favorite! Bringing in Goosebumps older sister, FEAR STREET, a whole new world.

Last week, I got around to my summerween watchlist and watched the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix. It was everything I needed. I'll be honest, last year, I watched Fear Street: Prom Queen before I ever saw the three-movie saga, which is probably the reason it took me so long to watch the trilogy, because of how bad Prom Queen was. In my opinion, of course, the movie had so much potential. But it fell flat.

Slasher horror has always been my favorite genre, to be honest. It has definitely grown over time from personal underrated favorites. Scream TV adaptation, Wrong Turn, and House of Wax. Of course, you can definitely argue that there are way better slashers; I wouldn't even disagree with you. But when you start from the beginning of this genre, what film popularized it? I would say John Carpenter's 1978 Halloween film. No, this movie was not the first slasher, but it's used as the template for slashers. Good ones and Bad ones. 

The films that run this genre have mostly always been man-driven. While I have no problem with that. It's not free from criticism. When you think of the classics, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Friday the 13th, to name a few. As much as the world and I enjoy this genre, feel that for a long time, some of these older movies have over-the-top violence towards women and the misogyny that follows. Partially, I can acknowledge that some of these films can bring a sense of empowerment to women with the "Final Girl" trope. When I think of Fear Street, I see how it has come so far, from earlier slashers and what we were used to in R.L. Stine. adaptations.

Following Deena. At the beginning of the film, she is introduced as the main protagonist. We find out in the first movie about Sarah Fier, the witch who cursed the town of Shadyside. This trilogy explores having an unapologetic LGBTQ+ representation front and center. Which was done very well. While also showing religious and patriarchal oppression as the root of who Sarah Fier is and what initially happened to her. Fear Street 1978 was my favorite. It's something about a 70s to 80s summer camp. The clothes, the hair, and the music they picked out for the soundtrack. Honestly, summer was the perfect time to watch these films.

knowing this was an adaptation of R.L. Stine. I didn't think it would have as much gore as it did. Also very excited to find out it was directed by a woman, Leigh Janiak. Although a lot of the film is inspired by classics, I do believe these films are strong. I'm excited for the next Fear Street movie to come out. 

Let this be your top summer watch.