I was the RL Stine generation. I grew up on goosebumps, and the Give Yourself Goosebumps, and the more grown up Fear Street series, as well as the less grown up Fear Street that was more like a branch to Goosebumps. And all of it was just being released. I would go to the bookstore and anxiously await the next book. It also was a trend, so it wasn’t too nerdy to love. Most kids I knew were reading them at the time. Someone read the Fear Street books for Netflix, and has had a wildly different interpretation of those books.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is not just a teen slasher, it revels in its gore, sending its young victims to brutal and savage deaths. Becoming Prom Queen is partially central to the story, but really this culminates at prom, for Shady Side High, as some figure wearing a red coat and face mask stalks the teens as they drift away from the main prom event. One by one, this large ensemble is picked off.

What this film does right is the casting. aside form my surprise that Chris Klein continues to find work, the young cast are all fine for their roles. Most are written into extremely narrow archetypes, like they aren’t real people, but plot devices, or versions of the breakfast Club breakdowns. the Jock, The Stoner, The Geek, etc. No actor is at fault, it is just how their character is written. The film introduces so many students, you would think the film ends with a bloodbath like Carrie. Even this cast is too much for the killer, and shockingly a lot of people are left standing, largely because half the cast has had screentime that amounts to two or three lines.

Horror fans looking for gore, you’ve found the place. While the film is occasionally campy, the kill scenes are mostly played straight, with limbs being hacked off, heads being smashed in, teens getting eviscerated, and at least one por soul being electrocuted. The body count isn’t insanely high, but it is pretty substantial, even if predictable. I wish the director had changed it up more, and allowed students to free roam a bit more, so it was less obvious when someone was in danger, and also develop the subset of supporting characters who have next to nothing to do.

the ending is really cheesy, and leans into the campy aspects already being played out. we have to stop for a dance sequence at one point, and then later a full on dance battle. Most of these teens react cartoonishly terrible in their situations, making it the kind of film Randy Meeks would have made fun of for following the tropes.

The audio description here is one of my favorite tracks of the year so far. I loved this. Liz Gutman’s writing is flawless, going into as much detail about the cast, what they are wearing, and how they move. The dance scenes nailed every trendy dance step, and her narration captures every gory detail of every kill. As bodies splatter open, gore strikes characters, just as often as sharp objects do. While the movie is mixed for me, the audio description might be the thing that is causing me to lean positive on this mean spirited slasher.

There’s no doubt there will be worse horror movies this year. I’ve already seen some. The same is on the other side, as there will be better films. However, this audio description track is one of the best and we’re almost halfway through the year, so it has a real possibility of standing out when awards come.

Fresh: Final Grade: 6.4/10 Audio description: A+