My quick rating – 4.8/10. Fear Street: Prom Queen drops us into Shadyside High’s 1988 prom season, where the blood flows almost as freely as the Aqua Net. For underdog Lori (India Fowler), the fight for prom queen quickly turns deadly when someone starts offing the candidates. What follows is a neon-soaked slasher that hits a few nostalgic notes but ultimately misses the mark.
The film definitely nails the retro vibe. As someone who actually lived through that era, the music alone took me back to late-80s dance floors and awkward high school drama. If there’s one thing Prom Queen does right, it’s capturing that moment in time—even if everything else feels stuck in neutral.
Suzanna Son stands out as Megan, the stoner outcast with a misunderstood soul. She’s easily the highlight here, delivering a layered performance in a movie that often leans too hard into stereotypes. Fowler does a solid job as Lori, our predictable protagonist, but the arc she’s given is exactly what you’d expect from a prom-themed horror flick. The real surprise is Fina Strazza as Tiffany, the queen bee archetype who ends up being more nuanced than expected. She plays the bitchy popular girl with an edge of complexity that hints at what this movie could’ve been if the rest of the characters were given similar depth.
The kills are solid—bloody, brutal, and spaced out well enough to keep things from getting boring. Slasher fans will appreciate the gore, even if the murder mystery element is mostly by-the-numbers. The “whodunit” twist isn’t bad, but you’ll likely see it coming a mile away. They make an effort to ramp up the suspense, but it never fully clicks, mostly because everything feels so familiar.
Where Prom Queen stumbles hard is in its tone and target audience. It’s too violent for the younger crowd and too shallow for seasoned horror fans. The dialogue feels like it was written by someone who hasn’t been near a high school in decades—nobody talks like this. It’s as if the screenwriters built every teen from a box of clichés and forgot to add anything resembling a human personality. Even the weirdly shoehorned-in “dance-off” moment feels tone-deaf, bordering on parody. A breakdancing scene would’ve been more era-appropriate—and, frankly, more entertaining.
And then there’s the unnecessary “two days earlier” cold open, a tired and useless trope that serves no purpose here except to announce, “Hey, something bad is going to happen!” We already know. It’s a Fear Street movie.
While this installment is a step down from the previous three films, it’s still a cut above much of what’s dumped into the horror pipeline. There’s a solid cast, a strong visual identity, and decent kills, but too much of Fear Street: Prom Queen plays it safe. It’s just not mean enough, sharp enough, or clever enough to leave a lasting impression.
As you can see, this one is exclusive to Netflix right now. JustWatch link for later on.