Netflix’s ‘Fear Street’: 6 Things Die-Hard Fans Will Appreciate After Watching The Teaser

Last week, Netflix dropped the teaser trailer for its Fear Street trilogy, three movies based on R.L. Stine’s bestselling book series about the cursed town of Shadyside and the horrific things that happen to its teenage residents, especially on its titular dead-end road. I woke up to the news and immediately reverted back to my 12-year-old self. To say this is a major summer event for this grown-ass adult would be an understatement. (If you still don’t know what I’m talking about, please visit Wikipedia.)

Anyone who knows me knows that this is my Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is my Lord of the Rings, my Game of Thrones. This is the book series that shaped me into the horror-loving bookworm and writer who is currently fanboying before you (and with all due respect, forget Goosebumps). I own all 80+ titles of the original series, plus 2005’s Fear Street Nights, 2014’s six-book reboot, and the latest rendition, Return to Fear Street, which came out three years ago. I’ve literally waited YEARS for this adaptation to be made. I’ve been anticipating a release ever since 20th Century Fox announced its development in 2017, attaching Honeymoon’s Leigh Janiak as the director of all three movies. (*Netflix acquired all three films after Disney bought Fox and threw everyone for a loop.)

I’ve written about how “Hollywood can do the movies right” on HuffPost. I wrote a retrospective piece on the 25th anniversary of the series seven years ago. I even got retweeted by author R.L. Stine himself when I shared my 20 Life Lessons From Fear Street. After seeing countless other book series from the 80s and 90s be adapted for the screen, this one is finally getting its due, and I cannot wait to revisit Shadyside via Netflix and (hopefully) enjoy some bloodshed this summer.

Also, after reading the press releases and watching the above teaser, I can’t help noting that some of the “recommendations” I had made four years ago seem to have been taken into consideration (indulge me). Here are a few things we already knew…and some things only die-hard fans of the book may have picked up on:

1. The slasher-type font in the key art and logo of the movies echoes back to the pulpy cover art of the books. Kudos to the marketing folks.
2. A trilogy already implies a shared cinematic universe. The hope is that, if these movies do well, Netflix will order more and explore the many other nightmares that populate the town of Shadyside.
3. These films have been given an R rating, guaranteeing some hardcore thrills and violence. The books, even though marketed as “young adult,” feature teens getting slaughtered in graphic detail. Therefore these movies should appeal to the adults (like yours truly) who grew up reading them. In other words, Goosebumps fans, beware: this might not be for you.
4. All three movies are connected by “one killer story,” taking place in three different time periods: 1994, 1978, and 1666. Based on the opening soundbites, it seems like a witch has put a curse on the town, possessing people, turning them into murderers. Perhaps it’s someone from the Fier family that was introduced in 1993’s Fear Street Saga (the street is named after them). Part Three of the trilogy (1666) will undoubtedly use material from those origin stories to explain the evil that inhabits Shadyside.
5. Maya Hawke (daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman) appears to play a teen who works in a 90s bookstore in Part One. Let’s hope the filmmakers had the gall to drop a visual gag in a scene that pokes fun at R.L. Stine’s equally popular YA counterpart Christopher Pike.
6. Camp Nightwing, the sleepaway camp featured in Part Two (1978), uses the same name as the camp in 1991’s Fear Street: Lights Out. Also? That hooded, ax-wielding killer resembles iconic slasher Jason Voorhees from 1981’s Friday the 13th Part 2. Very inspired.

If you’re a fan of the book series, what else excites you about this Netflix adaptation? Feel free to share your Fear Street favorites, theories, and other memories.