Small towns have big secrets, or at least that’s what lots of books and movies have maintained in the stories they tell. That knowledge couldn’t be more true than in the world of author R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series, which is about to become a trilogy of horror that will haunt Netflix subscribers throughout the month of July. The latest trailer for co-writer/director Leigh Janiak keeps that promise, as more information has come to light on these three chilling chapters that make up one horrifying story.
Told across three films centered around roughly three hundred years of history, the Fear Street trilogy of terror reveals a rivalry for the ages. With the warring towns of Shadyside and Sunnyvale at each other’s throats since they formed in 1666, two nights in 1978 and 1994 will tie into the fateful events that cause that split. And there’s a heaping dose of witchcraft afoot, as the living and the dead find themselves linked to the tragic fate of one single girl: Sarah Fier, the supposed witch of Shadyside.
Fear Street has some pretty familiar vibes to it in this latest trailer, and there’s a pretty good reason why. Stranger Things fans may have noticed the presence of series stars Maya Hawke and Sadie Sink as two of the would-be victims. But also, Leigh Janiak’s stories of teenage horror do seem to be cut from similar cloth to the Netflix hit series. Though that could be due to the fact that the Duffer Brothers owe a bit of a creative debt to, among many other sources, Fear Street author R.L. Stine.
As you can also see in this mega-trailer for all three installments, Fear Street is a very R-rated trilogy. There will be blood, severe trauma, stabbings, and even some beheadings. And while R.L Stine himself admitted that the books were very PG-rated, he’s also approved of the more grown up approach that Leigh Janiak’s films have taken. The wounds of the past are alive in Shadyside, and Fear Street will shed quite a bit of blood trying to heal them.
Under the original plan, Fear Street would have been released into theaters as a summer long experience. That model was originally going to persist when Netflix first purchased the trilogy from Disney, as they’d originally intended a “Summer of Fear” event. But now fans will get a concentrated dose of fright, with three weeks heralding a new chapter in the overall story at a regular interval.
The Fear Street trilogy gets off to a rousing start with Part 1: 1994 debuting on Netflix, starting July 2nd. Part 2: 1978 and Part 3: 1666 will then debut each following week, on July 9th and July 16th respectively. So mark your calendar accordingly, and prepare for a scary summer treat that unfolds over three frightening installments. But don’t forget to check out the 2021 release schedule to see what other terrifying delights await throughout the year.
