PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Contains mild spoilers
Lori Granger (India Fowler: The Strangers: Chapter 1 2024) has spent her entire life being bullied by others, including queen bee Tiffani Falconer (Fina Strazza: FBI: Most Wanted 2024) and her “Wolfpack”. Rumors persist that her mom (Joanne Boland: Saw IV 2007) brutally murdered her father, so Lori’s only chance to redeem her family’s name is to win prom queen. However, the candidates are being slashed off the ballot by a masked figure cloaked in red. Soon, Lori will learn that heavy is the head that wears the crown – that is, if she doesn’t lose it first.
Prom Queen is based on the novel The Prom Queen (1992) written by R.L. Stine (Goosebumps Series). Directed by Matt Palmer (Calibre 2018), Prom Queen is the fourth entry in the Fear Street film franchise. The story is standalone as there are few to no ties to the previous trilogy. Apart from the name, there aren’t any ties to the original book either.
Viewers are teleported to the 1980s thanks to Prom Queen‘s amazing soundtrack. The audio is brimming with classic ’80s pop. Featuring iconic tracks ranging from Billy Idol to Tiffany, the music is like a jukebox of the era’s greatest hits.
Plot-wise, Prom Queen isn’t exciting. Lori is serviceable as the main character, but her story isn’t very engaging, as her twists and turns are predictable. Megan (Suzanna Son: The Idol 2023), Lori’s horror-obsessed best friend, is far more interesting as she’s the only character given a trait more complex than dumb jock or mean girl. Because there aren’t any supernatural elements like in the previous films, it relies heavily on standard and antiquated slasher tropes. There’s nothing bad about the plot; it’s just generic and lacks the self-awareness or charm to make it a memorable night.
Director Matt Palmer did his best to satiate slasher audiences with the inclusion of some gnarly kills that remind viewers they are watching an R-rated movie! It’s so rare to get a buzzsaw kill that doesn’t shy away by quickly cutting to an offscreen splatter, so kudos to the effects team. Limbs and more are chopped off without a care in the world as body parts soar across the dance floor! Not all kills are created equally, as there are a few that are either off-screen or rely a tad too much on CGI. Either way, there’s plenty of blood on the dance floor.
While there is joy in the aftermath of kills, there’s little to no tension in the buildup. Most of the time, the victims aren’t even aware they’re being pursued. As the first kill, Christy’s (Ariana Greenblatt: Barbie 2023) death was lackluster. It amounted to nothing more than her standing still, unaware of a person (loudly) walking up to her with an axe. Throughout most of the runtime, nobody is even aware there’s a killer on the loose. In a laughable scene near the end, the killer hacks their way through the crowded dance floor, and nobody notices. It seems that the characters, just like the viewers, don’t care about what’s happening.
While Prom Queen was released on Netflix, it feels as though it was made for TV. Contrasting the heavy gore, much of the film feels tailored for the MTV/teen drama crowd. This comparison feels almost unfair given that MTV had its own (far superior) dance-adjacent horror movie, My Super Psycho Sweet Sixteen (2009). MTV had already accomplished everything that Prom Queen tried to do in terms of likeable characters and an engaging story.
The unfortunate realization of Prom Queen is that it’s average at best. The film is serviceable, but it’s inevitably bound to get lost amongst the sea of other generic teenage slashers. There’s still hope for the Fear Street franchise, as there’s a plethora of source material to choose from. For now, Prom Queen not only loses the crown but gets booed offstage as well.
