1978. Against the backdrop of the endless feud between the teenagers of Shadyside and Sunnyvale and the centuries-spanning curse of the doomed witch, Sarah Fier, a spate of brutal axe murders terrorises the unsuspecting campers of Camp Nightwing. Now, after the pitiless killings in Fear Street: 1994 (2021), a handful of lucky survivors find themselves in dire need of help to link the past to the present and, hopefully, unearth the gruesome truth. But warm, bright-red blood fo... (Full plot summary below)
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1978. Against the backdrop of the endless feud between the teenagers of Shadyside and Sunnyvale and the centuries-spanning curse of the doomed witch, Sarah Fier, a spate of brutal axe murders terrorises the unsuspecting campers of Camp Nightwing. Now, after the pitiless killings in Fear Street: 1994 (2021), a handful of lucky survivors find themselves in dire need of help to link the past to the present and, hopefully, unearth the gruesome truth. But warm, bright-red blood follows. Will Deena and her friends ever find out what happened that horrible July?
Leave your thoughts about Fear Street: 1978.
| The GuardianBenjamin LeeNetflix’s flashy RL Stine trilogy continues with a darker Friday the 13th-aping horror that brings more shocking gore and excellent performances. |
| IndieWireSteve GreeneThe surprise isn’t that it deviates from the groundrules set out in the film before it, or even the scores of horror films from in and around the decade in which it’s set. It’s that when Fear Street: 1978 is given the opportunity to fulfill the promises it’s made for itself, it does so unreservedly, with a clear sense of purpose. |
| The PlaylistAnya StanleyFear Street Part Two: 1978 repeatedly gets bogged down by its music and the atmosphere but earns its rightful place alongside the sleepaway camps and the crystal lakes. Janiak delivers all of the vicious fun of its slice and dice predecessors, with the bonus of characters who matter as they search for their own exits—from danger and themselves. |
| Paste MagazineJim VorelIn the moment, what it does do well is tease the increasingly metaphysical conclusion that is swiftly approaching, which looks to shed some of the “slasher movie” trappings and embrace the idea of a supernatural evil that resonates and repeats across centuries and generations of lives. Here’s hoping that the Fear Street trilogy can stick the landing. |
| IGNKristy PuchkoWhile Fear Street Part 2: 1978 still offers some thrills, it's not a cut above its predecessor. |
| PolygonToussaint EganThe gratifications of Fear Street: 1978 are not in its few surprises, but in its continued exploration of the history and dynamics of two social-stratified communities separated along the fault lines of unexplained affluence and inexplicable horror. |
| Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdonaFear Street Part 2: 1978 is no classic, but it’s a clear improvement on “1994,” with more tension and excitement (and generous gore). |
| SlashfilmChris EvangelistaFear Street Part 2 also thrives once it really gets going. There’s a certain rough patch at the start that the film thankfully shrugs off, eventually sucking us into its night-dark story of doomed youth. A potential – and potentially questionable – romance that blooms between Ziggy and Nick Goode (Ted Sutherland), the boy destined to grow up and be sheriff, is charming in its clumsiness. A side character like punk rocker counselor Alice (Ryan Simpkins) seems annoying at first, only to blossom into someone we’re actively rooting for. After two films, the real strength of Fear Street is in its characters, not its scares. No one is expendable meat here – but that doesn’t mean they won’t get ground up in the end. |
| The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeDespite the sometimes tedious pacing and repetitive script, it’s a classic-feeling slasher that delights in gore — think Friday the 13th — and an affirming example of Janiak’s confidence behind the camera. |
| The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe kills come and go with a perfunctory swiftness that suggests a condescension to the material, not a genuine affection for it. That’s why the gore feels like scant reward: There’s plenty of blood but no heart put into pumping it. |
