Fear Street: 1994

Directed by Leigh Janiak, Fear Street: 1994 follows several high-schoolers, including Kiana Madeira’s Deena and Fred Hechinger’s Simon, as they’re forced to fend for their lives after a mysterious killer begins relentlessly pursuing one of their own (Olivia Scott Welch’s Sam). Filmmaker Janiak, working from a script written with Phil Graziadei, does a nice job of initially luring the viewer into the (increasingly erratic) proceedings, as Fear Street: 1994 kicks off with a Scream-like opening that effectively sets the stage for a familiar yet entertaining contemporary slasher – with this vibe heightened by a generic first act that essentially hits the various genre touchstones that one might’ve anticipated. It’s perhaps, as such, not terribly surprising to note that the movie eventually progresses into a less, than-engrossing, hit-and-miss midsection, with the arms-length atmosphere heightened by the heroes’ somewhat tedious investigation into the killer’s origins and, eventually, their attempts at figuring out how to stop him/her. (There’s little doubt, too, that the absence of wholeheartedly compelling protagonists goes a long way towards perpetuating the sporadically tedious vibe.) And although the picture recovers for a relatively exciting (and appreciatively brutal) climactic stretch, Fear Street: 1994 has long-since cemented its place as a watchable (albeit terminally erratic) endeavor that does, for the most part, feel like it should be so much better.

**1/2 out of ****