Released on May 23, 2025, exclusively on Netflix, Fear Street: Prom Queen marks the long-awaited return of the “Fear Street” franchise, based on R.L. Stine’s cult horror series. Directed by Matt Palmer (Calibre) and co-written with Donald McLeary, the slasher flick stars India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Katherine Waterston, Lili Taylor, and Chris Klein. Set in 1988 Shadyside, this standalone entry follows outcast senior Lori Granger (Fowler), whose prom queen dreams are stained with blood when her rivals begin turning up dead—slaughtered one by one by a masked killer in a rain slicker. As secrets unravel, loyalties shift, and tiaras turn into weapons, Fear Street: Prom Queen delivers a retro-styled, gore-soaked homage to the golden age of slashers. It’s Carrie meets I Know What You Did Last Summer, reimagined for the streaming generation.
Genre:Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Return to Shadyside’s Blood-Soaked Hallways
Stepping back into the cursed town of Shadyside, Fear Street: Prom Queen channels the gritty, neon-soaked energy of late-'80s horror while continuing the franchise’s commitment to gruesome deaths, high school cruelty, and cursed bloodlines. Though it’s more of a spiritual successor than a direct sequel to Leigh Janiak’s Fear Street trilogy from 2021, this new installment leans heavily into slasher tradition.
We’re thrust into Shadyside High in 1988, just as the senior class prepares for their prom. Lori Granger (India Fowler) is a social pariah due to a tragic family past—her mother was once accused of murdering her father. Despite this stigma, Lori throws herself into the race for prom queen, squaring off against the elite “Wolfpack,” led by the venomous Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza). But as the big night approaches, candidates start dying. Christy Renault, a weed dealer and rival nominee, is the first to fall—stabbed by a masked figure who sets off a domino effect of bloody carnage.
Slasher Tropes Refreshed with Style
Palmer doesn’t reinvent the genre but he knows the rules—and how to bend them just enough. The killer, clad in a yellow raincoat and blank mask, is a clear nod to I Know What You Did Last Summer, but the execution is stylish and gleefully violent. Think paper cutters turned weapons, corpses stuffed in basements, and a tiara to the eye used for an unmasking moment that’s both ridiculous and satisfying.
Unlike many slashers, Prom Queen doesn’t wait too long to let the blood flow. From the moment Christy is taken out, the kills come quick and brutal. A standout scene involves a meat cleaver and a locker door, followed shortly by a buzzsaw to the face—exaggerated, over-the-top, and exactly what horror fans want from a Friday night binge.
Meet the New Queen Bee of High School Horror
India Fowler Brings Grit to a Classic Final Girl
India Fowler is compelling as Lori, managing to make the "quiet, haunted outcast" trope feel genuine. Her emotional arc may be thinly written, but Fowler gives it weight—especially in the final act when Lori must not only fight for her life, but uncover a conspiracy that runs closer to home than she ever suspected. Her climactic confrontation with the killers gives her the kind of grisly, cathartic moment that every final girl deserves.
Fina Strazza Steals the Show as Tiffany
Still, it’s Fina Strazza as Tiffany Falconer who walks away with the crown. She plays the queen bee with such razor-sharp snark and privileged fury that you simultaneously loathe and love her. She’s less Regina George and more a prom-era Lady Macbeth with acrylic nails. Watching her spiral from control-freak perfectionist to full-on maniac is one of the film’s giddiest pleasures.
Katherine Waterston and Chris Klein play Tiffany’s parents, adding layers of generational rot to the Falconer family tree. By the time the film reveals that Tiffany and her mother Nancy are both part of the killing spree, it feels like the final petal falling from a long-dead rose.
Megan Is the Hidden MVP
As Megan, Lori’s horror-obsessed best friend, Suzanna Son delivers the film’s emotional and comedic heartbeat. Armed with practical effects, horror references, and a suspiciously strong devotion to Lori, Megan is a queer-coded sidekick who constantly steals scenes. Whether she’s faking severed limbs for laughs or confronting the school’s creepy vice principal, Megan is one of the rare horror side characters who deserves her own spin-off.
The Kills Are Creative, the Plot… Less So
Where Prom Queen thrives in blood and spectacle, it stumbles in logic and depth. The killer's identity—Dan Falconer, Tiffany’s father, aided by Nancy—feels somewhat shoehorned in, and the motivations are melodramatic rather than meaningful. The notion that Dan is cleaning up Shadyside's image by killing unworthy teens and pushing his daughter into the prom spotlight is absurd, but in a campy slasher, absurdity often works in the film's favor.
The film also borrows heavily from the franchise’s predecessors and ‘80s horror classics. A dance-off? Check. A traumatized final girl returning to a blood-drenched house? Check. A deranged parent seeking vengeance for a failed relationship? Also check. But while the beats are familiar, Palmer executes them with flair and enough style to keep things entertaining.
A Time Capsule of ’80s Excess
The film’s setting is almost aggressively retro, with every costume, track, and line of dialogue reminding you it’s 1988. The soundtrack includes hits from Roxette, Billy Idol, and Eurythmics, while prom decor is all glitter, fringe, and patriotic swimsuits in a performance so ridiculous it circles back to brilliant.
Visually, the film opts for saturated colors and high contrast, mimicking VHS-era cinematography without going full parody. If you squint, you could almost believe this was an unearthed slasher from the back of a dusty video store shelf—and that’s not a bad thing.
The Verdict – A Blood-Soaked, Campy Delight
Fear Street: Prom Queen isn’t reinventing horror. It’s not trying to be smart, subversive, or revolutionary. But what it does—high school bloodbaths, glamorized violence, and wickedly entertaining characters—it does with commitment. The kills are memorable, the cast is game, and the energy rarely flags across its brisk 90-minute runtime.
If you're in the mood for a retro slasher with exaggerated villains, a fierce final girl, and enough gore to soak a prom dress, Prom Queen earns its place in the Fear Street pantheon. And with Netflix hinting at more chapters ahead, it’s a bloody good sign that this franchise still has plenty of life left to kill.
Rating: ★★★½ (3.5/5)