Fear Street: Part Two â 1978, in keeping with its predecessor, kicks off with yet another obnoxious needle drop. This one, âThe Man Who Sold the World,â from Nirvanaâs beloved MTV Unplugged appearance, at least ties back in later when David Bowieâs version appears. Likewise, the release dates of both line up much better than, say, Rob Zombieâs âMore Human Than Humanâ and âOnly Happy When It Rainsâ by Garbage, neither of which came out until 1995. Considering this installment is set at the tail end of the seventies, thereâs more room to experiment. However, that initial introduction highlights how a lot of the issues with Part 1 have been carried over here and are still plaguing what had the potential to be an inventive, gnarly little slasher franchise.
We pick up right where we left off, with Final Girl Deena (Kiana Madeira) and brother Josh (Benjamin Flores Jr.) desperate to save her girlfriend, Sam (Olivia Scott Welch), from local witch Sarah Fier. The trio descends on the house of a mysterious woman played by Community star Gillian Jacobs, who is stupefyingly miscast, consistently mistaking looking mean for emotional intensity. Itâs she who received the mysterious âitâs happening againâ note in the first movie, and who warned the kids thereâs no escaping the witchâs clutches when they called for help. After tying Sam to a radiator, Deena and Josh settle down to hear the story of Camp Nightwing and thus learn how this spooky stranger came to be so knowledgeable.
Once Part Two actually heads back to the seventies, the story takes off running and doesnât let up until weâre plonked back in front of Jacobsâ harbinger of doom once more, the reveal of whose identity is treated like a massive twist but definitely isnât for anybody paying attention even a little bit. Back in the past, we meet warring sisters Ziggy (Sadie Sink) and Cindy (Emily Rudd). The black sheep and goody-two-shoes of their family respectively, Ziggy is a reluctant camper at Nightwing while Cindy is working there as a counsellor to save up for college. The other campers have decided Ziggy is a witch and sheâs picked on mercilessly, with an attempted hanging making a particularly horrifying impression.
Although Ziggy is clearly being singled out for no real reason, nobody seems to be on her side apart from a kindly nurse who, itâs later revealed, has a deep connection to Shadysideâs dark, murder-filled past, and counsellor Nick Goode (Ted Sutherland) who we know from the 1994-set events ends up running the town. But, when Sarah Fier chooses someone to possess, itâs not Ziggy but rather Cindyâs sweet-natured boyfriend, Tommy (McCabe Slye), whom we vaguely met in Part 1 as an axe-wielding maniac with a bag over his head (the bag doesnât come until much later, Jason style). Ziggy and Cindy are left fighting for their lives against someone who up until that point they thought was safe.
Suffice to say, the hook for Part Two is much cleaner and, crucially, more cohesive than the first installment, which threw everything at the wall even before we knew who any of the featured killers were. Focusing on one killer, and one location, significantly elevates what is otherwise a thin, by-the-numbers slasher tale. The filmâs lengthy running time is an issue once again, especially considering the slashing doesnât begin for a good 30 or 40 minutes. The first kill looks terrible, thanks to some dreadful CGI, and unfortunately this is an issue across the board â the use of CG, rather than practical FX, is unforgivable in a slasher movie, particularly one with Netflix money behind it.
Several of the murders also take place offscreen, a baffling choice in a slasher, while the roughest and most brutal stabbings are saved for the very end â theyâre also the most physical and tactile, which sadly hints at what might have been. Knowing the killerâs identity, again, takes much of the crucial fun out of it too, while the possession angle still feels too neat and annoyingly safe. It wouldâve been smarter to suggest the town itself is rotten to the core and turning good people into hopeless, desperate psychos rather than having this all-powerful witch who we still have yet to meet (her story comes next, in Part Three) pulling the strings. Thereâs no real danger to the equation otherwise.
Related: Fear Street Part 1: 1994 Tries to Do Too Much [Review]
Still, Part Two is a considerable step up from Part 1. Stranger Things star Sadie Sink makes for a far more compelling lead than Madeiraâs grumpy Deena, with the actress demonstrating how to be cynical and tortured without being completely unlikable. Sink and Berman have a lovely rapport, too; they feel like real sisters whether theyâre fighting or reluctantly professing their love. Neither is painted as the villain either, with both sides represented. Ziggyâs tentative dalliance with Nick is delicately handled too, although thereâs a little bit too much foreshadowing with his character â Nick is quite literally told at one point, âSheriff Nick Goodeâs got a nice ring to itâ like, okay, WE GET IT.
However, in other instances, returning director and co-writer Leigh Janiak plays with our expectations in fun ways, such as when a flashlight is creepily shone into various rooms in an empty house early on, or when an open drawer full of knives is glimpsed in passing with slight changes each time itâs revisited. The creation of a tourniquet out of a comb and a sanitary pad is genius, while a grand set connecting an underground cave system and some toilets is brilliantly done, the walls oozing with hideous bodily fluids and strange red moss. Part Two is more tactile overall, even if the CG lets it down and the setting never truly feels like 1978. Still, the performances totally sell it.
Thereâs way too much music once again, though the choices are less egregious this time around, with The Runawaysâ âCherry Bombâ standing out as this installmentâs âMore Human Than Humanâ (it, too, plays over the closing credits). But yes, Blue Ăyster Cultâs âDonât Fear the Reaperâ does indeed show up because really, how could it not? At the very least, there are plenty of moments when characters are simply listening to cassette tapes, so the needle drops donât chafe as much this time around. In fact, itâs only when the action returns to 1994 that Part Two unfortunately resembles its older, less sophisticated forebear.
The relationships still feel super hollow, even when Deena is confessing her love for Sam. After witnessing Ziggy and Cindy battling a ruthless killer, alongside a whole gaggle of fun side characters including Halloween 2018âs Drew Scheid and Ryan Simpkinsâ lovable troublemaker Alice, itâs a bummer to end up back with these utterly one-dimensional people. Deena doesnât even seem that broken up about her supposed BFFsâ deaths in the previous film! The question also remains, why werenât these damn movies released in chronological order? Maybe then the 1994 installment might have made more sense, or at the very least hit harder. Part Two does feature another monster team-up, but itâs less jarring than the first time around partly because weâre expecting it, but also because it doesnât take up an entire act of the movie.
Part Two is flawed in many of the same ways Part 1 was, but the performances and set-pieces are considerably stronger, with Sink really showing off what she can do in a slightly more adult environment than Stranger Things (but only slightly, since the Fear Street movies are still playing things weirdly safe and PG for some unknown reason). The real test will come with the next installment of course, which, aside from being set in the olden days (so, no needle-drops then?), must tie everything together in a satisfying manner while also making a case for Sarah Fier as the all-powerful source of evil weâve come to expect after two moviesâ worth of build-up. However, if they fumble the ball again, at least Part Two exists as a decent slasher flick in its own right.
WICKED RATING: 7/10
Director(s): Leigh Janiak
Writer(s): R.L. Stine (books), Zak Olkewicz, Leigh Janiak, Phil Graziadei
Stars: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, McCabe Slye, Ryan Simpkins, Gillian Jacobs, Ted Sutherland
Release date: July 9, 2021
Studio/Production Company: Netflix
Language: English
Run Time: 109 minutes