FEAR STREET: PROM QUEEN Director Talks ’80s Horror Roots, Lynchian Vibes, and Lost Slasher Classics
As prom season creeps closer, Netflix is dusting off the corsage and bloodstains with Fear Street: Prom Queen. The movie is based on R.L. Stine’s 1992 teen thriller, and this latest entry in the Fear Street franchise will bleed ‘80s horror.
Collider recently shared a pair of first-look images, but its director Matt Palmer’s behind-the-scenes insight that really gives fans a taste of what’s to come. Palmer said:
“Visually, we actually took a lot of inspiration from movies like River’s Edge and Blue Velvet, in terms of nailing down an authentic ’80s look and a wrong side of the tracks feeling for Shadyside.”
Palmer’s pulling from the darker, more atmospheric corners of the era. As the film shifts into prom night chaos, the style cranks up with deliberate nods to slasher icons and Italian horror masters.
“As the movie progresses, and we move into prom itself, the visual look becomes more heightened, falling more in line with the slasher classics of the ’80s, as well as the Italian giallos of the same period.
“Some of my favorite directors — John Carpenter, Dario Argento and David Lynch — also feel like influences on the visual look and movie as a whole.”
Palmer seems to be looking to create a movie that’s like a forgotten VHS gem that’s just been unearthed. He added:
“The entire movie is a love letter to ’80s slasher movies, it’s really seeped into every frame of the movie. There’s a bunch of slasher movies that I’m crazy about — Happy Birthday to Me, Sleepaway Camp, and Pieces to name just a few — and the idea was to try and make a ‘lost slasher classic,’ as if the movie had been locked in a vault since 1988 and only released now.”
As far as the music goes, it will be pure ‘80s synth bliss. The gore? All practical. So, things got messy.
“Our film is set in 1988, so the look, tone, and even our kills are inspired by the classic horror of the era. We relied heavily on practical effects and bloody sprays that we captured in real time — which made for an incredibly messy — but insanely fun shoot.”
Palmer wrote the film with Donald McLeary , and they built a fresh story with new characters while keeping the DNA of Fear Street intact.
In Fear Street: Prom Queen, “Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway, and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown.
“But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”
The cast includes India Fowler, Fina Strazza, Suzanna Son, Ariana Greenblat, Ella Rubin, Chris Klein, Katherine Waterston, David Iacono, and Lili Taylor.
If you’ve been craving a throwback slasher that knows exactly what it is, Fear Street: Prom Queen might just be your gory, synth-drenched ticket back to 1988. The movie is now available to watch on Netflix.
