Fear Street Part 2: 1978 – Netflix Review (4/5)

FEAR STREET PART 2: 1978 on Netflix is exactly the kind of sequel and tie-in movie, I hoped for. It may start a bit slow to set up the story right. However, then it turns into a great slasher with classic tribute vibes. Read our full Fear Street Part 2: 1978 movie review here!

FEAR STREET PART 2: 1978 is out on Netflix now and follows up exactly where Fear Street Part 1: 1994 left off. Of course, this is the second movie in a trilogy that is released on three consecutive Fridays. I love this concept and have been very impressed with the stylistic choices and story, so far.

YOU MIGHT LIKE

Our review of the first movie in the trilogy Fear Street Part 1: 1994 here >

Continue reading our Fear Street Part 2: 1978 movie review below and check it out on Netflix now.

Welcome to Camp Nightwing

The Fear Street part 2: 1978 movie doesn’t actually start in 1978. Instead, we begin in 1994 – the era of the first movie – where we meet someone who survived the massacre at Camp Crystal Lake… I mean, Campt Nightwing.

And no, that “slip-up” is not meant to say that this is a copycat story. Rather, it’s to focus on the movie that inspired much of the style for this one: Friday the 13th (1980). However, other movies from that same slasher era in horror movies have also been used as inspiration for this one. Hell, at one point I even thought I saw Halloween’s Michael Myers.

Horror fans will probably do many double-takes and enjoy the little homages everywhere.

Even in terms of picture quality, you’ll probably notice the slightly grainy shots at times. Everything from semi-inappropriate sex scenes to the very laidback approach to weed is perfect for horror movies from this time. Also, those slasher scenes are pretty awesome!

More interesting characters are introduced

Just like Scream was the inspiration for Fear Street Part 1: 1994 and had a very different storyline. The same goes for this sequel. Sure, Friday the 13th is the inspiration in terms of style and setting. However, Fear Street part 2: 1978 is still very much about the curse on Shadyside which started with the witch Sarah Fier in 1666.

In this second part of the story, the woman telling the story is played by Gillian Jacobs (Come Play) who we meet in 1994. Here she tells the story of how her sister was murdered during the Camp Nightwing massacre of 1978. The two sisters Ziggy and Cindy Berman are played by Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Emily Rudd. And both are perfect in their respective roles!

WATCH MORE WITH THESE ACTORS

Check out our review of the 2020 horror movie Come Play starring Gillian Jacobs >

Also, we do meet quite a few young versions of characters that were introduced in the 1994 movie. This is mostly due to the fact that the curse is clearly focused on people from Shadyside, not those from Sunnyvale. However, I won’t get into this since you should get to experience it for yourself. I will say that 1994’s Sherif Nick Goode is a camp counselor in 1978.

Watch Fear Street Part 2: 1978 on Netflix now!

All movies in the Netflix horror movie trilogy are directed by Leigh Janiak who is doing the most brilliant job! She’s also involved with the story for all of them (more on her and the origin of the trilogy in our Part 1 review here).

For Part 2, the screenplay was co-written by Zak Olkewicz. Surprisingly, for me anyway, this is the writing debut of Olkewicz, but he already has his next movie in post-production. It’s the action thriller Bullet Train (2022) directed by David Leitch, which I am very excited about!

Overall, this middle movie is exactly the kind of follow-up and tie-in movie, I hoped for. Admittedly, it starts off a bit slow to set up the story right. Don’t worry though, the last hour of this movie is a straight-up slasher movie that pays perfect tribute to the slasher movies from the late 1970s and early 1980s.

From watching both the first two movies and the preview of things to come in the final movie, I cannot wait for Friday, July 16, to watch the full story unfold. Also, we know that many of the actors from the first and second movies will be back. Probably as their own ancestors who started this curse – probably by tormenting Sarah Fier which resulted in a cursed Shadyside.

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 is out on Netflix from July 9, 2021. 

Details

Director: Leigh Janiak
Writers: Zak Olkewicz & Leigh Janiak (screenplay), Phil Graziadei (story)
Stars: Sadie Sink, Emily Rudd, Ryan Simpkins, McCabe Slye, Ted Sutherland, Kiana Madeira, Benjamin Flores Jr., Olivia Scott Welch, Marcelle LeBlanc, Matthew Zuk, Chiara Aurelia, Brandon Spink, Drew Scheid