Director Leigh Janiak is back with Fear Street Part Two: 1978, and following the events of Part One we now go into the past of Shadyside and Sunnyvale in Part 2 courtesy of C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs) who recounts the Camp Nightwing massacre!
The recount begins on July 19th 1978, where Shadyside’s Ziggy Berman (Sadie Sink) is accused of stealing by Sunnyvale’s Sheila (Chiara Aurelia) and her friends. They rope her to a tree and burn her arm but just before things get any worse camp counselors Nick Goode (Ted Sutherland) and Kurt (Michael Provost) show up. Kurt wants to kick Ziggy of the camp but Nick persuades him to let her stay.
Meanwhile, Ziggy’s older sister, Cindy (Emily Rudd), and her boyfriend Tommy Slater (McCabe Slye) are cleaning the mess hall when Nurse Mary Lane (Jordana Spiro), the mother of Shadyside killer Ruby Lane (Jordyn DiNatale), viciously attacks Tommy, proclaiming that he will die that night! Lane is removed from camp by the police. Rumours about Nurse Lane spread across the camp with many Sunnyvale kids believing Lane was possessed by Sarah Fier just like her daughter was.
Cindy wants to know what happened to Nurse Lane, so she drags Tommy to investigate the infirmary where she bumps into her former friends Alice (Ryan Simpkins) and Arnie (Sam Brooks). They find Lane’s diary, in it, Lane has written that Fier made a deal with the devil by cutting her hand on Satan’s stone, thereby earning eternal life. They also find a map in the diary leading to Fier’s house which they head to. They discover several empty graves dug up by Nurse Lane and discover the witch’s mark below the house. Alice and Cindy find a wall carved with the names of all the Shadyside killers and Tommy’s name included. Suddenly Tommy is possessed and kills Arnie with an axe whilst the girls escape into a cave. Will the rest of the camp be safe?
Verdict: 9/10. Part 2 gives us clearer depictions of the Shadyside/Sunnyvale divide, and this helps us understand the underlying framework of Fear Street. The homages to 1970’s horror are done very well and add to the stresses and pressures the characters are under as the plot develops. The sister dynamic of Cindy and Ziggy is the true star of Part 2 though – especially as their reasons for no longer talking unfolds.
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