‘Fear Street Part 1: 1994’ Review: Netflix Crosses ‘Stranger Things’ With R.L. Stine in Hokey Horror Trilogy
Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticDebuting July 2 and rolling out a fresh installment every Friday for three weeks, Netflix’s new “Fear Street” trilogy slices and dices R.L. Stine’s other book series — less popular but slightly more grown-up than the fright-meister’s best-selling “Goosebumps” franchise — into three feature-length horror movies, each one detailing a different bloodbath in small-town Shadyside.“Fear Street Part 1: 1994” takes a page from “Stranger Things” as director Leigh Janiak appeals to audiences’ near-past nostalgia, evoking a time when landlines and shopping malls were still a thing.