The horror genre thrives on new ideas and fresh concepts, as the most creative horror movies of the last few years have paid homage to classic tropes and storylines while being entirely unique. But horror fans also enjoy watching remakes, as the newHalloweentrilogy has been a huge success, along with new entires in a franchise, such asScream (2022).
When a movie is adapted from a novel or book series, sometimes fans worry about the film staying true to the source material, or too many changes being made. In the case of Netflix’sFear Streettrilogy which became available on the streaming service in July 2021, the movies are based on the book series by R.L. Stine but are a loose adaptation. While the movies are solid and people really enjoyed them, should the trilogy have been a TV show instead?
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From the moment that horror fans started watchingFear Street Part One: 1994, it was clear that this was a fun new horror film. There was an epic opening sequence with Maya Hawke’s character Heather, a friend group to follow along with, andFear Street’s love storybetween Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) and Deena (Kiana Madeira) is also a meaningful part of the trilogy. But after watching the second and third installment which go back in time, it’s hard not to wonder what aFear StreetTV show would have been like and whether this would have been a better way to tell the story.
R.L. Stine’sFear Streetyoung adult series is spread out amongst many books, which allowed the author to explore different characters within the small town of Shadyside.Leigh Janiak, the director, toldDen Of Geekthat the movies aren’t based on the actual books but more the idea, tone, and vibe of this town. Janiak said, “They’re not really based concretely in the book. Mostly, I think I would endeavor to stay true to the spirit of the books, which was kind of subversive and edgy for teenage readers. There’s violence, there’s blood, there’s hints of sex. And then for me, just a lot of fun. They’re really, really fun to read."
Maybe ifFear Streetwas a TV show, this would have allowed the adaptation to adapt a few storylines more closely, which R.L. Stine fans would have enjoyed. TheGoosebumpsTV showfollows a formula of a scary tale that features a smart main character who looks into the horror and solves the problem, or realizes at the end of the episode that they will be haunted by whatever is going on forever.
Fear Streetcould have followed a similar formula and each episode could have focused on a different character or aspect of Shadyside, allowing the writers to adapt the books more closely while keeping the elements added to the Netflix trilogy that work really well. One episode could be about Sam and Deena’s past and how they’re doing now that they’re living in different places, along with how they begin helping each other and realize that they want to be together again. Since they’re the most well-developed characters in this trilogy, a TV show would flesh them out even more and make fans very happy. Another episode could focus on Kate (Julia Rehwald), who fans love, and other episodes could tell the full story of Sarah Fier and Ruby Lane. There’s a lot of creepy and great potential here.
IfFear Streetwas an eight or ten episode TV show, and not split up into three movies, the story could have still explored different time periods. The main setting could be the ’90s and one episode could focus on 1978 at Camp Nightwing and another episode could still be set in 1666. This would have tightened up the storytelling, asFear Street Part Three: 1666isn’t as goodand is a bit duller than the others. Some fans would agree that the first movie is the best one so it makes more sense to stretch the ’90s setting over a longer period. This would also leave the door open to a season 2, which fans would definitely love to see, and then even moreFear Streetbooks could be turned into episodes, which fans would appreciate.
Fans love'90s horror movie villains, the corny hairstyles and fashion, and the fun vibe of this time period, so why not makeFear Streeta TV show with more opportunity to spend time in this decade? After all, when horror fans tuned intoFear Streeton Netflix, they were already feeling nostalgic, whether they’ve enjoyed many R.L. Stine books, they watchedGoosebumpsback in the day, or they just love ’90s horror films.
