Fear Street Teil 2: 1978

Having seen Fear Street Part 1 I did wonder if this one would basically be much of the same, but with a 70's music score. I was pleasantly surprised to find this one was better than Part 1.

There is only so much that you can do in a slasher movie, that hasn't already been done. Normally there is minimal story line, lots of screaming and bloodshed and possibly a single survivor at the end - no spoilers there. This 2nd instalment is set in a 'Summer Camp', so quite reminiscent of Friday the 13th, only this time the addition of the kids makes for more blood spillage.

The thread of story line woven through the trilogy keeps you hooked, as you learn a little more each time. It's also interesting in the way that the story is in reverse, instead of starting at the beginning.

The acting was really quite good, given the ages of those starring. Far better than some I have seen lately where teens have been played by twenty/thirty somethings who are so wooden and stilted they are painful to watch.

My one big gripe is that I know filming at night is supposed to make it more frightening and to build up tension but that fails completely when the audience can't see a thing or barely glimpses what is happening.

If you are into the old 'slasher' type movies you will probably find it entertaining, for younger viewers, expecting the big production CGI horror, it will no doubt be underwhelming.

I'm glad I decided to give part 2 a try. I didn't like part 1 very well, but 2 definitely made up for it. I love the whole summer camp person gone crazy story, even if it has been used five million times. This was pretty good.

This was so, so much better than Part One. There's one exposition scene that doesn't fit, but it's over almost as soon as it starts. The film is consistent throughout, isn't afraid to be brutal, and finally delivers on the tone the trailers promised for this trilogy.

If you watch it as a regular slasher flick instead of comparing it to the book, it's actually much more fun to watch. Not everything has to be taken seriously lol.

Improving slightly upon its predecessor- and proving to be even more entertaining- Fear Street Part Two is still a bit uneven, but the sum of its parts manages to bring along a familiar but engaging ride. I was much more impressed with the acting in this one than in the last one. It's nothing incredibly profound, but Sadie Sink is just perfectly cast in the lead role of Ziggy- and the other supporting actors never feel like they are forcing their performances despite their thinner characters. The film is incredibly entertaining and does add a bit more to the potential and worldbuilding that the first one set up, which I think they did a good job on. The issue lies more in the story of this film itself, as it takes the steps it needs to forming its story, without providing anything truly original or memorable. It's beginning, although partially necessary, feels like it's used as nothing but to kill time- and the majority of the film feels rather pointless in the trilogy's plan- as we don't get to anything truly important until the end. Also, just a small thing, we didn't need to hear Cherry Bomb three whole times throughout the course of the film- it's a good song and all- but seriously it just feels forced. Despite all that though, the film is moving with its relationships at hand, and truly allows you to care about the characters on screen even despite their flaws- a great improvement from the melodramatic writing of the characters in the first film. In the end, Fear Street Part Two 1978 is a decent sequel and decent film with decently sized flaws. It's far from the potential it could have had, but like the last one, still manages to be a solidly enjoyable film.

My Rating: 7.3/10.