Film

Why sapphics are excited about upcoming Netflix movie Fear Street: Prom Queen

May 06
Written by Emily Maskell

Fina Strazza and India Fowler in Fear Street: Prom Queen. (Alan Markfield/Netflix)

Fear Street: Prom Queen is set for release on Netflix later this month, but will it be a queer movie?

This new slasher, based on the 1992 novel The Prom Queen from R. L. Stine’s Fear Street book series, is the fourth instalment of the Fear Street film series.

The first three horror films – Fear Street Part One: 1994, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and Fear Street Part Three: 1666 – were co-written and directed by Leigh Janiak and shot back-to-back and released weekly on Netflix in July 2021.

This film trilogy follows a group of teenagers who try to break a curse that has plagued their town, Shadyside, Ohio, for hundreds of years.

Amidst the curses and murders, the films included a lesbian romance between Deena (Kiana Madeira) and Sam (Olivia Scott Welch). Deena, a gay Black teenage heroine, is one of the lead characters, and her romance with Sam isn’t sidelined; it’s an important plot point that drives the story forward.

In the first Fear Street film, Deena and Sam have broken up, but as the films unravel, their connection deepens and not even a witch or an evil policeman can stop them from donning their flannel shirts and kicking ass!

The show was widely praised for its candid approach to queer representation in the horror genre.

Rebecca Ablack in Fear Street: Prom Queen. A red masked figure is facing her, she's in a red prom dress with blood on her chest. — Rebecca Ablack in Fear Street: Prom Queen. (Sabrina Lantos/Netflix)

Will Fear Street: Prom Queen be queer?

Now, Fear Street: Prom Queen will follow Shadyside High students preparing for the 1988 prom with the ‘IT Girls’ competing to be voted Prom Queen. However, one student begins to realise that someone is plotting to murder the Prom Queen candidates, and she must stop the killer before it’s too late.

Sadly, Madeira’s Deena and Welch’s Sam won’t be a part of Fear Street: Prom Queen.

Instead, it will include a new cast consisting of Insomnia’s India Fowler, The Idol’s Suzanna Son, Paper Girls’ Fina Strazza, The Summer I Turned Pretty’s David Iacono and The Idea of You’s Ella Rubin.

However, though the fan favourite lesbians will be missed, it seems we may be getting some different LGBTQ+ representation in the new slasher. Though it has not been explicitly confirmed, many are speculating that a new queer character may be facing off knife-wielding evil.

While Janiak directed the horror trilogy, this time Matt Palmer is taking the writer-director chair. Speaking about the film, Palmer shared that he sees the film not just about fear, but growing up – meaning that parallels to growing up queer are certainly relevant.

“I love that Shadyside feels so relevant to our world now; it could really be any present-day blue-collar town in America,” he explained.

“We dig much deeper down into high school and family life in this instalment and find that, again, so many of the challenges that ’80s kids faced still seem to totally resonate today.”

Fear Street: Prom Queen still: a prom book of the 5 prom queen candidates. A pair of gloved hands is holding the book open with a saw on the table — Will Fear Street: Prom Queen include LGBTQ+ representation? (Netflix)

How to watch Fear Street: Prom Queen?

Fear Street: Prom Queen will be available to watch on Netflix.

The OG Fear Street trilogy is also available on Netflix if you want to catch up on the trio of films before the new slasher drops on the streaming platform.