Netflix has released a new video outlining every horror movie reference and homage in the Fear Street trilogy.
The spoiler-filled video takes a closer look at the three Fear Street movies, identifying and unpacking the trilogy's Easter eggs to classic horror flicks from Friday the 13th to Scream and Night of the Living Dead to Poltergeist.
Based on the series of novels of the same name by R.L. Stine, the Fear Street trilogy centers around the cursed town of Shadyside, Ohio, at three points in time – 1994, 1978, and 1666. The cast includes Maya Hawke, Sadie Sink, and Gillian Jacobs.
Director Leigh Janiak has always been vocal about the influence of classic horror movies on her work. “As a filmmaker making Fear Street, but also just as a movie lover, I was so excited to pay homage to some of the great eras of horror movies," she said in a statement.
"For 1994, Scream stood above all rest – it's peak ’90s horror and, I think, one of the most brilliant movies ever made, period. Then for 1978, I got to look at the heyday of slasher films – Friday the 13th, Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street. For 1666… I found the best inspiration for me lay in the beautiful world made rotten of Terence Malick's The New World."
In Fear Street Part 1: 1994, a group of teens discover the disturbing events afflicting their home may be linked – and the next targets might be them. Part 2 takes us back nearly 20 years to the '70s, when activities at Shadyside's summer camp turn into a fight for survival.
Finally, Part 3 goes all the way back to the 17th Century, when Shadyside is gripped by a hysterical witch hunt, and we learn about the events that led to the deadly consequences in 1994 and 1978. Meanwhile, in the 20th Century, the teenagers of Shadyside attempt to put an end to their town's curse before it's too late.
There's good news for Fear Street fans, too – Janiak has spoken about her hopes for an MCU-style franchise for the series. "One of the exciting things about Fear Street is the fact that the universe is big and allows for a lot of space," the director told IndieWire. "One of the things that I talked about before I was hired was that we have a potential here to create a horror Marvel [Cinematic Universe], where you can have slasher killers from lots of different eras.
If you've already watched the Fear Street trilogy, check out our list of the best horror movies of all time.
