The Fear Street trilogy has come to an end, but if you’re still craving the type of movies that inspired it, I’m here to help. The Fear Street trilogy very much wears its homages on its sleeve, which means there are a lot of influential films to pick and choose from. I’ve narrowed the list down to 19 movies that I think will satisfy your thirst for more Fear Street-style thrills and chills.
The Burning
Where to Stream: Shudder
Gross, gory, and featuring a weirdly young Jason Alexander, The Burning is a summer camp slasher that has the somewhat odious distinction of being dreamt up by Harvey Weinstein and co-written by Harvey’s brother Bob. But if you can overlook the Weinstein involvement, you’ll find yourself with a nasty little pic featuring some killer make-up effects courtesy of the legendary Tom Savini. In The Burning, a summer camp prank results in a caretaker being horribly burned, kicking off a quest for bloody revenge.
The Crucible
Where to Rent: Redbox ($2.99), Amazon ($3.99)
While not technically a horror movie, The Crucible is plenty terrifying. Inspired by the Salem Witch Trials, and based on the Arthur Miller play (Miller wrote the script, too), The Crucible‘s witch-hunt hysteria clearly influenced parts of Fear Street Part 3: 1666, where the colonists of Union are quick to turn on their neighbors when they suspect the presence of witchcraft.
Demon Knight
Where to Rent: Apple TV ($3.99)
Tales From the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight is a gooey, over-the-top creepshow that holds up pretty damn well. The film’s use of ancient curses and demonic possession-influenced murders would fit right in with Fear Street. Here, ancient demon Billy Zane shows up at a church-turned-boarding house and proceeds to cause all sorts of mayhem as he attempts to retrieve an artifact containing the blood of Jesus (yes, really).
The Final Girls
Where to Stream: Showtime
A sweet, silly, surprisingly emotional bit of meta-horror, The Final Girls has a group of friends sucked into a horror movie, Last Action Hero-style. While the movie’s PG-13 rating seems like a mistake, resulting in some oddly bloodless kills, the overall experience is a wonderful tribute to the genre. We should’ve gotten a sequel by now.
Freaky
Where to Rent: Fandango Now ($5.99); will be streaming on HBO Max starting July 25
I said Freaky was the best slasher movie since Scream when I reviewed it, and I stand by that. Like Fear Street, Freaky is enamored with the slasher pics that came before it. And like Fear Street, it finds clever ways to twist familiar tropes. Here, a teenager (Kathryn Newton) ends up body-swapping with a serial killer (Vince Vaughn). Now, the teen in a hulking killer’s body has to convince her friends to help her, while the killer, disguised as a teen girl, goes about killing off more doomed youngsters. Great gore, even better emotional heft.
Friday the 13th
Where to Stream: Starz
The grandaddy of the killer summer camp films, Friday the 13th is a derivative but fun bit tale of horny teens (who are all played by 30-somethings) being picked off one by one for their transgressions. While the Fear Street movies draw more on the Friday sequels, what with their masked summer camp killer, the original is still a treat.
Goosebumps
Where to Rent: Amazon ($3.15), Apple TV ($3.99), Vudu ($2.99)
R.L. Stine‘s Fear Street books were aimed at teens, but the books that really put him on the map were, of course, his Goosebumps series. And while the Goosebumps movie is geared towards younger viewers, it’s still a lot of fun. In fact, it’s way more fun than I expected it to be. Here, Jack Black plays a stuffy R.L. Stine who has to deal with the creatures from his books suddenly coming to life. This one has a lovely little Amblin vibe going for it.
Ginger Snaps
Where to Stream: Shudder, Tubi
As if being a teenager wasn’t hard enough, Ginger Snaps finds high schooler Ginger (Katharine Isabelle) dealing with becoming a werewolf, much to the chagrin of her sister (Emily Perkins). The werewolf stuff is used as a clever stand-in for the horrors and confusions of puberty, and Isabelle and Perkins are both pitch-perfect in their respective roles.
Halloween
Where to Stream: Shudder, The Roku Channel
I mean, obviously. If you’re making a slasher movie you’re immediately paying some sort of tribute to John Carpenter’s immortal classic Halloween. While I don’t think Fear Street feels particularly Halloween-y, the Halloween influences are there, particularly in the flashes of jumpsuited killer milkman Harry Rooker.
Happy Death Day
Where to Stream: FX Now
The second Christopher Landon movie on this list (after Freaky), Happy Death Day is a mash-up of slasher pic and time loop movie. Jessica Rothe (who is phenomenal here and should be in more things) is a smug college student who finds herself living the same day – her birthday – over and over again. That’s bad enough on its own, but to make matters worse, she finds herself targeted by a masked killer on that same day. I personally think the sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, is even better. But that movie leaves the slasher element (mostly) behind, so I’d say those looking for more Fear Street-like thrills should check out the first film.
Honeymoon
Where to Stream: Kanopy, Tubi
Before she made Fear Street, director Leigh Janiak burst onto the scene with Honeymoon. This nasty piece of work finds recently married couple Rose Leslie and Harry Treadaway having their honeymoon getaway go right to hell after a series of strange events. I’m being vague here because I’m pretty sure most people haven’t seen this one, and the less you know going in, the more effective Honeymoon ends up being.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Where to Stream: HBO Max
I Know What You Did Last Summer had the luck of both coming on the heels of Scream, and boasting the same screenwriter, Kevin Williamson. It’s not nearly as good, though. In fact, I’d say I Know What You Did Last Summer has aged rather poorly and only gotten worse with age. But because of its close proximity with Scream, it feels essential to the ’90s slasher revival boom, and thus, I’m adding it to this list. You know the story: terrible teens kill someone in a hit and run and then find themselves targeted by a killer in a rain slicker.
It
Where to Stream: HBO Max
Fear Street, which is ultimately the story of a cursed town and the generational tragedies that befall it, owes a huge debt to Stephen King’s It. Which makes the 2017 film adaptation from director Andy Muschietti perfect for this list. Here, a group of seven young friends finds themselves targeted by a supernatural clown with a hunger for the flesh of kids. Big, loud, and not afraid to wear its emotions on its sleeve, It is a damn fine adaptation. You should probably avoid It Chapter 2, though.
Monster House
Where to Stream: Netflix
A nice little Halloween treat, the animated Monster House may not have the best computer animation, but this movie has heart, damn it! A group of kids realize a scary-looking house in their town is actually alive – so what do they do? Go inside, of course. This one feels like it was pulled from the pages of Stine’s Goosebumps.
The New World
Where to Rent: Google Play, YouTube, Vudu ($2.99)
The New World is, obviously, not a horror movie. But director Leigh Janiak has said she drew upon the film when making Fear Street Part 3: 1666. And she’s not kidding, either – there are shots of nature here that look like they’re direct copies of scenes from Terrence Malick‘s masterpiece. Malick’s film is the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, and while it plays fast and loose with the facts, there’s a gorgeous realism to everything here, making this one of Malick’s best works. Best of all, this was still part of the period where Malick’s movies told stories instead of just acting as a collection of abstract scenes.
ParaNorman
Where to Stream: Netflix
ParaNorman, from the fine folks at Laika, almost feels like Fear Street For Kids. The story follows a kid who can see ghosts and how he and his friends set out to stop a curse in their town. Like Fear Street, the town’s curse is blamed on the actions of a witch – but there’s more to the story than meets the eye.
Scream
Where to Stream: HBO Max
Scream didn’t invent the slasher movie, but it certainly gave it a new lease on life. In the ’90s, slasher films were primarily considered (by non-horror fans, at least) to be bottom-of-the-barrel junk. Then along came Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson, who used the familiar tropes and trappings from the sub-genre and worked them into something immensely clever and entertaining. What’s your favorite scary movie?
Sleepaway Camp
Where to Stream: Shudder, Tubi
The very trashy summer camp slasher Sleepaway Camp is probably more famous (or really, infamous) for its shocking final twist. And I’m not going to give away that twist in case you haven’t seen it. Just know that it hasn’t exactly aged well! The plot, such as it is, has a young girl going off to summer camp where – wouldn’t ya know it? – people start turning up dead.
The Witch
Where to Stream: Showtime, Kanopy
One of the best horror movies of the 21st century, Robert Eggers‘ beautiful, haunting The Witch has a family in 1600s New England terrorized by dark forces lurking in the woods surrounding their home. Full of hysteria and supernatural dread, The Witch is a must-watch.
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