Netflix’s summer trilogy event, Fear Street, comes to a close with the final part in the series turning the clock back 300 years. The origins of the witch Sarah Fier and the curse that has plagued the town of Shadyside for so long are finally revealed. Fear Street Part 3: 1666 turns its back on impressing the scary movies of old by trying to pave its own way, and carve out a spot in the horror hall of fame.
Written by Alex Gilston
Fear Street Part 3: 1666 takes us all the way back to the beginning of the story. Deena gets transported back to an early American settlement and into the body of Sarah Fier. The ensemble cast is filled with familiar faces from the first two films. All playing fellow settlers alongside Kiana Madeira (Deena in Part 1 and 2) who plays Sarah Fier. Ultimately this creative decision pays off as it makes unfamiliar territory feel less so. This helps the story, which is arguably the most important aspect of this final film, a lot easier to follow.
Leigh Janiak strips back the heavy gore from the first two films in favour of some expositional story telling, and although it's necessary it feels like it started to lose its footing ever so slightly. But the change in genre once again from slasher to more supernatural folk horror is dealt with in the same vein as it was between Parts 1 and 2.
The final act, without giving too much away, is where Part 3 steers back into the right direction and truly storms past the finish line. The stakes are well and truly felt as the events of all 3 parts are finally tied together. If you have followed the previous films, Part 3 is like a gift. Little hints and clues that are dropped throughout the trilogy are finally paid off in satisfying ways and the ending feels well earned.
It was easy to compare the first two instalments of the Fear Street trilogy to films like, Scream, and Friday the 13th, and Part 1 and 2 did well to emulate the feeling of them without being too similar. They actually ended up being more of a celebration of the impact they have had on the horror genre even up until the present day. But what is so impressive about the final part of the series is that it paves its own way, and in doing so gives us an enjoyable conclusion to what has been the most surprising set of flicks of 2021 so far. To make three films that are all wildly different but are connected, and are of the same high quality is a hard task. But Leigh Janiak should be happy in the thought that she succeeded.
Fear Street is a huge book series, so might we return to Shadyside, once more, in the future? Only time will tell, but the trilogy has proven that a trip back could be desirable.
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