Director: Leigh Janiak

Starring: Kiana Madeira, Ashley Zukerman, Gillian Jacobs, Olivia Scott Welch, Benjamin Flores Jr.

Rating: ★★★★

Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy has come to a close with 1666. After going back to the 1970s last week with a Friday the 13^th inspired slasher, this time we are taken back even further to the origins of Sarah Fier in 1666. Previously we had only been given glimpses of where it all started, and now we finally get some answers and it’s one hell of a pay-off. The conclusion to the ambitious trilogy, based on teen horror books by R. L. Stine, lives up to the expectations the previous ones set and exceeds them. This is a seriously great horror film and a contender for best horror film of the year.

After the conclusion of 1978, Deena has travelled back in time and lives Sarah’s origin story from inside her head. Travelling back to 1666, the film can’t rely on pop culture references or music from that time, instead there is a subtle and foreboding score, with heavy and screeching violins. It builds up tension perfectly. Sarah Fier seems like a normal teenager in a small town, that will one day become Shadyside, she seems to be living a mostly happy life. That is until a curse is placed upon the town. The settlers turn into a frenzy, not knowing what to blame but believing it’s the devil. They turn their anger and rage towards Sarah Fier and her partner, Hannah Miller. Believing their love to have brought the curse and calling them witches.

There are so many twists and turns throughout Fear Street Part three. The story is compelling and interesting. The lore this series has built up over the trilogy really pays off in this one, there are moments that will surprise you. Even though this one is the longest of the three, it doesn’t feel it. Most of the film is set in 1666 before the film jumps back to 1994 to bring conclusion to the over arching story of the trilogy. It keeps the pace up and the change in time gives the film a boost, not that it needed it.

While the first and second parts of the trilogy felt tonally identical, one moving to the next seamlessly, this one is darker. The main story in 1666 is more grounded and less of a slasher and more of a chilling thriller. It still has some gruesome moments, but these aren’t overstated. The scene in the church is horrific, but you don’t see anything happen, just the aftermath. The frenzy of the settlers feels real and is scarier that most of the first two combined. It feels all to relevant to today how people can get worked up over misinformation and lies.

Much like the trilogy so far, part three, is a very well produced film. The set designs, especially in the past, look great. The costumes are all believable. The score is excellent and the performances all work. Once we get back to 1994 it does start to seep back into the formula that the first 2 followed, with music and bright colours. It still looks good and it’s still entertaining.

Fear Street as a trilogy is great. Each film stands alone as really good horror films and join together to create one of the most ambitious horror trilogies of recent memory. It’s a gamble and it pays off. Part three is a fantastic film and a worthy ending to the trilogy.