‘Fear Street’ on Netflix is so, so Good!

Hey Creepy Catalogers,

Last week Netflix dropped the first installment of their Fear Street trilogy and it was an absolute breath of fresh air. Even though the film is about the iconic R.L. Stine books that have been around for decades, the movie didn’t feel old at all. I am IN LOVE with the 1990s setting. The moody 90’s music is perfect for horror and the grunge fashion is everything I want to be post-pandemic. I wasn’t sure what to think since Netflix didn’t have a lot of fanfare leading up to these movies, but Fear Street Part One: 1994 was one of my favorite Netflix releases ever! And it’s just beginning.

What’s streaming this weekend:

This weekend, part two of the Fear Street trilogy drops on Netflix. The first movie introduced Deena and Josh Johnson, a brother and sister living in the “murder capital of the world”, Shadyside, Ohio, home of the fictional Fear Street. The two realize that all of the murders in Shadyside are connected to a local urban legend about a real witch named Sarah Fier who now has her sights set on Deena’s girlfriend Sam. Part two goes back in time to a previous mass murder in Shadyside, the Camp Nightwing massacre of 1978. It looks fantastic:

If you found the first movie surprisingly awesome as well, the New York Times has a cool article about why it feels both familiar and refreshing. (Hint: we, as a species, will never surpass mall life as a cultural achievement).

Midsommar (2019). Streaming on Prime. In honor of this insanely interesting Midsommar trivia article we published this week and the fact that the film is inexplicably still streaming for free on Amazon Prime, it’s a good weekend to watch one of my all time favorite horror movies. Here’s a little teaser: pay special attention to the scene where Dani is being lifted on a platform and walked towards the feast. Do you notice anything appear in the woods?

The Strangers (2008). Streaming on Netflix. One of the best summer horror movies and worth a watch before any cabin trip. This was just added to Netflix in July and the sequel, Strangers: Prey at Night (2018), is also on the service.

Horror news

Here’s what’s happening in the world of horror movies/TV:

• ICYMI the trailer for Halloween Kills is finally out!
• It sounds like they’re remaking the Disney movie Smart House but as a horror thriller called Margeaux.
• Hannah MacPherson” (T@gged) is directing a new movie from the writer and director behind Freaky (2021) called Time Cut which she describes as “Back to the Future meets Scream.” This is kind of funny because previously critics described Happy Death Day (2017), (in the same universe as Freaky and Time Cut) as “Groundhog Day meets Scream”.
• One of my favorite mystery writers, Ruth Ware, optioned her book The Turn of the Key for film production. The story is inspired by The Turn of the Screw but it takes place at a fancy, high-tech English country home which is much cooler. It will make a creepy enough movie but I’m still dying to see if Ware’s adaptation of In a Dark, Dark Wood ever makes it out of development hell. Reese Witherspoon acquired the rights in 2015. She’d make the perfect Claire!!!
• Horror movies and TV added to Netflix in July 2021.
• Full list of upcoming horror movies releasing soon.

Link library

My favorite creepy reads of the week:

• A chilling longread about the bonkers identity of one woman’s stalker, known as “The Poet”
• “My Grandfather Worked At An Insane Asylum And I Found His Personal Logs Dating Back To 1902“
• A decades long mystery in Canada, the identity of “Septic Tank Sam” has been solved
• The real reason Disney stopped selling The Rescuers VHS in 1999
• In the run up to the 2016 election this bonkers story about a Florida family being attacked by 20 kids in clown masks got lost

Happy streaming and stay spooky!