Netflix’s Fear Street saga has been the horror event of the summer, capturing nostalgic fans and new viewers alike. Director Leigh Janik’s trilogy offered teen thrills and chills, fun throwback horror, and interweaving stylistic tales of terror spanning multiple sub-genres. With the week-by-week film release now concluded, fans understandably want more. While the core trilogy and many supplemental books by R.L. Stine are an obvious way to get more paranormal adventures in Shadyside, there are many films and TV series that are similar in tone, themes, and subject matter that can offer that fix of adjacent horrors for those craving more.
The Queen of Black Magic (2019)
Adult adoptive brothers Hanif (Ario Bayu), Anton (Tanta Ginting), and Jefri (Miller Khan) return with their families to their childhood home, an orphanage full of dark secrets. As layers of the past are slowly unveiled, they are forced to face the malicious, vengeful spirit that seeks to trap and punish them. This Indonesian horror film, loosely based on the 1981 film of the same title, is a roller coaster ride of atmospheric, beautifully grotesque, and haunting horror storytelling. It constantly evolves, revealing more layers of human tragedy and righteous evil, building gripping suspense throughout, and keeping you guessing along the way.
While tonally far grittier and more adult, The Queen of Black Magic’s subject matter and themes are akin to those in Fear Street, particularly the exploration of condemning what one doesn’t understand, and the true source of human evil being exposed in time. Like Fear Street, possession, witchcraft, human sacrifice, and a cursed location are key focuses that are explored wonderfully. The film takes its time, allowing the suspense, intrigue, and mystery to build. Once the second act begins, it’s a ferocious and wild ride of multi-dimensional horror, depicting both supernatural and man-bred horror.
The Queen of Black Magic offers intensely creepy and effective body horror, featuring horribly contorting bodies, self-mutilation, ghastly infections that attack from within, and perhaps worst of all, losing control of oneself. Additionally, the film offers an incredibly haunting and brutal look at the true harm of body dysphoria and the hate we allow societal expectations to influence within ourselves. Most importantly, it shows how silencing and sweeping evils under the rug can only manifest in a greater, uncontrollable force of hellacious vengeance.
Gretel & Hansel (2020)
In this spin on the classic fairy tale, Gretel & Hansel simultaneously delivers a nightmarish vision of terror and an empowering coming of age film. Desperate to find a way to survive without being at the mercy of a cruel husband, Gretel (Sophia Lillis) takes her brother, Hansel (Samuel Leakey), into the woods to try to find work, food, and shelter. While it initially seems as if her wish has been granted, Gretel soon realizes she’s walked into a trap. Now, Gretel must find a way to survive the control of a powerful, malevolent witch (Alice Krige) who seeks to conform her.
Gretel & Hansel is a hauntingly beautiful, visually striking film that fans of Fear Street: 1666 will appreciate. While it does feel uneven at times, the merits far outweigh the flaws. The mix of classic and modern styles come together to offer a relatable and gripping film about resisting the box society places women in. The film evolves throughout, showing us crucial chapters in this young woman’s journey towards freedom and self-discovery. The most haunting moments are when the witch gets inside Gretel’s head, creating an ethereal nightmarish vision. As the witch digs her claws deeper into Gretel, you almost want to see the witch succeed, simply to see what it might awaken in Gretel. In the end, Gretel is a likeminded spirit to Fear Street’s Sarah Fier (Elizabeth Scopel), unconventional, brave, and fierce, who ultimately fights against the evil that plagues her land. Krige gives us an utterly commanding presence and a wicked, complex portrayal of the witch that is equally malevolent and intriguing. Lillis offers just the right amount of vulnerability and fire that really powers the material and makes you completely invested in her journey. Gretel & Hansel is an underrated and beautifully crafted dark fairy tale about truly finding yourself, acknowledging the light and dark within, and thriving in that messy and complicated nature of your authentic self.
Light as a Feather (2018-2019)
Light as a Feather is a compelling teen horror series that focuses on a deadly curse plaguing and utterly isolating our young protagonists, offering a fitting follow-up binge for Fear Street fans hungering for more cyclical teen terrors. Violet (Haley Ramm) convinces a new group of friends to play what seems like a harmless game of “light as a feather, stiff as a board.” During the game, each girl levitates while a detailed vision of their death is crafted by the others. When one of the girls dies shortly after their game in the exact same way, the other girls begin fearing for their lives and fighting for answers on what is happening to them. They dig deeper into this curse, steeped in supernatural forces, trauma, and a parasitic infection that can be passed on, but not broken. Can they really condemn another to the same fate as them or face inevitable death?
Light as a Feather’s inspirations include Pretty Little Liars, The Craft, and Final Destination while having a spin and identity all its own. The show fell under the radar while it was airing and is still an underappreciated, juicy and exhilarating twisted horror tale. While it initially seems like it’s going to be along the lines of mean girl horror, it escalates and becomes something much deeper—and more terrifying. The series crafts a haunting look at death as an all-powerful entity from which there is no escape. It also explores personal tragedy, primal fears, and empathetic vs. survivalist mentalities that can both save you and destroy you in their own ways. At only 26 episodes total, Light as a Feather is a gripping tale of a deadly game and what it takes to stand against death and an unrelenting curse that demands to be fed.
You Might Be the Killer (2018)
During a summer camp massacre, camp counselor, Sam (Fran Kranz), calls his horror guru friend, Chuck (Alyson Hannigan) in a panic, believing she can help him sort through the blocks in his memory and help him survive the night. She questions him, getting him to uncover more details on the horror that surrounds him. He’s covered in someone else’s blood, has been suffering sporadic black outs, and the mask and killer’s signature blade are in his bag. Chuck helps him come to the obvious conclusion that “you might be the killer.”
You Might be the Killer is a smart, stylistic, and gory meta horror film. With 80s-centric summer camp slaying, heavy 90s style, and a mask that possesses and compels one to kill, You Might Be the Killer shares many similarities with the Fear Street saga and offers an equally fun ride. It’s a love letter to horror fans, the slasher sub-genre, and the many ferocious and beloved horror tropes and archetypes. The road paved by previous slasher classics, especially Scream as arguably the most iconic meta ‘homage horror’ slasher film, is treated as gospel. When Sam is told he must fight and likely die by the hands of the final girl, it’s because “those are the rules”. Hannigan is fantastic as Chuck, the horror fanatic version of her beloved Buffy The Vampire Slayer character, Willow, honoring the genre and schooling the troubled Sam. The acting and energy really fuel this one and make it enjoyable even among some repetitiveness and predictability. You Might be the Killer is a lesser known, low budget but incredibly fun horror throwback that is tonally quite similar to Fear Street, particularly Part Two: 1978, and offers a thrilling blood-soaked ride.
Freaky (2020)
Freaky opens on an intoxicating horror homage complete with campfire tales, a masked killer showing up, deliciously brutal kills, and a dedication to slasher villains that came before. From there, the infamous Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn) steals a mystical Mayan blade, which he uses on his next attempted victim, the unsuspecting and empathetic teenager, Millie (Kathryn Newton). Except he doesn’t manage to kill her; the blade swaps their bodies, and they awaken with their worlds turned upside down. Soon after, Millie learns that if they don’t switch their souls back within 24 hours, they will be stuck this way forever.
Freaky is admittedly more or less the horror version of Freaky Friday, but it doesn’t rest on that laurel. It gives us rich, witty, and realistic dialogue from multi-dimensional characters you instantly care about. Newton and Vaugh give incredible performances that are a pleasure to watch, offering constant laughs and heightened stakes. Still, they aren’t just a joke; they truly embody both the demented, calculating killer and the sheep-turned-righteous-defender. Freaky could have easily been merely a gimmick film, but it proves to be much more. It is stylistic, smart, funny, and digs into trauma while igniting one’s inner strength and spirit in equal measure.
In style, tone, and content Freaky is a perfect companion piece to Fear Street. Even the film’s setting, a small-town called Blissfield, feels adjacent to the idyllic Sunnyside while having the bloody history of Shadyside. The fun, teen-scream throwback style, the re-occurring killing over generations, and the fate of the town being up to a group of young adults also offers like-minded content to Fear Street, while still offering something new. Freaky is an all-around solid horror-comedy that gives us realistic characters, captivating turns, and makes us care about the characters thrown into this fantastic, sadistic body swap horror story. It's currently streaming on HBO Max.
.jpeg?q=50&fit=crop&w=900&h=560&dpr=1.5)
