Fear Street Part 3: 1666 – Review – A Fun End to the Ambitious Horror Trilogy

Quick thoughts: – B+ – Fear Street Part 3: 1666 proves that horror trilogies can end strongly, and hopefully director Leigh Janiak will move on to higher profile jobs after her success.

After enjoying the first two installments of the Leigh Janiak (watch Honeymoon!) directed Fear Street films, it was a bit disconcerting to know that it was going back in time to discover the origin of the evil witch Sarah Fier. Movies like Hannibal Rising, Halloween (2007), The Thing (2011) have gone back in time to discover the origin of evil, and they’ve felt completely unnecessary because they explain what doesn’t need to be explained. However, any worries were dashed as Fear Street Part 3: 1666 has some fun tricks up its sleeve, and it ends with an extremely entertaining finale that will leave a smile on your face. The movie does an excellent job of going back in time to solve the Sarah Fier mystery, and that should be applauded as it’s quite daring and inspired. The twist on the witch trials of the 1600s is neat (and brutal), and it ties together everything that follows.

Most importantly, the movie brings back Kiana Madeira, Gillian Jacobs, Benjamin Flores Jr.,  Darrell Britt-Gibson (watch You’re the Worst) and Fred Hechinger for more horror shenanigans. One of the main strengths of the series is putting new faces on the screen, sure the actors have appeared in other shows, but this trilogy will hopefully propel some of the young actors into bigger and better roles.

Fear Street Part 3: 1666 is an interesting watch as the glossy digital cinematography by Caleb Heymann (Stranger Things, The Mortuary Collection) is combined with shots of dead children who’ve had their eyes ripped out. While the violence isn’t exactly graphic, and is aided by CGI, it comes across as more startling as the sharp digital frames play on the screen. It’s compelling to watch, as characters are ripped apart in bright HD, because you’re almost lured into thinking it’s going to be Stranger Things-esque (lots of the Stranger Things crew worked on this), but then someone is stabbed in the throat. Between this trilogy and The Mortuary Collection (watch it on Shudder), the world now has some slick looking horror that is geared towards teenagers looking to get into the genre. 

Final Thoughts: If you are looking for a horror trilogy that sticks the landing, check the Fear Street trilogy.