Summary

• Fear Street 4 is reviving an old horror trend that started with Stephen King's movie Carrie.
• A prom is a perfect horror movie setting, offering tension and no way out for characters.
• Fear Street 4 isn't a sequel to the trilogy, and it's based on R.L. Stine's The Prom Queen book.

More details about Netflix’s the curse of Sarah Fier, and a series of mysterious murders. Thanks to the success of the trilogy, the world of Fear Street is now expanding with a fourth movie.

In 2023, Netflix announced the official title for the project, Fear Street: The Prom Queen, along with the cast, which includes India Fowler, Chris Klein, Lili Taylor, and Katherine Waterston, and director Matt Palmer. Fear Street 4 will be set in 1988, confirming that it’s not a continuation of the first trilogy, and it will follow the It Girls who want to be prom queen. Thanks to this, Fear Street 4 is reviving an old horror trend that started with a Stephen King movie.

Fear Street 4 Is A Prom Horror Movie - Which Carrie Perfected

Carrie Was Key In The History Of Prom Horror Movies.

Carrie tells the story of Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), a 16-year-old shy and quiet girl who lives with her fanatically religious and unstable mother.

Proms as the main setting of horror movies are not uncommon and have been used in the genre for decades, but the movie that perfected it was Carrie. Based on Stephen King’s 1974 novel of the same name, Carrie was released in 1976 and was directed by Brian de Palma. Carrie tells the story of Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), a 16-year-old shy and quiet girl who lives with her fanatically religious and unstable mother, Margaret (Piper Laurie). Because of this, Carrie is a loner and is bullied by her classmates, and she’s also oblivious to a lot of things that teenagers go through.

After an incident at gym class where Carrie got her first period and her classmates made fun of her, her longtime bully Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen) plotted her revenge against Carrie. With the help of her boyfriend, she killed pigs to drain their blood into a bucket, which they would pour all over Carrie when she was crowned Prom Queen. Unfortunately, Chris’ plan succeeded and she publicly humiliated Carrie at prom, who unleashed Carrie's telekinesis and rage at Chris and the rest of the students.

Carrie is Stephen King’s first published novel, the first of his works to be adapted to film, and the one with more than one adaptation.

Carrie is considered as the best prom night horror movie, and as such, it inspired many others to follow its steps.

Carrie perfected the prom horror movie by having the prom being the place where the climax happens, without it taking over other areas of the story. Carrie is considered as the best prom night horror movie, and as such, it inspired many others to follow its steps. Among the most notable prom movies in the horror genre is 1980’s Prom Night, which follows a masked killer who stalks a group of teenagers as they prepare for their prom night. A modern example is Jennifer’s Body, which has now become a cult classic, but all of them owe a lot to Carrie.

Prom Night got a remake/reboot in 2008, but it holds a horrific 9% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Why Fear Street 4 Being Set At Prom Is So Exciting

A Prom Is A Perfect Setting For A Horror Movie

A prom is a contained setting for a horror story, thus enhancing the tension and giving a sense of there being no way out.

The Fear Street trilogy took a lot of inspiration from different horror movies, such as Scream, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Sleepaway Camp, and more, so it’s quite fitting that Fear Street 4 is taking inspiration from prom horror movies. A prom might not seem like a setting for a horror movie, but it actually has a lot of potential for good horror, generous amounts of blood, smart commentary, and more. A prom is a contained setting for a horror story, thus enhancing the tension and giving a sense of there being no way out.

Carrie, Prom Night, and other prom horror movies have proven that this seemingly innocent and safe event is a great scenario for a horror story, and thanks to it being a school event, it makes way for commentary on topics like bullying, discrimination, violence, and more. A prom setting will help Fear Street 4 stand out from the previous movies and be its own thing, even if it could potentially bring back characters from the trilogy.

Everything Else We Know About Fear Street 4

Fear Street 4 Isn’t A Sequel To Fear Street Part 3: 1666.

Just like the trilogy, Fear Street 4 is based on one of Stine’s books, this time The Prom Queen.

Aside from its cast, director, and title, little is known about Fear Street: The Prom Queen so far. Just like the trilogy, Fear Street 4 is based on one of Stine’s books, this time The Prom Queen, but it’s unclear how loyal to the book the movie will be. The plot description given by Netflix reveals Fear Street 4 will see the girls competing for the title of Prom Queen until an outsider gets nominated and the girls start mysteriously disappearing. Fear Street: The Prom Queen will start filming on March 25, 2024, but it doesn’t have a release date yet.