Netflix Horror Hit Return Confirmed By Creator
Many horror hounds grew up reading R.L. Stine, and his Goosebumps books became cultural touchstones for generations. Some fans wondered if the author still had some solid scares in him, and we got bloody confirmation in 2021 when Netflix loosely adapted three of his books (Fear Street: 1994, Fear Street: 1978, and Fear Street: 1666) into a terrifying trilogy, releasing one movie a week over the course of three weeks.
Nobody knew if the streamer would adapt more of Stine’s books, but the horror maestro took to X to confirm that his Fear Street book The Prom Queen is being adapted into a film.
That’s great news for horror fans, but it’s worth pointing out that Netflix is being a bit more modest in its approach this time. Instead of dropping a trio of R.L. Stine films onto fans in the course of a few weeks, the streamer is simply adapting the one book this time. However, if this movie should prove as successful (or even more successful) than the previous Fear Street films, then we are likely to see Netflix returning to the well for more of Stine’s unique brand of horror.
Some news that may have longtime fans of R.L. Stine’s works excited is that The Prom Queen is being directly adapted from the author’s novel of the same name. While the earlier Fear Street films were inspired by the author’s books, they weren’t based on any specific tales, and Netflix wasn’t afraid to tell their own (surprisingly good) horror story. Now that we know the next movie will be based on The Prom Queen, fans have the chance to dig out their childhood copy of the book for a literary preview of coming attractions.
Don’t worry: if you can’t find your old copy of this popular Fear Street book, we can give you a brief synopsis. The events of the book take place at Shadyside High School, where five lovely young women are vying for the title of prom queen. However, Lizzie McVay learns that someone is killing these would-be queens, and figuring out who the killer is will be the only way to save several lives, including her own.
While the motives of the killer are a bit different, the basic plot of this Fear Street book is likely to make longtime horror fans think of the film Prom Night. In that iconic Jamie Lee Curtis film, we follow a group of gals who just want to enjoy their senior prom. But when a masked killer comes looking for revenge over an accident from six years ago, the girls’ night to remember becomes a frantic fight for survival.
The prom theming may not be the most original idea, but R.L. Stine’s The Prom Queen was certainly a page-turner when we were reading it as children late at night by the faltering flashlight haze. Now that we are all grown up (just ignore the toys on our desk), we were happy to see the earlier trilogy of Fear Street films adapting Stine’s storytelling into something as gory and gruesome as any modern slasher. No need to wait for either prom night or The Prom Queen: for a lifetime of creeping us out, we’re happy to give R.L. Stine the crown for scream king.
