Fear Street: Prom Queen Cast Takes Us Behind The Screams With Kills, Special Effects, and Easter Eggs
R.L. Stine first introduced us to the cursed town of Shadyside through the Fear Street books in 1989. We dove deeper into the twisted world through the Netflix film trilogy that explored the horrors each generation has dealt with. Now Fear Street: Prom Queen takes us to 1988 just in time for a killer prom season. Actors Suzanna Son, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, and Ariana Greenblatt spoke with Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado about horror kills, special effects, and Easter eggs.
Suzanna Son’s character Megan is an outcast with a passion for horror special effects. “Crazy,” she shared about what it was like bringing her brutal arm chopping scene to screen. “[It was] such a technical, fun moment. There's a tube going along my arm like this and it's taped and I had to hold it just like so and scream and somehow get in the frame. It was technically a little complicated, but also freeing because you're screaming and throwing an axe down. Everyone's energy helps me a lot because they'll push themselves back and start screaming. One kid threw up. Loved it. It just fills me up.”
So what’s the secret to the perfect horror movie scream? “It's already scary enough to have a day where you're like I have to scream today in front of a bunch of people on camera,” explained Son. “It's more embarrassing when an awkward sound comes out, so you might as well just go for it.”
While the Fear Street films from 2021 were inspired by Stine’s popular series, this will be the first one to adapt a specific book with 1992’s The Prom Queen. “There's definitely a certain respect that you have to give to [a] character because it's influenced so many people,” said David Iacono, who is no stranger to a book adaptation with roles in The Summer I Turned Pretty and Dead Boy Detectives. “With Tyler, it felt a little bit different because it didn't feel like it was such a direct translation. [It’s] more of an interpretation of the world. [...] Existing in this world that's been created is a big part of the job, especially when so many people are fans.”
Fear Street: Prom Queen marks Ariana Greenblatt’s first horror movie after starring in hits like Stuck In The Middle, Avengers: Infinity War, In The Heights, Barbie, and the upcoming Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. “Whoever the first person to die has that honor, for sure. Drew Barrymore definitely set that tone for whoever the first kill is — girl, boy — it is going to be iconic,” she shared about her character Christy taking on that iconic first kill role. “That's something I look for in all horror movies that I watch.”
“I've always loved horror movies,” Greenblatt continued. “I love all the tropes and the stereotypes and also the individuality that is placed in different movies. Depending on the filmmaker or the era, there's so many things that go into it. I just love a good scream. I love a good run, chasing scene. Then what's fun about this one is that it is camp. It's very humor forward. There's so much to look at constantly. I've seen it twice now and I pick up on something new every time. It's definitely a fun ride and I'm excited for everybody to see each kill. They're all creative and cool.”
Meanwhile, Ella Rubin is still “pinching” herself over the fact that she is leading two horror movies just weeks apart with Until Dawn and Fear Street: Prom Queen. “There's this real emphasis in film […] on subtlety and pulled back performances, which is totally great and valid. What's so incredible about horror is you almost can't do too much. If you're being chased by a murderer, there's nothing to hold back […] It’s a full body, full throttle, just intense, like throwing yourself at the wall kind of thing,” she shared, with Greenblatt chiming in: “It's the most human reaction possible.”
Her character Clover in Until Dawn is a “subdued, grieving, struggling person” who is “surrounded by really supportive friends who are helping her traverse this really horrendous grief,” which is the polar opposite of Melissa in Fear Street who is “desperate for approval.” The It crew she is a part of is a “very cutthroat, dark friend group where it's mostly about competition.”
When it came to preparing for big kill scenes, Rubin said she was “so lucky to work with both those filmmakers.” “When it's well written, for me at least, I kind of black out when I'm doing a scene like that and throw myself at it as much as possible,” she shared. “There's a lot of physical preparation. For Until Dawn, I trained. So much running. It was like so much running.”
One of the funniest moments on the Fear Street: Prom Queen set? “Sometimes, when a murder would happen early on in a scene, the actor would have to stay murdered for maybe like a month or more. That's funny,” laughed Son, with Iacono adding: “Our friend Brennan [Clost] was like… I won’t say what happened to him, but he had to be like on the floor for like a week. Poor dude.”
There are even nods to the Fear Street trilogy and other horror films that the cast hopes audiences catch. “There's a moment where the Wolfpack are watching Phantasma II in the movie theater. The character gets stabbed in the head and he falls back really slowly,” said Iacono. “Then later on, I won't say who, but another character also gets stabbed in the head and it kind of mimics that same scene. I didn't know that was happening in the movie, so I felt like that was a really nice nod to horror fans.”
And don’t miss the end credits scene that teases something a bit… supernatural. Could it tie back to the greater Fear Street world or introduce something new? “I love both of those options. That's cool. I haven't heard either way, but I'd be open to it,” said Son, with Iaono adding: “I love that little bit and just how subtle it was, how quick it was, how it doesn't hold your hand at all. It's just like, oh yeah, this is happening and I think that's pretty cool when it's left up to interpretation.”
Fear Street: Prom Queen is streaming on Netflix.
