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An interconnected story told across three films, Leigh Janiaks trilogy adapted R.L.
This wasnt always the plan.
By the end of August, the films were in postproduction and the merger had closed.
Everyone was tentatively hopeful that a big-screen release would happen the following summer.
Then the pandemic hit, andFear Streetfell off Disneys theatrical calendar.
These movies werent Disney movies, says executive producer Kori Adelson.
And we were never going to neuter them to satisfy their brand goals.
SomeGoosebumpsfans will rememberFear Streetas the grislier precursor series aimed at young-adult readers specifically, young women.
Adelson estimates she had at least 70 on her shelf.
They were a whole generations introduction into horror, she says.
It represented a really dark side of our culture that didnt resonate with me at all.
Adelson saw inFear Streetthe potential for a uniquely self-referential throwback.
And so she tweeted at Stine, asking after the rights.
Early on, Adelson and Stine had been excited by the prospect of mounting a trilogy of films.
To accomplish this, Adelson needed a director who loved slashers as deeply as she did.
She and Janiak met to discuss the overarchingFear Streetmythology.
That point of view immediately informed the building of this mythology.
Janiak came in with a pitch for the mythology that split the difference between film and television.
Janiak spared no expense to convince Adelson and Chernin that she could take on the work.
She created mixtapes for every character and put together a 70-page look book.
She emerged as the only person that could actually carry this, Adelson says.
And soFear Streetproceeded under Janiaks vision, which evolved with each entry, filmed back-to-back throughout a 106-day production.
The pace was breakneck, she admits.
As her ax murderer stalks Camp Nightwing, Janiaks hat-tips become playfully fluid.
Despite this thematic weight, though, the films are light on their feet.
Its still brutal, but theres a snow-globe feeling to the violence, says Janiak.
With the 70s, we were able to take it up a notch.
I was just like, More fucking blood.
Whats the point of running up a body count if all of its just spectacle?
Theyre not fully necessarily ready to accept who they are.
They were written mostly for teenage girls, he explains.
But the fans read that into it.
The possibilities are endless.
It feels very freeing.
