How Netflix turned the Fear Street trilogy into a summer movie

In order to keep its roles straight, Fear street star Kiana Madeira kept a big Five Star binder with her on set most of the time. As part of Netflix’s Experimental Slasher Trilogy, Madeira played two different roles in three films, each set in a different time frame. To make matters even more difficult, the schedule was incredibly compact: the three films were shot together in just a few months. His filing cabinet therefore played a crucial role. Inside were the three scripts, and she was writing in them constantly.

“Every time we finished a scene I would take notes on how it went, what my character was feeling, what I was feeling, what I think we ended up with in terms of tone and trajectory. of history, ”she says. “My workbook has really helped me stay organized and on this path.” The binder even remained in character; to accompany the 90s decor of the first film, she decorated it with images from old magazines.

Fear street represents something new to Netflix, a chance to merge the greedy nature of streaming TV with a summer horror movie. Based on RL Stine’s young adult book series, the films tell an interconnected story about a haunted city that spans generations, beginning in the 90s, before moving on to the 1970s and, finally, 1666. To make the trilogy an event, Netflix devised an interesting release strategy: New movies were released each week for three consecutive weeks throughout July, with the final chapter releasing today.

Image: Netflix

Leigh Janiak directed all three films and says she was first approached to work on a Fear street series in 2017. At the time, the idea was vague; the producers originally wanted to shoot a trilogy in one fell swoop and then release them in theaters within a year. Janiak was hired to help solidify the details of this vision. “It was really an exhaustive search to find the right person who had that clear vision, that work ethic and that ambition that can carry through a multi-year process,” says Fear street producer Kori Adelson.

Janiak says she was excited about the concept, but quickly realized the challenge: “I was like, ‘How the hell can we really do this? “I lived in these films for a good year and a half, two years, before I started filming,” she explains. This included creating a TV-style writer’s room, where a group worked out the plot and found ways to tie the three films together in a way that made sense. The main goal, she says, was to make sure each move could stand on its own while still working in the larger story arc.

“The most important thing I thought about was how to make an audience feel happy with every movie, while still wanting to know more in a way that they didn’t feel like it’s a trap. There was a lot of time to think about the end of the first and second films, ”says Janiak. “I didn’t want it to look like you must watch this next movie because you got no response.

All of this preparation and world-building came in handy when production started. All three films were shot over 106 days in Atlanta. Because some actors had recurring roles or played multiple characters, the movies were shot out of order in the name of efficiency: 1994 was done first, followed by 1666, so what 1978. The roles of Madeira were particularly important; she played the hero, Deena, in the 90s as well as a leading role in the 1600s. (To say more would be a spoiler.)

Part of that focus on efficiency meant being economical with things like reusing sets. As an example, there is a mall that features prominently in several films. It helped make visual parallels and connections between the different films, but also “created an effective production plan,” as Adelson describes. “It was actually very fluid considering everything we had to do,” adds Madeira.

It was an exhaustive process that often included shooting days that lasted 12 hours or more. But Madeira believes that being so immersed in the world and its characters has helped improve its performance. “I think because the experience was so condensed, and we turned them all back to back, we were right in it from start to finish,” she says. “We didn’t have time to verify the experience. I really managed to keep that intensity throughout, when I think if we had had some time in between, maybe I would have overthought it. We didn’t have time to do all of this. Janiak describes these few months as “like living in a black hole; there is no past, there is no future, there is only Fear street at the moment.”

The final piece of the puzzle was to find an exit strategy. Although initially slated for theaters, the trilogy was eventually picked up by Netflix, which created more opportunities to experiment. “It was very liberating to be in a place where they weren’t beholden to those old rules,” says Janiak. The idea was to create a moment using the seemingly disparate concepts of dating and overwatching. In practice, this meant giving each movie space, while also ensuring that viewers could jump to the next episode fairly quickly. “We thought a week was exactly the right time between movies where we could keep our momentum going but not cannibalize the movie before it did,” says Adelson.

As more companies branch out into streaming and the future of cinemas remains a question mark, it’s likely we’ll see similar types of experimentation for new movies and series. For Janiak, despite all the manufacturing work Fear street, this is something she would like to try again in the future.

“I’m not a mother myself, but other women I know have told me about labor and childbirth. It’s terrible, but then you have this kid and a week later you’re like, “Oh, I should do it again.” I feel like I’ve finished the work part now, and we’re in the first few weeks after that, ”she says. “It was really, really tough, but it was such a cool and fun opportunity that I probably would do it again. I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud. But yeah, I think I would.