Fear Street Part Two: 1978
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): July 9, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
IndieWireSteve GreeneJul 7, 2021
The surprise isn’t that it deviates from the groundrules set out in the film before it, or even the scores of horror films from in and around the decade in which it’s set. It’s that when Fear Street: 1978 is given the opportunity to fulfill the promises it’s made for itself, it does so unreservedly, with a clear sense of purpose. Read full review
80
The GuardianBenjamin LeeJul 7, 2021
Netflix’s flashy RL Stine trilogy continues with a darker Friday the 13th-aping horror that brings more shocking gore and excellent performances. Read full review
70
PolygonToussaint EganJul 9, 2021
The gratifications of Fear Street: 1978 are not in its few surprises, but in its continued exploration of the history and dynamics of two social-stratified communities separated along the fault lines of unexplained affluence and inexplicable horror. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesMichael OrdoñaJul 8, 2021
Fear Street Part 2: 1978 is no classic, but it’s a clear improvement on “1994,” with more tension and excitement (and generous gore). Read full review
70
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaJul 7, 2021
Fear Street Part 2 also thrives once it really gets going. There’s a certain rough patch at the start that the film thankfully shrugs off, eventually sucking us into its night-dark story of doomed youth. A potential – and potentially questionable – romance that blooms between Ziggy and Nick Goode (Ted Sutherland), the boy destined to grow up and be sheriff, is charming in its clumsiness. A side character like punk rocker counselor Alice (Ryan Simpkins) seems annoying at first, only to blossom into someone we’re actively rooting for. After two films, the real strength of Fear Street is in its characters, not its scares. No one is expendable meat here – but that doesn’t mean they won’t get ground up in the end. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterLovia GyarkyeJul 7, 2021
Despite the sometimes tedious pacing and repetitive script, it’s a classic-feeling slasher that delights in gore — think Friday the 13th — and an affirming example of Janiak’s confidence behind the camera. Read full review
70
IGNKristy PuchkoJul 7, 2021
While Fear Street Part 2: 1978 still offers some thrills, it's not a cut above its predecessor. Read full review
69
Paste MagazineJim VorelJul 7, 2021
In the moment, what it does do well is tease the increasingly metaphysical conclusion that is swiftly approaching, which looks to shed some of the “slasher movie” trappings and embrace the idea of a supernatural evil that resonates and repeats across centuries and generations of lives. Here’s hoping that the Fear Street trilogy can stick the landing. Read full review
67
The PlaylistAnya StanleyJul 19, 2021
Fear Street Part Two: 1978 repeatedly gets bogged down by its music and the atmosphere but earns its rightful place alongside the sleepaway camps and the crystal lakes. Janiak delivers all of the vicious fun of its slice and dice predecessors, with the bonus of characters who matter as they search for their own exits—from danger and themselves. Read full review
60
VarietyMichael NordineJul 7, 2021
Fear Street in general and the 1978 chapter in particular are at their best when forging their own path, which makes it a shame when they’re too reluctant to walk it. Read full review
60
EmpireIan FreerJul 7, 2021
A darker middle act, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 lacks the verve of 1994 but still delivers enjoyable summer camp-based bedlam. Next up: 1666. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Jul 7, 2021
The kills come and go with a perfunctory swiftness that suggests a condescension to the material, not a genuine affection for it. That’s why the gore feels like scant reward: There’s plenty of blood but no heart put into pumping it. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreJul 9, 2021
There’s a perfunctory quality to the situations and performances, the dialogue and the “terror,” cribbed from scores of “kids killed at camp” thrillers. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comNick AllenJul 8, 2021
Leigh Janiak's Fear Street Part Two: 1978 has more slasher thrills, but the fun of this series that makes it Halloween in July returns with an overly serious face, resembling something of a killjoy. Read full review
50
Screen RantMolly FreemanJul 7, 2021
Fear Street Part 2: 1978 is a fun enough riff on 70s slashers, but works better as the middle chapter in Netflix's horror movie trilogy. Read full review
45
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzJul 7, 2021
If you’re going to make a movie in which a psycho slices away at both campers and counsellors in direct homage to the age of Jason Voorhees, you need to go scuzzy or go home. A proper slasher movie should make you want to take a shower. Here, I felt sparkling clean. Read full review
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