WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fear Street Part 1: 1994 and Fear Street Part 2: 1978, now streaming on Netflix.
Netflix's Fear Street is a series of three horror films centered on the small town of Shadyside, which is ensnared by a witch's curse, across three time periods (1994, 1978 and 1666). With Fear Street Part 3: 1666 premiering July 16, star Kiana Madeira (who plays main character Deena) discussed the experience of shooting all three films back to back to back.
"It was a big undertaking for everyone but we were so blessed with such an amazing group of people surrounding us," Madeira told Newsweek. "We had a specific plan of how we would execute [the films] and I think sticking to our plan, and just bringing our joy and our passion every day to work really made it possible." The films were achronologically shot in Atlanta over 106 days (roughly six months), with Part 1: 1994 being filmed first, followed by Part 3: 1666 and Part 2: 1978. This schedule allowed the films to accommodate overlapping actors — Part 3: 1666 combines the casts from Part 1: 1994 and Part 2: 1978.
While the tight filming schedule left little time for having a personal life, it helped Madeira understand her character better. "I didn't have that big chunk of time with my personal life and being a little detached from my character. I was just in it the whole time, which really helped me as an actor." Her character Deena is one of only three characters that appear in all three Fear Street films. The story of the first film sees Deena and her friends trying to survive a hoard of possessed spree killers. The second movie finds Deena trying to save her girlfriend Sam (Olivia Scott Welch) from the witch's curse.
Part 2: 1978 ends with Deena transported back in time to 1666, opening the door for the third film to explore the history of Shadyside and the witch herself, Sarah Fier. Madeira discussed how different the filming was for Part 3: 1666: "In a way, it was like we were moving on to a completely different project, which is such a blessing, because as an actor, you know, we just got to do so much." She elaborated further, "We were really outside in the elements in the summer in Georgia. So there were so many things that made it feel so different."
With the conclusion of Part 2: 1978, many questions remain unanswered. But according to Madeira, the final film will provide answers to these mysteries. "I'm most excited for audiences to see [Part 3: 1666] because really only when you see the third film, you get get the whole picture of what's going on."
The Fear Street trilogy also stars Sadie Sink, Benjamin Flores Jr., Darrell Britt-Gibson, Ashley Zukerman, Fred Hechinger, Julia Rehwald, Jeremy Ford and Gillian Jacobs. Part One: 1994 and Part Two: 1978 are available to stream on Netflix, while Part Three: 1666 will be premiere on July 16.
Source: Newsweek