Phantasm II Featured In Netflix’s Fear Street: Prom Queen
Shadyside Prom got a surprise guest: Don Coscarelli’s 1988 classic, Phantasm II, just made a killer cameo in Netflix’s 80s slasher throwback, Fear Street: Prom Queen! Fear Street: Prom Queen is packed with 80s horror nods and Phantasm II is the ultimate 80s horror flick.
R.L. Stine, the prolific author behind the beloved Goosebumps series, also terrified generations of young adults with Fear Street, which launched in 1989. This edgier series, set in the cursed town of Shadyside, explored darker themes and more violent horror.
Fear Street: Prom Queen, one of the many installments, sees the coveted high school honor become a deadly game as candidates are stalked and murdered. The story taps into classic slasher tropes, focusing on the mystery of the killer's identity amidst the backdrop of intense teenage rivalries and the desperate fight for survival on what should be a night of celebration.
You first see Phantasm II listed on the theater marquee:
What we would give for a time machine to see this on a theatermarquee on main street again!
The film plays a central role as the characters watch the iconic Sphere Kill from P2 up on the big screen:
One of the iconic scenes from PHANTASM 2! The Sphere Kill…
Movie news site Den Of Geek had a great commentary on the inclusion:
“Right before the first kill of Fear Street: Prom Queen, viewers get a montage of sounds and images appropriate to the movie’s 1988 setting. Accompanied by Billy Idol’s “White Wedding,” we see mean girl Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza) prepping for prom, cool girl Christy Renault (Ariana Greenblatt) buying drugs, and protagonist Lori Granger (India Fowler) trying on her dress. Included in this sequence is a shot of moviegoers watching Phantasm II, the cult classic from director Don Coscarelli. Onscreen, we see one of that ’80s film’s standout scenes, where flying silver balls launched by the evil Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) soar across a hallway before lodging into the head of a victim.
By this point, such homages are an expected part of the Fear Street franchise, based on the YA novels by R.L. Stine. The first three movies, all directed by Leigh Janiak, feature multiple references to previous horror movies. But the Phantasm II nod in Prom Queen does more than provide further watch suggestions for Fear Street‘s intended audience, young teens new to the horror genre. It also points to the important fundamentals of horror filmmaking, which is something sometimes lost in the more frantic original trilogy. As in Coscarelli’s movie, Prom Queen uses a deliberate pace and clear spacial arrangement to make its kills legible, thereby heightening the experience beyond jump scares and references.
It makes for a better horror experience.”
So, Phantasm II's spot in Fear Street: Prom Queen is a win. As the tagline says, "The Ball Is Back" —its legacy keeps rolling, piercing new generations. The Tall Man’s influence, it seems, is inescapable. BOOOOY!
