Fear Street Part One: 1994: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for strong bloody violence, drug content, language and some sexual content.
A gory, foul-mouthed slasher with a teen cast, loosely based on R.L. Stine's books and best for older teens. After a mall massacre, friends in the cursed town of Shadyside fight a string of undead killers tied to an old witch legend. Deaths are bloody and include an axe to the head and a head forced into a bread slicer. Expect about 30 f-words, homophobic slurs, two teen girls making out on a bed, prescription pill dealing, and a teen deliberately overdosed and drowned so she can be revived. A thoughtful coming-out story adds heart, but we suggest 16.
What's in it
Violence
StrongFrequent bloody kills: stabbings, slashed throats, an axe driven into a skull, gunshots to the head, and a teen's head pushed through a bread slicer with the result shown. A girl is held underwater until her heart stops, then revived with EpiPens.
Language
StrongPlugged In counted about 30 f-words and 25 s-words, plus "bitch," "whore," homophobic slurs aimed at lesbians, crude anatomy references and a middle-finger gesture.
Sex and nudity
ModerateTwo teen girls in their bras kiss on a bed and unzip each other's pants before being interrupted. One character is implied to be about to masturbate, a boy moons a car, and a blow-up sex doll is used for a scare.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongTwo teens sell stolen prescription pills such as Vicodin and Percocet to classmates, and one has the young kids she babysits help bag them. A girl is shown choking down pills to deliberately overdose as part of a plan. Teens smoke, and a parent is an alcoholic.
Scary or intense scenes
StrongJump scares throughout, masked killers who keep getting back up, a long fight in a grocery store, and talk of a witch's curse. News footage and sketches show murder victims and a hanged woman.
Sensitive topics
- Overdose
Worth talking about
Sam's mother refuses to accept her daughter's relationship with another girl. Talk about how family rejection affects teens and what real acceptance looks like.
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Plugged In, the MPA, Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.