After the long-awaited fourth entry in Netflix’s Worry Road movie sequence, followers of the unique trilogy had been left underwhelmed by Worry Road: Promenade Queen. Should you’re searching for related, higher films to look at as an alternative, we’ve 10 teen horror diversifications that can scratch the itch.
The Promenade Queen letdown has set the web ablaze. Many have taken to social media to air out their grievances with feedback like “Worry Road: Promenade Queen is actually one of many worst films I’ve ever watched. Simply take away it from Netflix.” One other person on Twitter stated, “#FearStreetPromQueen is sort of dangerous, very dangerous even. Only a mess on virtually each degree. Should you love the unique trilogy like me, you’ll end up extremely disenchanted on this slog. Intensely uninteresting and solely left me fearing one other Worry Road as dangerous as this one.”
The film additionally acquired scathing critiques from critics, and sits at a low 26% on Rotten Tomatoes. Among the many greater disappointments which have been cited are a predictable killer reveal, promising setups that lack any payoff, and one-dimensional characters. A few of those that learn the e book felt as if the movie butchered the supply materials, which arguably had a greater twist.
Worry Road: Promenade Queen
- Launch Date
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Could 23, 2025
- Director
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Matt Palmer
- Writers
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Matt Palmer, Donald McLeary
- Producers
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Jenno Topping, Peter Chernin, Kori Adelson
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India Fowler
Lori Granger
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Fina Strazza
Tiffany Falconer
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Ella Rubin
Melissa McKendrick
Fortunately, there are a selection of younger grownup diversifications to pick from if Promenade Queen fails to scratch that itch. Curated under are 10 teen horror films primarily based on books that can take you again to your teenage years and your literary fiction roots.
10
‘I Know What You Did Final Summer time’ (1997)
Drawing inspiration from the 1973 YA novel by Lois Duncan, I Know What You Did Final Summer time additionally takes inspiration from the city legend of “The Hook.” 4 highschool seniors who’ve simply graduated wish to profit from their final summer season. On the night time of the Fourth of July, they unintentionally run over a pedestrian. After eliminating the physique, they make a pact to endlessly preserve their crimes a secret. One yr later, they reunite of their hometown, and start to obtain threats from a killer wielding a hook.
One of many Most Iconic Slashers
The film stars ’90s icons Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Ryan Phillipe. Though it did not obtain nice critiques following its launch, it has since garnered cult traditional standing. It spawned a franchise, which incorporates two sequels and a one-season Prime Video sequence. A fourth movie starring Madelyn Cline is about to be launched in July, with Hewitt and Prinze reprising their roles.
9
‘I Am Not a Serial Killer’ (2016)
Set in a small Midwestern city, this film follows John Wayne Cleaver (Max Information), an adolescent who has been identified as a sociopath. His days are spent obsessing over well-known serial killers. By night time, he works as an assistant mortician along with his mother (Laura Fraser), serving to out along with her funeral home-based business. To maintain his murderous impulses in verify and keep “regular,” he lives by a inflexible algorithm. When a string of weird murders plagues his city, it upends his life, prompting John to analyze. He begins to suspect his neighbor, Mr. Crowley (Christopher Lloyd), of being the perpetrator.
A Persistently Stunning Horror Film
I Am Not a Serial Killer is predicated on Dan Wells’ 2009 coming-of-age horror novel of the identical identify. The movie explores what it means to be human, alienation, and the character of morality. It is higher to take pleasure in going into it with out understanding a lot about it, because it surprises viewers with an surprising twist midway via that veering the story into a completely totally different subgenre.
8
‘Down a Darkish Corridor’ (2018)
Down a Darkish Corridor is one other Lois Duncan adaptation. AnnaSophia Robb stars as Katherine “Package” Gordy, an adolescent who is distributed to Blackwood Boarding Faculty as a final resort, after her rise up and misbehaving have turn out to be unmanageable. The film follows her and 4 different troubled women who attend the mysterious academy presided over by Madame Duret (Uma Thurman), who helps them uncover their particular talents. As they flourish, nevertheless, they discover themselves surrounded by sinister forces lurking inside the college’s corridors, and uncover the headmistress may need ulterior motives.
A Suspenseful, Fantastically Constructed Movie
Directed by Rodrigo Cortés (Buried), the film is a mix of gothic components, fantasy, and supernatural horror. Whereas it is not an ideal movie, its moody ambiance and intriguing thriller make it an satisfying watch. It makes for a very good choice on a dark day once you’re craving a younger adult-oriented suspenseful story.
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7
‘Gentle as a Feather’ (2018 – 2019)
mild as a feather
- Launch Date
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2018 – 2018
- Community
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Hulu
- Administrators
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Geary McLeod, Joanna Kerns, Alexis Ostrander, Chad Lowe, Fred Gerber, Jeffrey W. Byrd, Shiri Appleby, Amanda Row, Michael A. Allowitz
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Corey Allen Kotler
Officer O’Doyle
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John Churchill
Mr. Richmond
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John O’Brien
Reverend Fahey
When she strikes into city, newcomer Violet Simmons (Haley Ramm) turns into buddies with McKenna, performed by Liana Liberato (The Seaside Home and Completely Killer), and her mates, Olivia (Peyton Record), Alex (Brianne Tju), and Candace (Ajiona Alexus). On Halloween night time, the group of ladies goes to the cemetery to play the favored recreation “mild as a feather, stiff as a board.” Afterward, the 5 teenagers are focused by a mysterious, murderous drive hellbent on killing them. The Hulu sequence is predicated on the e book of the identical title by Zoe Aarsen.
A Fast, Bingeable Watch
Gentle as a Feather makes an ideal addition to teen horror and thriller exhibits like 2015’s Scream, Lifeless of Summer time, and PLL: Unique Sin. It has sufficient teen and horror tropes to maintain audiences entertained, and a compelling thriller that makes sure they continue to be invested. Should you loved the cult traditional ’90s horror The Craft, you will admire this sequence.
6
‘Scary Tales To Inform within the Darkish’ (2019)
Set in a small Pennsylvania city in 1968, this PG-13 banger follows a refreshing group of teenage outcasts — horror lover and author Stella (Zoe Colletti), the straight-laced and awkward Auggie (Gabriel Rush), and prankster Chuck (Austin Zajur). The group turns into mates with newcomer Ramón (Michael Garza), who’s simply passing via city. On Halloween night time, they enter the deserted Bellows home, which has a darkish previous, and discover a storybook that Sarah takes house. Quickly, the horrifying tales within the e book begin coming true.
A Horror Movie Adaptation of a Childhood Basic
The film is each horror millennial’s dream come true. Should you had been a child rising up within the ’80s or ’90s, likelihood is that you just learn the e book sequence of the identical identify written by Alvin Schwartz, consisting of three collections of brief horror tales. It is a nice choice once you’re feeling nostalgic, or are searching for the proper autumnal watch.
5
‘There’s Somebody Inside Your Home’ (2021)
After a mysterious, tragic occasion, Makani Younger (Sydney Park) strikes from Hawaii to a small city in Nebraska to complete her senior yr of highschool. Through the time she’s been there, she has discovered a circle of fine mates and has settled into her new house. Nevertheless, her life is upended when a masked killer emerges, focusing on her classmates and exposing their darkest secrets and techniques. Discovering herself in the course of a sequence of ugly murders, she should face her previous to save lots of herself.
A Distinctive Tackle the Masker Killer Trope
The Netflix film is predicated on a YA horror novel of the identical identify by Stephanie Perkins, and introduces a novel spin on the style. Slashers usually function an unknown assailant who wears a masks. The identical holds true right here, besides the killer wears a masks similar to every of his victims’ faces. There’s Somebody Inside Your Home is a wonderful entry into the world of juvenile horror. Identical to with I Know What You Did Final Summer time, time will probably be variety to it.
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4
‘Bones and All’ (2022)
The tremendously proficient Luca Guadagnino directs this adaptation of Camille DeAngelis’ coming-of-age horror novel of the identical identify. Taylor Russell stars as Maren, a younger woman who has spent her complete life bouncing round from college to highschool, in her father’s makes an attempt to maintain her lifelong yearning for human flesh a secret. After succumbing to her urge for food at a sleepover, her father provides up, abandons her, and leaves her to fend for herself. On the street, she meets a drifter, Lee (Timothée Chalamet), who has the identical starvation as her, and the 2 embark on an odyssey throughout America, assembly others like them alongside the best way.
One of many Most Lovely Teen Love Tales of All Time
Bones and All is a story of self-discovery, however greater than that, it is a love story about two individuals who assist one another develop as they get to know themselves and each other. The movie will join with anybody who has ever struggled with feeling alone and met somebody who made them really feel much less so. It is romantic, it is lovely, it is tragic, it is gory, it is the whole lot a very good film needs to be.
3
‘The Midnight Membership’ (2022)
Based mostly on Christopher Pike’s novel, The Midnight Membership is one other nice Netflix present by the prolific Mike Flanagan. The author-director teamed up with author Leah Fong (The Haunting of Bly Manor) to carry this story to life. It is centered round a bunch of terminally in poor health youngsters who find yourself at Brightcliffe Hospice collectively. As they wrestle to simply accept their imminent deaths, they dwell out their final days in The Midnight Membership, assembly up with one another late at night time to inform the scariest of tales.
One of many Finest Teen Exhibits Ever Made
Every episode sees the tales they recount to one another play out, however it additionally follows them as they attempt to remedy the mysteries at Brightcliffe. The Midnight Membership could also be a teen present, however it’s a terrifying one. In typical Flanagan trend, it additionally accommodates profound emotional depth, exploring poignant themes just like the inevitability of loss of life and the fears surrounding mortality.
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2
‘My Finest Buddy’s Exorcism’ (2022)
My Finest Buddy’s Exorcism takes audiences again to 1988. Finest mates Abby (Elise Fisher) and Gretchen (Amiah Miller) attend a sleepover at a lake home with a few different mates. Naturally, as teen women do at slumber events, the group partakes in a Ouija board session. That night time, unusual and eerie issues begin to occur. Upon returning house, Gretchen begins appearing not like herself, creating an especially imply streak and a step by step worsening sickly look. Abby begins to understand that her bestie is possessed by a demon, and it is as much as her to save lots of her life and soul.
The comedy horror attracts its inspiration from Grady Hendrix’s acclaimed novel of the identical title. It is a good selection to look at with mates once you’re searching for one thing much less scary and extra in the identical vein as Evening of the Demons, Lisa Frankenstein, or Jennifer’s Physique. It is an satisfying flick that delves into the ability of friendship, the hardships of girlhood, and purity tradition.
1
‘Clown in a Cornfield’ (2025)
Clown in a Cornfield
- Launch Date
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Could 9, 2025
- Runtime
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96 Minutes
- Director
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Eli Craig
- Writers
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Eli Craig, Adam Cesare, Carter Blanchard
- Producers
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Georges Bermann, Wyck Godfrey
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Aaron Abrams
Dr. Glenn Maybrook
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Katie Douglas
Quinn Maybrook
Clown in a Cornfield is the latest entry into the clown horror subgenre. The e book by Adam Cesare on which it is primarily based gained the 2020 Bram Stoker Award for Finest Grownup Younger Novel. Like the unique story, the movie is about within the fictional small city of Kettle Springs, Missouri. Newcomer Quinn Maybrook, performed by Katie Douglas (Ginny & Georgia and Degree 16), has simply moved there along with her father, Glenn (Aaron Abrams), following her mom’s tragic loss of life. After bonding with the favored “dangerous crowd” she’s been warned in opposition to, Quinn attends a celebration in a cornfield, the place they’re attacked by a swarm of masked killers dressed as Frendo the clown, the city’s mascot.
Creepy Clown and Thrilling Kills
Clown in a Cornfield has all the trimmings of a imply, gritty slasher, and acts as a throwback to 80s horror. It comes with a penchant for terribly violent and gory kills — a chainsaw, a pitchfork, crossbows, decapitation, you identify it. Whereas it has its roots in YA fiction, the movie would not dilute the horror in any respect, making for an exhilarating, bloody journey.