Meet the Killer Cast of Netflix’s ‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ [May Cover Story]
Prom night is supposed to be unforgettable … right? Your high school gymnasium is all decked out with colorful streamers and sparkling lights. Mirror balls, paper crowns, nervous smiles… all for a perfect night when the promise of a bright tomorrow lingers above slow dancers like machine-made fog.
But for the characters in Netflix’s latest horror event, prom is certainly a night that’ll never be forgotten … but for all the wrong reasons. In Fear Street: Prom Queen, the new viciously fun slasher installment of R.L. Stine’s beloved universe, the evening ends in carnage, and a high school gym is decorated with viscera instead of balloons.
I guess the old adage is true: evil does love to party.
While some iconic parties from horror history invited their ensembles to deadly social events with the promise of cash, love, or friendship, the invaluable prize in Fear Street: Prom Queen is all in the title. And just like in the tradition of scary cinematic soirees like April Fool’s Day, Ready or Not, You’re Next, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and House on Haunted Hill, surviving the night is never guaranteed.
For Dread Central’s May 2025 digital cover story, I had the good fortune of chaperoning the talented stars of Fear Street: Prom Queen: India Fowler, Suzanna Son, David Iacono, and Fina Strazza. Get to know this killer crew as they share the thrills, traumas, and transformations awaiting guests entering their brand new entry in the party-horror canon.
My immediate impression of Fear Street: Prom Queen? It’s gory. And not just gory for a teen slasher. No, I mean it’s surprisingly nasty. And how does its young ensemble respond to on-screen carnage?
“I love blood. I love it,” Suzanna Son beams—somehow, I’m not shocked. Son plays Megan, a social outcast with a penchant for practical effects. Her character will surely be a favorite for many horror fans as she’s an accidental callback to unforgettable horror sisters Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald of Ginger Snaps fame—two other suburban outsiders who share Megan’s macabre passion for the wizardry of gore. But unlike the Fitzgerald sisters, Son has her limits.
“I love a good splatter. But needles? When there’s a real needle going in, that’s where I look away. That’s my limit.”
India Fowler, who effortlessly portrays Final Girl-type Lori, the film’s mysterious protagonist at the center of all the bloody mayhem, has a similar respect for practical madness.
“Honestly, not to be sadistic or anything, but I quite enjoy it. I kind of like the shock of it,” she tells me of her fascination with gore, before quickly drawing her boundary.
“I hate anything to do with eyes or eyeballs.” Relatable (prom) queen.
David Iacono, on the other hand, doesn’t flinch. “I’m down for gore. I’m down for blood. I’m down for body horror. I’m down for dismemberment. It actually never terrified me too much,” he says. On first impression, he doesn’t seem too far from his Prom Queen character, the soft-spoken yet unpredictable romantic lead, making words like “dismemberment” sound especially jarring.
And still, everyone has their limits. For Iacono, it’s when the violence turns its attention to fingernails. “Yeah, okay,” he tells me on the topic. “Sign me out.”
Last but not least, Fina Strazza also shares her delight for all things messy. Blood isn’t just a scare tactic for her; it’s a comfort blanket. “Every time I was homesick from school growing up, my mom and I would do a Scream marathon or a Halloween marathon and watch all the movies in that franchise.”
Since we spoke, Strazza has been announced as a Tony Award nominee for her role in Broadway’s hit play John Proctor Is the Villain, in which she stars alongside Fear Street: 1978 alum Sadie Sink. Both Fear Street stars received Tony nominations for their roles in the high school-set play that’s taken the theatre world by storm. But in Fear Street: Prom Queen, the villain is arguably Strazza’s character, Tiffany—the true terrorizer of Shadyside High, who dominates her peers with brutal bullying and evil mind games.
Every party has its starting time. And while showing up fashionably late may be customary, for this ensemble of young stars, none arrived late to horror fandom. But as most Dread Central readers know, getting deep into horror too young can have a lasting effect, and most of us have that one movie or moment that, in effect, ruined our childhoods. The stars of Fear Street: Prom Queen were no different.
“It was a movie I thought was a dream,” Son confessed. And who could blame her? “Nobody in my life could tell me if it was real. It had evil trees and glass heads. Recently, I found out it was Return to Oz. It really screwed me up.”
Fowler remembers being shown The Shining by her mom. “I cannot begin to explain how much that affected me. That scene when there’s the old lady in the bathroom definitely set me in a bad way for a few weeks.”
For Iacono, the darkest side of horror was religious, but not in any of the traditional ways. “I watched Paranormal Activity way too young. I had just gotten my own room. My room was in the basement. For three months straight, I was convinced the devil was in my room. I’d run up the stairs and jump into my parents’ bed.”
Lastly, Strazza’s earliest fear was more surreal in nature. “This isn’t technically a movie, but the intro to Yo Gabba Gabba used to terrify me. I would hide under our coffee table during the intro every time.”
While discussing the boundaries of when horror and genre bleed into reality, I’m especially interested in what Suzanna thinks. An extraordinary talent, Son was recently seen in exceptionally mature projects like HBO’s The Idol and Red Rocket, the acclaimed 2021 feature from filmmaker Sean Baker, whose recent release Anora swept the Oscars like most of us had never seen.
On the horizon for Son is the upcoming installment of Ryan Murphy’s Monster, a run of highly acclaimed limited series dramas for Netflix, each tackling an infamous crime or criminal from the nightmares of modern American history. Son will star in the chapter titled Monster: The Original Monster, a season revolving around serial killer Ed Gein.
“You ought to tread carefully,” Son tells me of true crime as a genre. “These are real people and real victims. It’s not just for fun. It’s a little dicey. But fascinating. Just be nice about it.”
Fowler agrees, adding, “I do kind of like a true crime documentary, but I get a sour taste knowing that it really happened. I think people are just curious. They want to figure it out—not revel in it.”
Still, the draw is undeniable. “Same reason why when you kind of pass by a car accident, you don’t want to look, but you do,” Son added. “It’s morbid curiosity.”
Like many of my all-time favorite horror movies, Prom Queen traps its characters in one location when the blood hits the fan—but getting trapped in high school? What could be scarier?
“I didn’t have a traditional high school experience,” Son tells me. “I went to about eight different high schools and never finished.” She adds, “Bullying? Not really from students, if that makes sense.”
And speaking of surreal, Strazza tells me her first whole school year since third grade happened just in time for graduation. “Right under the wire. I met my first boyfriend, got to go to prom. It was canceled the day of because of the wildfires. We ended up having it a week later at like 3:00 PM. We did our best to make the most.”
“I went to LaGuardia,” Iacono says. “It wasn’t very normal at all. The mission was like, let’s work on your craft and not give you too much work. I had already been working as a kid, so it all kind of made sense.”
Each actor brings a haunted filmography of favorites. For Fowler, the classics matter. “I grew up with a real respect for the genre,” she said. “The film is set in a fun ’80s zone, and I definitely took that vibe with me.” Fowler was steeped in horror education early. “My dad kind of liked to show me Halloween or Psycho or Nightmare on Elm Street. Not to creep me out or anything. He just liked me being well-versed in all genres.”
Strazza’s love of Scream runs deep. “India and I, on our last day of filming, sat in my trailer and rewatched Scream one, two, and three while we waited to go on set. I am all about the slasher and the scare and the gore. Scream is my favorite movie of all time. I love a good slasher.”
Son adores Carrie and is finally reading the novel. “Way different and way better,” she said. Her eyes light up when Stephen King is mentioned. “Wouldn’t that be crazy to be stuck in a car with a rabid St. Bernard?”
Iacono rewatched Halloween to get in the zone. “I didn’t even really look at it as preparation. Subconsciously, I just wanted that vibe.”
What nightmare would they conjure next?
“Anything Jordan Peele does,” said Iacono. “Us was slept on. Nope was great. If Nope 2 ever happens, I got to get in there.”
Fowler wants something elevated and disturbing. “If it was Ari Aster Midsommar vibes, I would be on that. That was just an art form.”
Son is manifesting a role in a new King adaptation. “I heard there’s a Cujo remake. That would be a nightmare and a half.”
Strazza’s dream remains the one that shaped her. “I would love to be in Scream. I recently auditioned for the newest one, and I quite literally shed a tear while sending in my tape because I love it so much.”
Get ready to scream—Fear Street: Prom Queen, inspired by the iconic R.L. Stine series and directed by Matt Palmer, slashes its way onto Netflix May 23. Don’t be late to the dance… if you want to make it out alive.
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