‘Fear Street: Prom Queen’ Stars India Fowler and Fina Strazza Break Down Their Epic Dance Battle: “We Were Dancing for Hours”

By Anna Menta

There’s no queer love story at the heart of Fear Street: Prom Queen, as there was in the 2021 Fear Street trilogy. But that didn’t stop India Fowler and Fina Strazza—who star in the film as Lori and Tiffany, respectively—from speculating.

“I think that Tiffany might be in love with Lori,” Fowler told Decider in a recent Zoom interview.

“And Lori’s not in love with Tiffany,” Strazza, on the same video interview, added with a laugh.

Directed by Matt Palmer, who also co-wrote the script with Donald McLeary, Fear Street: Prom Queen—which began streaming on Netflix today—is a standalone entry into the Fear Street horror franchise. The first three films, released back-to-back on Netflix in 2021, were fun, sexy, and surprisingly gory adaptations of the R.L. Stine book series. The trilogy was a hit, in part thanks to Stranger Things star Sadie Sink leading the cast.

Prom Queen features an all-new cast and story, starring Fowler (known for the 2024 Paramount+ series The Agency) as Lori Granger, a Shadyside High student in 1988 who hopes to win Prom Queen and redeem her reputation as the daughter of a rumored murderer. But Shadyside’s resident mean girl, Tiffany Falconer (Strazza, recently Tony-nominated for her role in Broadway’s John Proctor Is the Villian), is not giving up her crown. Even after a masked killer starts picking off Prom Queen candidates one by one.

Decider spoke to Fowler and Strazza about their epic dance battle, the killer behind the mask, and the possibility of a Prom Street sequel. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

DECIDER: What spoke to both of you about the first three Fear Street movies that made you want to be a part of this franchise?

FINA STRAZZA: I was really excited to see the first three come out. I watched them for Sadie Sink, because I’ve been family friends with her for a long time. Her brother and I worked on Broadway together when we were younger. So, I was really excited to see Sadie in another project. I also love slashers and I love horror. I’ve been a Scream fan for a very long time, so I was excited to see another one come out.

INDIA FOWLER: I’d seen them back in 2021, but something nice we did to jog our memory—me, Fina, and David watched all three when we were shooting the film. It got us in the groove. It was funny to laugh at the gore, and it got us into the mood to do it ourselves.

We have to talk about the dance-off scene between your characters to the song, “Gloria” by Laura Branigan. Tell me about rehearsing and filming that sequence.

FS: The first day India and I met each other was our dance-off rehearsal, so we very quickly had to be very comfortable with one another. We really got to get to the heart of who each other was—how hard we were willing to go. I was immediately endeared by India. Her little swaying and grooving! There was a huge buildup to it, when we finally got to the day of [filming]. When we got to it, we realized that we had to do it in front of the entire prom hall of 120 people, plus our cast and crew. We realized we were a little bit nervous. But I just looked into India’s eyes, and knew I’d be okay.

IF: [Laughs.] That’s literally how it felt on that day. It was a very long day. We were dancing for hours and hours. You’d think the Pied Piper had played his pipe, because we were just dancing and dancing. For Fina’s moves, there was a bit of choreography. Lisa [Stevens], our choreographer, wanted to play into the ’80s classic moves. Tiffany, being the person that she is, would have watched Jazzercise. That was important for Tiffany’s character. But for Lori, they just wanted her to be feeling the music—like Fina said, being a bit flail-y. We got weirdly emotional, seeing each other dance. Probably because of our closeness as friends, it made it a lot more fun than just shooting the scene.

Photo: Alan Markfield / © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

Fina, where did that gospel worship move that you do at the end of the scene come from?

FS: I just like to add my own flair to everything, you know? Lisa really encouraged us to do whatever came to mind, and then she’d pull us back if it wasn’t working. But on that first day, I had been given some inspo from her on different Jazzercise motions, and I exaggerated some things. I didn’t think that it would be something she wanted me to continue doing, but she fell in love. I’m glad it’s in there, I’m glad it is preserved forever. We called it like my “popcorn move.”

Between that scene, and the scene between your two characters in the cop car, it feels like Tiffany and Lori could have been friends. Do you guys feel that your characters had a connection?

FS: Oh yeah!

IF: I think that Tiffany might be in love with Lori.

FS: And Lori’s not in love with Tiffany.

IF: [Laughs.] And Lori’s not in love with Tiffany!

Say more about that.

FS: I think that there’s a very fine line between love and hate. India and I get along pretty well, if you can’t tell! We talk to each other every day, and I love that girl right there. In between every take, we would be giggling, and hugging, and prancing around the set. Even though we’re meant to hate each other on camera, that chemistry was still there. There’s a palpable feeling that translates quite well.

IF: Like we constantly said, it’s good that we established a very close physical relationship, immediately, as soon as me and Fina met. It made it a lot easier for the moments when Tiffany has to get like up close and horrible to Lori. It made it a lot less awkward than it would be with someone that you weren’t that close with in real life.

[Warning: Major spoilers ahead! Skip the next two questions if you haven’t yet watch Fear Street: Prom Queen on Netflix.]

Photo: Alan Markfield / © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

When you both first read the script, were you surprised by who the killers were?

FS: The original version of the script that we got didn’t have Tiffany in on it. It was just Katherine Waterston and Chris Klein. That was exciting, in and of itself. It was still equally gory. But in my final callback for the film, I did a scene that is a different version of the final scene with Lori and Tiffany. Matt Palmer, our director, asked if I could do the scene again, but instead reveal that I am also one of the killers. I was taken aback for a moment. I was like, “That’s a pretty big plot point to just add in my audition right now, but I’ll give it a go!” I did just that. After, Matt and Carmen Cuba, our casting director, were like, “That was pretty fun, right? Do you think we should keep that?”

Was Tiffany under the mask for any of those masked kills? Did you have conversations with Matt about that?

FS: There was supposed to be one. But it didn’t end up being Tiffany behind the mask because [the kill] was supposed to be Damien Romeo [who plays Judd, another student]. Matt realized Damien is 6’4″, and I might not be able to kill him. So, there was supposed to be one.

IF: You looked gorgeous in the red [killer’s costume]. That’s all I’ll say. She did. It was meant to be.

Photo: Alan Markfield / © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

India, that mid-credits scene sets up the possibility of more Fear Street movies with this cast. Have you talked to Matt Palmer or Netflix about coming back for a Prom Queen sequel?

IF: Look, I loved shooting the film. I would love to see where they could take the universe. At the moment, I don’t know. I know as much as you do. My heart’s with that film. I love everyone who was involved, and I love the Fear Street universe. It would be interesting to see what they could do with it.

Fina, congratulations on your Tony nomination. You’re on Broadway with former Fear Street star Sadie Sink, and you mentioned your friendship. Have you guys talked Fear Street? Has she seen the new movie?

FS: She hasn’t seen it yet, but I know she’s excited about it. I think my cast kind of wants to arrange a little watch party, when it’s able to be watched. Sadie is very excited to see it.