They really should have
thought of a more original name for 2008's Prom Night, seeing as it had
nothing at all to do with this one. I guess I should be relieved that
Prom Night hasn't fallen victim to the Hollywood remake machine, but I
probably shouldn't say that out loud. Platinum Dunes might be listening.
 Prom
Night
came out two years before I was born, and I actually saw Hello Mary Lou
long before I ever watched the original. Unfortunately Prom Night was
one of the tapes often stolen from video rental stores in my area (as
with any half decent movie actually) and with the movie long out of
print, it became impossible to find. Luckily for me a strange little
store opened up about fifteen minutes from my house selling bootleg
copies of old, long out of print VHS classics for six bucks a pop. Prom
Night was finally purchased along with many others. I have no idea how
they legally operated for so long, but they promptly disappeared once
DVD started to take off. Occasionally
I still see stalls at shopping
centres but their base "store" is long gone. Kudos to them. I'm a
staunch advocate of bringing hard to find media to the masses. But that
was then, and now Prom Night has been available for a long time on DVD.
I have a copy of the Region 4 disc, and to be honest, the transfer isnt
that great. Hopefully the R1 disc will look a little better.
Unlike a lot of slashers from its time period, Prom Night has
a solid story to back up its kills and the movie begins with a brief
look at the events that led to the demise of the ill fated Robyn
Hammond. Twin sister of Alex, and little sister of Kim (Jamie Lee). As
the rather fetchingly attired twins head home from school with their
big sister, they pass what appears to be an abandoned school. Older
kids Wendi, Kelly, Jude & Nick are inside playing a rather
sadistic game of hide and seek. Instead of simply hiding and seeking,
the children taunt those still hiding with calls of "The Killer is
Coming". Robyn wants to go in and play, but quickly becomes overwhelmed
by the game and panics when the kids gang up on her. She accidentally
falls from a window as the older kids watch on. Wendi makes the others
promise to never tell what happened and they ride away on their bikes,
leaving Robyn for dead. The police believe a local pedophile to be the
culprit, but there are four kids burdened with the real truth.
 Six
years later, Kim and her family mourn Robyn's passing on the
anniversary of her death, and Prom Night is fast approaching. An
unknown man begins calling Jude, Nick, Wendi & Kelly informing
them Black Christmas style that they are going to die. Jude doesn't
take it too seriously, Kelly and Wendi mistake the caller for someone
else while Nick misses the call altogether. Nick, having fallen in love
with Kim, feels guilty about his knowledge of Robyn's death and tries
to work up the courage to tell her what he knows, despite his childhood
promise to Wendi, who has grown up to be nothing short of a queen
bitch.
Strange things start happening around Hamilton High as the prom
approaches. A mirror shatters inside the girls locker room, and shards
are found taped to yearbook pictures of the four witnesses and planted
inside their lockers. Someone knows they were there that day, and they
are close. Close enough to get inside the school undetected.
 Wendi
is livid that Nick is going to the prom with Kim and not her, so
she devises a plan to ruin Kim's prom by sabotaging her prom queen
crowning ceremony. She enlists the help of local douchebag Lou, who
also has the hots for Kim and takes sexual harrassment to a whole new
level. Lou attacks Kim in the lunchroom, forcing her to kiss him while
wearing a balaclava, causing Alex to lose his shit and punch him in the
nose. Seeing as Kim & Alex's father is the principal, Lou is
expelled, which he doesnt take too kindly to. Kelly is also having
problems of her own - she is still a virgin and her loser boyfriend is
getting impatient. Jude seems to be the niceest of the girls - she is
still good friends with Kim and has happily found a prom date, albeit a
questionable one.
Prom night finally arrives, and Kim and Nick barely get a chance to
show Wendi their sweet disco moves (seriously.) before a masked killer
starts attacking the witnesses. The local police chief gets word that
the inmate they believe responsible for Robyn's death has escaped and
butchered a nurse at the abandoned school. Is he the killer, wanting
revenge for being imprisoned for a crime he did not commit?? Or is it
the creepy groundskeeper who always seems to be watching the girls? Is
the killer Lou, who owns the balaclava? Is the killer Kim &
Alex's father, who is mourning his daughter and had the balaclava in
his office?
 I
really liked that this movie set up a few rather plausible red
herrings. I wasn't able to pick the killer at first watch, but in
subsequent viewings I was able to pick up all the hints they had left
behind. Clever writing. Another thing worth mentioning too is the fact
that despite being the main character in this film, Jamie Lee Curtis's
character Kim's life is never in danger. She was not present when her
sister died so therefore is not one of the people being pursued by the
killer.
Prom Night is indeed an interesting watch. It's somewhat formulaic, but
at the same time, its not. Hard to explain, but if you haven't seen it,
I recommend it.
And always remember. It's not who takes you, honey, it's who takes you
home.
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Year: 1980
