Prom Night

[SwimFan87]

Prom Night

Rating: 7

Bodycount: 7

Cast:
Jamie Lee Curtis
Leslie Nielson
Casey Stevens

Directed by: Paul Lynch
Run Time:91 mins.

Date Reviewed: November27,2002

“A Prom Qeen’s Dreams Turn To Screams”

[glow=red,2,300]Review:[/glow]

Six years ago when young Robin Hammond crashed through a brocken window, her playmates vowed to keep the accident a secret. They promised that no one would ever know , but someone already knows. Now, 6 years after keeping the secret, Robins sister Kim (Jamie Lee Curtis) is about to be crowned Prom Queen, but a chilling event undermines the party plans. Revenge for the six year old murder is around the corner as the unknown observer turns maniacal killer stalking the high school halls. Kim’s friends are disappearing and the halls are filling with blood.


Ever since I bought this and watch it back on Oct. of 2000 Ive like this movie. The movie begins good with 4 kids playing a game like hide & go seek and Robin wants to join the game but she ends up in dead after the kids start chasing her around the building saying “Kill Kill Kill….” she accidentally dies. That scene is good and cruel. Then back in the present time the killer starts to make menacing phone calls to the 4 kids who are responsible of the death which are : Kelly,Wendy,Jude & Nick. Then after that the movie begins to get a little boring, but around the first 45 mins. of the film that’s when the fun begins. Right when the prom climax opens with the cool disco music that’s when I really start to enjoy the film. Jamie Lee Curtis even dances in the film, she does a really cool fun dance scene with her boyfriend of the film, I bet she had fun doing it.




The deaths were nice, they are actually very dark but still are fun and creepy. I like when “Kelly” gets her throat slit after being dump by her b/f and the killer is whispering “Kellyyy….” while his killing her. My favorite scene of the whole movie is the complete chase scene with “Wendy” being stalked around the high school halls, that scene actually reminds me of “Urban Legend”. I was a little surprised of who the killer was. I like PromNight a lot and is obvious that “I know what you did last summer” got the idea from this slasher flick.
<- My favorite scene

Acting: Jamie Lee Curtis always brights up the screen with her good acting and talent that she has. The rest of thecast did okay and is actually weird to see Leslie Nielson playing a serious since he is always in comedies.

Gore: There isnt to much gore in this but I think the amount of gore was fine even though the death scenes are dark. The scene were this idiot guy that gets his head chopped off is bloody.


T!ts & A$s: Jamie appears on her bra oooh! A chick shows her white ass and in the scene were Kelly is making out with her b/f if you pay attention you can see her right tit. Don’t worry Leslie Nielson doesn’t show his ass.

Bottomline:
Prom Night is a good slasher that I dig a lot. Some might think that I overrated the film by giving it a 7 but I just thinks that’s the right rating for it in my opinion. The fans of Jamie and slashers from the 80’s shouldn’t miss this.

[Antonio]

PROM NIGHT (1980). Directed by Paul Lynch. Effective little whodunit that rode the wave of success of the slasher revival spawned two years earlier by John Carpenter's trend-setting classic Halloween. The film's story, written by William Gray and Robert Guza Jr., centers around a masked assailant stalking four teens during their senior prom as retribution for their part in the death of a young girl six years earlier. Not on the hit list but caught up in all of the murder and mayhem is the reigning Scream Queen of the time Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays the film's heroine Kim Hammond. Curtis is every young man's dream date: smart, tough and sexy. Leslie Nielsen is fun in a glorified cameo (although he received top billing) as Curtis's father, principal of the high school which provides much of the film's setting. The rest of the cast, I suspect, is Canadian, since the flick was filmed in Toronto, and they are all excellent, especially Michael Tough as JLC’s innocent younger bro, and Anne-Marie Martin, who is superb as sexy bad girl Wendy. The script boasts: five major suspects, two of whom are obvious red herrings (escaped mental patient, creepy school janitor); one harrowing chase through the deserted campus (run Wendy, run!); interesting relationships among the interconnected characters; and a creepy opening flashback scene involving most the main characters as children playing a twisted version of hide-and-go-seek in an abandoned convent ("Killers are coming!"). Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer are responsible for the moody, ominous love it or hate it disco score. I loved it. The chilling title song is a cross between "Born To Be Alive" by Patrick Hernandez and Gloria Gaynor's infamous "I Will Survive". What separates Prom Night from the countless number of Psycho and Halloween clones are the sympathetic characters and the killer’s believable motive (revenge is a dish best served cold ). My grade: A

[SwimFan87]

oh cool i'm glad that you like it too.

[Duke Nukem]

It's nice to finally hear of someone else that likes this movie (other than Arrow in The Head). I taped it off TV, and although, the first half of the movie is somewhat boring, I liked how it all payed off! A lot of the deaths are dark to see, but you have a good-enough idea what happens. Some were even shocking as when the killer surprises the girl in the back of the van! And, I can't help but enjoy the whole disco scene with Jamie Lee Curtis.
The identity of killer surprised me. Considering the small cast, I never would have suspected...

[The Prowler]

This along with the Fog is probably my second favorite Jamie Lee Curtis movie. The killer's voice was awesome, loved the quiet yet demented whisper. Especially with Kelly's death, that was unnerving with the slow mo and the music going at the same time. That scene gives me goosebumps every time i see it. I also was laughing at how the fat guy with Jude acted. He tried so hard to be cool. I wish we could have seen more horror from Paul Lynch, I think he shows great style in this and he seems to surround himself with great talent like Paul Zasza and Carl Zittrer composing the great Prom Night theme. Wasn't the writer of the Changeling associated with this too? Another great candadian horror along the likes of My Bloody Valentine. I so want to see a special edition dvd with commentary and some interviews from this. That would top my wish list.

Prom Night 8/10

[Saint]

Does any1 no a good place to buy horror movies???? Like prom night?

[Duke Nukem]

Are there any malls around where you live? There's usually movie stores like Suncoast Videos in malls. If there isn't...

-Go to Ask Jeeves
-Ask-A review of the movie "Prom Night" or where can I buy the movie "Prom Night"
-just read on from there...you should find it...

Hope I helped

[The Claw]

Well I got to be mr negative. This movie in my opinion was boring trash. Not fun trash like it's sequels. not scary, not entertaining, and just bad.

Prom Night 2 & 3 are so much more entertaining.

But it's your opinion.

[The Prowler]

Prom Night dvd from what I understand is out of print. I have checked Borders, Suncoast, Best Buy, u name it. Your best bet is to buy a used copy off the internet. I wouldn't spend top dollar for the dvd though cause it is bare bones and the quality was pretty shitty on it. They need to do a special edition for this movie or at least release a better quality dvd, my vhs tape was just as good as the dvd and I had dubbed it off of cable. But Prom Night is a great slasher. Probably in my top ten slashers for its likable cast, excellent musical score, creepy killer, and sympathetic story.

[robk]

Prom Night is one of the better post-Halloween slasher films. Jamie Lee Curtis & Leslie Nielsen are always worth watching, & the killer's identity actually was something of a surprise to me.

[PackBacker]

Prom Night 1980

Directed by: Paul Lynch

Screenplay by: William Gray (The Changeling)

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween), Leslie Nielsen
(Creepshow), Casey Stevens, Michael Tough, Anne-Marie Martin (The Boogens), Pita Oliver

Tagline: If you're not back by midnight... you won't be coming home.

Rating: 5/10



Plot: A children's game takes a terrible twist when a young girl plunges to her death. The survivors make a pact to never reveal what happened and life is peachy until prom night rolls along six years later. A masked killer knows who was involved and is wiping the tennagers out quicker than the disco beat that pounds across the dance floor.

Review: "Prom Night" is a strange little film. It seems like a routine little slasher but it managed to keep me riveted despite a lack of gore, nudity, and often times an incredible lack of lighting. It also managed to spawn three sequels that are completely unrelated to the first film besides the setting. It's pretty amazing what Jamie Lee Curtis can do...without her this one would have probably sank quickly into obscurity.

"Prom Night" is an old-fashioned whodunit slasher. A young girl dies in an accident in a quite creepy version of hide and seek. Six years later someone who knew what they did last summer, err a couple years back, is targeting those responsible. The filmmakers keep the identity close to their vest with several suspects out there including an escaped lunatic, the school groundskeeper who leers at anything with breasts, and the principal himself.

The first 2/3 of the film is pretty bare bones. The mood is set by some creepy phone calls and some torn out yearbook photos. The requisite boyfriend power struggle is also in place and is cemented by Jamie Lee Curtis in a crowning disco performance. Then the killer lets loose with some knife and hatchet play.

The acting here is standard slasher fare except for Curtis. Jamie Lee was the scream queen of the 80s and does a terrific job as usual. She gives a soulful performance with just a touch of bitchiness thrown in for kicks. She holds the film together with her talent. I must say that I did almost fall over from laughter in the big disco performance at the prom (not to mention the warm-up!). The rest are mainly window dressing. Neilsen, despite his top billing, doesn't do much...and his dancing is down right frightening.

The kills in the film are marred by the lighting. Darkness helps set up tension but when it's so damn dark that you can't see anything (repeatedly!) it does not work very well. There were times the camera even zoomed in and it was still too dark to tell what the hell the zoom was for. That being said, the kills are pretty dry until an excellent decapitation provides the coup de grace during the prom king/queen coronation ceremony.

The music in the film is appropriate for the times- dicso! If nothing else it makes for an amusing sidenote throughout the film. I was almost expecting the killer to bust a move while chasing down a young girl while carrying an axe. If only they could have worked in "I will survive".

"Prom Night" is a standard slasher that was trying to cash in on the immense popularity of "Halloween". Unless you are a fan of Jamie Lee Curtis it really isn't anything special; it's merely average. I actually found the sequel (which really has nothing to do with this one) much more entertaining.

[the dead one]

Personally, I have always thought that ‘Prom Night’ is one of the better-made low budget features to come out of the 80’s. Considering the number of horror quickies that were being produced at the time, cashing in on the ‘Slasher’ craze. I still don’t understand how this flick gets such a bad rap. There were some real clunkers made in the 80's, Prom Night is a cut above the rest... Rating a 7/10 in my book.

[Misery]

i buy all my dvds from deepdiscountdvd.com. prolly the best price you'll find, and free shipping.

the same person that got me to see Sleepaway Camp and other horror movies I love recommended Prom Night, so I quickly bought it, and was rather disapointed. I should give it a second chance, but I just remember it being so boring.

[the dead one]

Originally posted by Misery
I should give it a second chance, but I just remember it being so boring.

Granted, the pacing is a bit slow. But, there is some kind of dark charm to 'Prom Night'. Plus the pay off is satisfying enough, and there is a creepy vibe to the whole flick. Great kills, especially in the films closing moments. Just like the very underrated 'Terror Train'.

So, do give it a 2nd chance Misery, you have nothing to lose.

Of course it cracks me up when I see 'Prom Night' today, because of the presence of Leslie (...and don' call me Shirley) Nielsen...

[teenkiller]

I think I rented this movie like 8 or 9 years ago and was pretty bored. I know they were trying to do a suspenseful whodunit but it wasn't my bag. Probably because up to that point all I knew of the Prom Night series were the Mary Lou entries which are drastically different. I do believe Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 is one of those rare instances where a sequel actually trumps the original. Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[XCoRyX]

Its been a LONG time since i've seen it, but I tried to watch it twice and both times couldn't get passed the first 30 minutes...

I will say, a real hidden gem is the 4th sequel in this series...

Prom Night 2 is pretty damn bad,but if your into cheesy stuff might dig it for bad laughs.

Prom Night 3 is just awful.Nuff said.

And as stated,the 4th is a really solid slasher flick and totally up there with your favorite 80s slash em up low budget affairs...it was made in like,1992 or such but its totally kick-ass and if you can find it i'd say check it out...I think its on a double feature DVD with part 3...just avoid that one.

[Cronos]

considering all the great things i've always heard about this i wasnt expecting to be nearly bored to death, the first hour or whatever dragged on and on and on, none of the characters were likeable or remotely interesting, the kills weren't great either

parts 2 and 4 were equally bad (although i did really like 3)

4/10

[teenkiller]

Prom Night 2, although trying a new angle, was still trying to make the franchise scary. Looked as if they were trying to cash in on the NIGHTMARE franchise as it reminds me of the first few ELM STREET movies. The Last Kiss continues what Hello Mary Lou started but instead goes the cheesy route. Both of them work for me. Prom Night 4 tries another new angle with a killer priest on the loose. I couldn't really get interested in this one though. To me Prom Night is just about Mary Lou. Well thats all for now GOoD JOURNEY my fellow schmoes.

[Frank the Tank]

I think this movie is fun cheese with a decent whodunit, a great opening sequence, an awesomely fun theme song, solid acting and a hilarious disco scene. Probably around 7/10. I wanted more gore, and a faster pace, but other than that I'm fine with it.