Prom Night
Does that mean the limo costs extra?
It's prom season across the country and
high schoolers everywhere are spending too much money on fancy
clothes and stretch Hummers. What recession? Despite my cynicism and
general hatred of most things, I went to my high school's prom and
actually had a good time. Go figure. What better way to celebrate
girls wearing inappropriate dresses and guys wearing lime green
tuxedos with matching fedoras than with a horror movie?
Prom Night is a 1980 cult classic
starring Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween, Trading Places) as Kim Hammond.
When she was eleven, Kim's younger sister Robin fell to her death
after being taunted by classmates Wendy, Jude, Kelly, and Nick. All
four swore not to tell anyone what had happened. Police blamed her
death on a known sexual predator and pursued him until he crashed his
car. He was badly burned and institutionalized. Six years later, Kim
is now dating Nick, much to the dismay of Kelly. Prom season is upon
them, with Kim and Nick being crowned king and queen. Wendy, Jude,
Kelly all receiving mysterious threatening phone calls. Kim is
harassed by a meathead named Lou who gets into a fight with Kim's
brother, Alex. The school's principal and Kim and Alex's father, Mr.
Hammond (Leslie Nielsen, The Naked Gun, Creepshow), suspends Lou.
Kelly, still hurting from being rejected by Nick hatches a plan with
Lou to get back at Kim. The threats continue, but the girls ignore
them and attend prom night. There, a masked figure goes about
brutally killing each of the girls while Lou and his cronies tie up
Nick and takes his place as prom king. The killer walks up behind him
and chops his head off, sending it down a runway. Who is the killer
and what will happen to Kim and Nick?
Kids are assholes
Despite occasionally receiving the
“classic” title attached to it, Prom Night is anything but. It's
a mixed-up late 70's throwback with a confused story and very little
horror to speak of. The main character in the movie is presented as
Kim Hammond, but it's not really clear why. We know she isn't the
killer early on, so why make her the focus of most of the movie? It's
not like the killer is going after her because he's clearly going
after the people who killed Robin. If anything, more time should have
been given to Wendy, Jude, Kelly, and Nick. The movie strings the
audience for far too long, trying to misdirect everyone into thinking
who the killer might actually be. That's fine and makes for a fun
little mystery, but it takes up most of the movie. The killing
doesn't start until the last 25 minutes or so. The movie was only an
hour and half long, but felt like it was closer to two and half
hours. Another major problem was that the movie was incredibly dark.
The version I watched was on DVD, but it had not been remastered and
looked to be a direct copy from a VHS version. It's kind of like when
you listen to a CD from the early 90's that was transferred from a
record. A lot of the detail in the movie is missed simply because you
can't see anything. Despite being in the dark, you should still be
able to see what the hell is happening. There is some blood and
violence, but not enough for a slasher flick.
The acting is decent throughout with
Jamie Lee Curtis unsurprisingly putting in the best performance. It
was nice to see Leslie Nielsen in a serious role, but he wasn't in it
enough. The movie is deeply entrenched in the 70's, down to the
hideous furniture, feathered hair, and leisure suits. The real horror
in Prom Night comes in the form of the prom's theme: Disco Madness.
That's like watching a horror movie 30 years from now where Dubstep
is the theme. My senses were assaulted with terrible disco music and
a light up dance floor. The cherry on this shit sundae was an
unnecessary disco dance scene with Jamie Lee Curtis. She's got moves,
don't get me wrong, but it served absolutely no purpose and comes
across as unintentionally funny through 2012 eyes.
What a pointless decade
Prom Night doesn't hold up to the test
of time like some other horror movies do. The story is particularly
weak and entrenched in 70's culture. The acting is decent and there
are some creative camera shots and direction. It might have been the
copy I watched, but the movie is incredibly dark and a the action,
where there isn't a whole lot of, is missed. For a slasher movie,
there isn't nearly enough violence and blood. The ending is pretty
predictable and disappointing. The movie is worth watching just to
catch a strange glimpse into the past and watch a young Jamie Lee
Curtis, but beyond that, Prom Night isn't anything special.
3.5/10
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