| Review | Prom Night (1980) | Director | Paul Lynch |
|---|---|
| Writers | William Gray (screenplay) and Robert Guza Jr. (story) |
| Cast | Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Stevens, Eddie Benton, Antoinette Bower, Michael Tough, Pita Oliver, David Mucci and Mary Beth Rubens |
“Tonight it’s my turn” – The killer
Four kids, Wendy, Nick, Vicki and Kelly, accidentally kill little Robin Hammond (Tammy Bourne) during a macabre game of “Killer”. The leader of the pack Wendy swears them all to secrecy but unbeknownst to them there was a witness to the events.
Six years later and Prom Night is approaching at Hamilton High. Principal Hammond (Nielsen) along with his daughter Kim (Curtis) and son Alex (Tough) attends the gravesite of Robin. As fate would have it the foursome who killed her (Benton, Stevens, Oliver and Rubens) are very much in the lives of both Kim and Alex. Nick is on his way to becoming Kim’s boyfriend and Wendy is trying everything to ruin that possible union. Vicki and Kelly are good friends with Kim also. One the day of the prom the foursome all get menacing phone calls from someone who warns them that tonight will be their last.
Maybe a bit difficult to coin this a slasher film but that’s what it’s labelled as so who are we to argue! “Prom Night” is one of my personal favourites and this flick can stand up to multiple viewings. The plot is as simple as they come but that doesn’t prevent director Lynch from trying his best to serve up red herrings as to who’s doing the killing. It takes it’s time in the build-up and firmly establishes it’s characters and the film is all the richer for it. But that fact didn’t hit home until I’d seen it more than once as I wrote a scathing review on IMDB some 10 years ago and awarded it a 4 out of 10!
Those interested can read the review here: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2029379
In my original assessment I even went down on the execution of the important final third where the killings start. Now I really admire how it goes down as it’s actually quite suspenseful and the fact that the killer is anything but self assured in his actions makes everything borderline realistic. The showdown really is short and sweet but it’s so well played out and in the end becomes very emotional. Top notch ending all the way. The 4 stars I awarded would now be more like a 8 out of 10. How time (and multiple viewings) can change things!
I also went down on the red herrings and, to be completely honest, they are fairly obvious. But the “lunatic on the loose” angle is better handled than I gave it credit for and had the employee on the school grounds been slashed it would have made no sense for the killer to have dispatched of him. And also the reason why Leslie Nielsen’s character disappears from the prom (and thus has no role in the finale) has a reasonable enough explanation and shouldn’t be considered a fault. My own reading of this old review is what prompted me to watch the film (yet again) and post this re-evaluation. I honestly don’t know why my first impression of this great 80’s slasher was so negative.
Performances are uniformly excellent here. While his role isn’t very big top-billed Nielsen is a commanding presence and he delivers a solid performance (funnily enough; two weeks prior to the US release date of “Prom Night” Nielsen could be seen in “Airplane” and his role there paved the way for his late entry into comedic roles). Curtis is really good as well and this role is a big departure from her pure slasher roles in “Halloween” (1978) and “Terror Train” (1980) as she gets to show a lot more dramatic acting. Also she isn’t even on the list of would-be victims. The actors playing the victims are all quite good but Benton (later to be known as Anne-Marie Martin) makes the biggest impression as Wendy, the most wicked of the bunch. Michael Tough is also fine as Alex.
“Prom Night” isn’t particularly gory but the violence is pretty hard hitting; especially once you’ve gotten to know and feel for some of the victims. That is down to a mostly decent script that doesn’t present it’s character as one-dimensional throwaways. Even the requisite bully Lou (Mucci) puts in a decent enough effort and makes him a little bit more memorable.
Another thing that works tremendously in the film’s favour is it’s disco laced soundtrack that completely dominates once the big event commences. The songs are pure disco and definitely place the film as a late seventies/early eighties item but the tunes are lively, atmospheric and certainly off-beat once they accompany on-screen mayhem. You might think these were established songs but they’re actually original compositions from Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer, the film’s composers, as it was the cheaper option for a low-budget flick to have original songs then licence big hits.
All in all; I love “Prom Night” and heartily recommend it. It may take more than one viewing to truly appreciate it (it did for me!) but this is an excellent film from the golden era of slasher cinema.
Physical Copy
My copy of “Prom Night” is the Region A Blu-ray from Synapse Films that was issued in 2014. It’s a thing of beauty with a wonderful 2K restored image and very good audio. The biggest extra is a retrospective featurette titled “The Horrors of Hamilton High” which includes interviews with director Lynch, actor Tough and others (sadly no Jamie Lee) and is definitely worth watching. There’s also a good collection of additional scenes that were present in the television broadcast along with numerous outtakes. British label 101 Films has just issued a new Blu-ray version which has the same special features along with some newly produced ones. Newcomers might want to check out that release. It’s coded Region B.
Additional physical copy
The soundtrack to the film didn’t get an official release till this year (2019)! It had been heavily requested but the only physical option was an insanely pricey Japanese bootleg that probably didn’t sound to great. Well; a label called “Perseverance” has rectified that and issued the full score on CD which has the orchestral score, the disco songs featured in the film and some more disco tracks that didn’t make it into the film. When I saw this gem I couldn’t resist and snatched it up. As you can read in the liner notes some people waited for 39 years for the officially released soundtrack.
Why physical copy?
I always encourage the acquisition of physical copies as I dread the day when films will only exist as files on computers and through streaming services. The companies that put the effort into making the discs, create new artwork or reproduce the originals, issue booklets and much more deserve all the financial support they can. Therefore I will always mention the Blu-rays or DVD’s (and yes; also if I review something streamed through Netflix or the like) even though I gain nothing from it personally.
