Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Prom Night

 
Movies:

Prom Night

  • Director: Paul Lynch
  • AMG Rating: starstar
  • Genre: Horror
  • Movie Type: Slasher Film
  • Themes: Serial Killers, High School Life
  • Main Cast: Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Casey Stevens, Eddie Benton, Antoinette Bower
  • Release Year: 1980
  • Country: US/CA
  • Run Time: 91 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: R

Plot

This low-budget, tongue-in-cheek horror film of the slasher genre -- which had recently been popularized by Halloween (1978) -- stars that film's lead, Jamie Lee Curtis, as Kim Hammond, a prom queen who becomes a scream queen. Six years ago, a little girl was taunted by four classmates and fell to her death from an abandoned schoolhouse. The quartet of kids promised to keep their complicity in the accident a secret. Now it's their prom night and they've got the jitters because they have recently been receiving phone calls and notes from an ominous, unknown individual claiming to have witnessed the girl's death and vowing revenge. At the prom, the four become fatal victims one by one of a mysterious, axe-wielding, masked, and hooded stalker. The many possibilities of the murderer's identity include Kim, who is the little dead girl's sister, her school-principal father (Leslie Nielsen), or her disc-jockey brother, Alex (Michael Tough). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Review

Prom Night suffers the same problems that hinder a lot of films in the slasher cycle: its "teenagers" are suspiciously long in the tooth, the surprise killer isn't too tough to guess, and a lot of the peripheral characters fall into easily labeled types (the bully, the reluctant virgin, etc.). There is also a lengthy, dated disco-dancing scene sure to make those who hate that musical genre running for the exits. Despite these problems, Prom Night utilizes a surprising amount of skill both behind and in front of the camera as it goes through its paces. Jamie Lee Curtis makes a poised and sympathetic heroine and Leslie Nielsen lends credible support in a pre-Airplane!, non-comedic role as her principal father. Prom Night further benefits from stylish direction by Paul Lynch, who brings an unexpectedly artsy touch to the suspense scenes. Highlights include a creepy chase through a darkened school and the gruesome "crowning" of the prom king and queen near the finale. All in all, Prom Night lacks the clever twists and consistent inspiration of a classic horror film, but offers enough solid frights to please hardcore horror buffs. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide

Cast

Michael Tough - Alex; Robert A. Silverman - Sykes; Pita Oliver - Vicki; David Mucci - Lou; Jeff Wincott - Drew; Marybeth Rubins - Kelly; Joy Thompson - Jude; Brock Simpson - Young Nick; Debbie Greenfield - Child; Tammy Bourne - Child; Dean Bosacki - Young Alex; Leslie Scott - Child; Beth Amos - Housekeeper; David Bolt - Weller; David Gardner - Dr. Fairchild; George Touliatos - McBride; Sonia Zimmer - Melanie; Rob Garrison - Sayer; Pam Henry - Car Hop; Sylvia Martin - Mrs. Cunningham; Ardon Bess - Teacher; Sheldon Rybowski

Credit

Reuben Freed - Art Director, Richard Simpson - Associate Producer, Steve Wright - First Assistant Director, Paul Lynch - Director, Brian Ravok - Editor, Paul Zaza - Composer (Music Score), Carl Zittrer - Composer (Music Score), Robert New - Cinematographer, Bryan Day - Sound/Sound Designer, Robert Guza, Jr. - Screen Story, William Gray - Screenwriter, Robert Gunza, Jr. - Short Story Author

Similar Movies

April Fool's Day; The Burning; Friday the 13th; Halloween; He Knows You're Alone; Terror Train; Scream; Valentine; Slaughter High; Fallen Angel; Slaughter Studios
Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
Wikipedia: Prom Night (1980 film)
Top
Prom Night

Original theatrical poster for Prom Night
Directed by Paul Lynch
Produced by Peter R. Simpson
Richard Simpson
Written by William Gray
Robert Guza, Jr.
Starring Leslie Nielsen
Jamie Lee Curtis
Casey Stevens
Anne-Marie Martin
David Gardner
Melanie Morse
Music by Paul Zaza
Carl Zittrer
Cinematography Robert C. New
Editing by Brian Ravok
Distributed by Avco Embassy Pictures (theatrical)
Alliance Atlantis
Release date(s) July 18, 1976
Running time 90 min.
Country Canada Canada
Language English
Budget CAD$1,600,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue $14,796,236 (worldwide) [1]
Followed by Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II

Prom Night is a 1980 Canadian horror film starring Leslie Nielsen and Jamie Lee Curtis, directed by Paul Lynch. The original music score is composed by Paul Zaza and Carl Zittrer.

Prom Night was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from August 7, 1979 to September 13, 1979.[citation needed] The film spawned three sequels and was very loosely remade and re-imagined in 2008.[2][3]

Contents

Plot

In 1974, four children – 11 year olds Wendy Richards, Jude Cunningham, Kelly Lynch and Nick McBride – are playing a game of hide and seek in an old, abandoned schoolhouse. The children begin to bully 10 year old Robin Hammond and she falls to her death from a window. Although it was an accident, the children make a pact not to tell anyone what happened, and a known rapist is blamed for her death. However, another person was watching and saw who really killed Robin.

Six years later, Robin's family deals with the anniversary of her death. Teenagers Kim (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Alex Hammond, Robin's sister and brother, are preparing for the school prom, which is being held that night. During the day, Kelly, Jude and Wendy receive obscene phone calls. Kim and her boyfriend Nick decide to go to the prom together while Jude is asked by an easygoing marijuana smoker named Seymour "Slick" Crane. Kelly is going with boyfriend, Drew Shinnick, who seems to be more interested in having sex with her than anything. Wendy has no option but to go with the school rebel, Lou Farmer. While changing clothes after gym class, Kim and Kelly discover the locker room's mirror severely cracked.

Meanwhile, the sex offender who was blamed for Robin's death has escaped and Lt. McBride (Nick's father) investigates. During the senior prom, Kim and Nick perform a dance number together. Kelly and Drew prepare to have sex in the school changing room, but Kelly decides she is not ready. Drew leaves, angry and annoyed. As Kelly gets dressed, the masked killer slits her throat.

Jude and Slick have sex in a van outside of the school while being watched by Kelly's killer, who then kills Jude. Slick brawls with the killer while driving the van. The killer escapes from the van as it tumbles off a cliff and explodes, killing Slick. Lt. McBride is informed that the sex offender blamed for Robin's death has been caught, and he can now rest and enjoy the prom. Wendy is then attacked by the killer in the bathroom and is chased through the school. She is eventually murdered with an axe. Kim and Nick prepare to be crowned prom king and queen. Lou and his lackeys tie up Nick, and he plans to be king. The assailant sneaks up behind Lou (thinking he is Nick) and decapitates him.

Lou's head goes rolling onto the dance floor and the students witness this and flee. Kim finds Nick and frees him. As they prepare to escape, they are confronted by the killer and he attacks Nick. Kim eventually grabs the killer's axe and hits him on the head with it when Kim realizes who he really is. He runs outside where the police have arrived and as Lt. McBride tries to shoot, Kim stops him and the killer falls to the ground. Kim takes off his mask, where he is revealed to be Alex. A flashback is seen where Alex is standing over Robin's dead body after she falls from the window. The film ends as Alex dies in Kim's arms.

Cast

Sequels

Soundtrack

Composer(s): Carl Zittrer, Paul Zaza.

  1. All Is Gone - Blue Bazar
  2. Prom Night
  3. Changes
  4. Dancing In The Moonlight
  5. Fade to Black
  6. All Is Gone (Instrumental) - Blue Bazar
  7. Time to Turn Around
  8. Love Me Till I Die
  9. Prom Night 2
  10. Forever - Blue Bazar

The Prom Night soundtrack is highly sought after, by fans of the film and disco fans alike. It was released only in Japan on LP and cassette. A 7 inch single of "All is Gone" b/w "Forever" was also released, however neither of these songs appears in the film. Many bootleg CD releases have also found their way onto the marketplace, but Prom Night has never been issued on CD. Some of the music used in the film was also used in two other Canadian horror productions which Paul Zaza scored as well, 1981's Ghostkeeper and 1983's Curtains.

DVD Releases

The film was originally released by Anchor Bay Entertainment on DVD on February 18, 1998, and was one of the company's first releases. This edition went out of print within a couple of years, and the film was nearly impossible to find on DVD. It was released again on DVD by Alliance Atlantis in March 2004, but the print used was from a worn-out VHS release, and was thus of very poor quality. Echo Bridge Entertainment re-released the film on DVD on September 4, 2007 in a high-quality, newly re-mastered print.

Nominations

References

External links


 
 

 

Copyrights:

Movies. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Prom Night (1980 film)" Read more