Prom Night (1980)
HoS rating:
- Dylan = 7 / 10;
- Eloise = 7 / 10;
- Raoul = 8 / 10;
Synopsis:
Six years after accidentally causing the death of a little girl, the four responsible teens, preparing for their prom night, are stalked by a mysterious maniac.
Horror-on-Screen Review (by Raoul):
Even though Prom Night is considered by most as a slasher movie, I feel like the story is much closer to an Italian giallo from the same period. Indeed, the movie starts with a drama and lets you understand that it will be all about revenge. Like in giallos, the question of “who the killer is” offers many possible answer and the movie plays on this to build some good suspense. Again like in giallo movies, the killer is only revealed at the end in a massive movie twist.
Jamie Lee is really a lovable actress an here, two year after playing in Halloween, she really is at the top of her career, fit and beautiful as ever. Her performance in the prom dance scene is unforgettable.
Other than that, what really makes Prom Night a classic is its incredibly fun atmosphere. The great use of disco music probably has a lot to do with it. As the title suggest, it is a prom night movie, and in that, the first half of the movie really resemble other prom night movies such as Carrie or Night of the Creeps. The excitement here is really contagious and even though I’ve never had a prom experience myself (no such thing exist in France), I was really immersed easily into the movie’s story and mood.
Maybe the one disappointment in that movie is the absence of gruesome kills. Apart from one cult scene, the camera turns away during most murders. Yet, that doesn’t impair the fun of the movie. I will probably bring myself some hatred by saying that I prefer Prom Night to more notorious slashers from the same period (Halloween, Friday the 13th) because I found it more clever and more fun. Anyway, this one features along with Bloody Valentine and Sleepaway Camp in my top 3 favorite slashers from the early 80′s.
Trailer:
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