Grade: D
Prom is a night no high school senior should ever forget. Prom Night, on the other hand, is something everyone should forget as quickly as possible. Starring Britney Snow (Hairspray), this movie is another in the long line of deplorably made horror remakes that have plagued multiplexes in recent years.
The film follows the generic story of a student, Donna (Snow), who is stalked by a psychopathic teacher. Early in the film, she arrives home to find her brother and father murdered. Hiding under her bed from the killer, she is forced to watch her mother brutally killed by obsessive science educator Mr. Fenton. In a triumph of the flawed, yet convenient Hollywood-style judicial system, Fenton is sent to a mental institution instead of jail, a plot development that seems rife with potential for escape.
The weak attempt of a film then flashes forward three years to Donna as a high school senior living with her aunt and uncle as she and her best buddies anxiously await the prom, unaware of the fact that the night will not work out the way they hope.
Generic MTV prom clich?(c)s (sneaking in booze, post-prom loss of virginity, and heads popping out of limos) are thrown into the mix of this predictable film. Of course, what kind of prom movie would it be if the writers didn't manage to sneak in a little prom queen rivalry as well?
Just in time for the big night, law enforcement receives a fax (which seems very informal), notifying them of Fenton's escape and his obsession with Donna. Police officers, who play way too hard at looking serious, head to the prom and immediately begin their inept quest to save Donna by hunting down the killer.
Like any poorly thought-out villain, this killer is too smart, too fast and too creepy to get caught by any officers of the law. Fenton tracks Donna down with ease, pausing along the way only to slaughter Donna's friends, random hotel staff, and anyone else he sees. All this just to prove to audiences that he is in fact just as crazy/scary as his vacant expression signifies.
Audience reaction to the film was a constant stream of laughter and not one shout of fear. If this film were re-categorized as a comedy, it might have a fighting chance at being entertaining.
While most of the film was unbearable, it must be said that the film really did hit upon the real life jargon of the average bratty high schooler. One could even think that a bunch of teens wrote the film themselves, rather than an accredited writer and producer.
Prom Night was stale and obvious. There was absolutely no gore and the commercials proved to be scarier than the movie itself. Director Nelson McCormick, known for his work in television (episodes of Prison Break and Nip/Tuck), did little raise any skilled suspense.
Snow gave a pretty convincing performance; she cried, breathed heavily, and quivered, as any leading lady in a horror film should. Yet her strong performance was not enough to save something as poorly written as this film.
Besides Snow, the only good thing about Prom Night was its running time. The film clocked in at a mere hour and twenty minutes. Any longer and walking out would have been the only option.
Still, this movie sits comfortably in the middle of the pack as far as wretched horror movies go. If a person was in the mood to watch bad plot, storytelling, and acting unfold with laughable results then they might actually enjoy Prom Night. That, unfortunately, is the best this film can hope for.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
