Brittany Snow Movie:

		List Price: $38.96		Label: Sony Pictures Salesrank: 22400 Released: August 19, 2008
		Our Price: $9.15
		Used Price: $8.90
		MPAA Rating: Unrated Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
An attractive cast of young performers lead by Brittany Snow (Hairspray) is the main selling point for Prom Night, a remake of the 1980 Canadian slasher film starring Jamie Lee Curtis. Snow makes for a capable lead as the sole survivor of her family's massacre at the hands of an obsessed teacher (Jonathan Schaech), who returns three years later to finish his campaign on the eve of her senior prom. While no one's idea of a classic horror film, the Paul Lynch-directed Prom Night offered viewers a modest whodunit angle in between the killings; here, the villain's identity is known from the get-go, and what's left is a string of mechanical stalkings (which feature a surprisingly modest amount of blood) and reams of turgid teenspeak, which is handled as best as possible by Snow and her cast mates. The end result is a dull, suspense-free chiller that manages to make its mediocre source material seem inspired by comparison. Older moviegoers may note the presence of actors Idris Elba and James Ransone, both used so well on The Wire, and so thoroughly wasted here. --Paul Gaita

Stills from Prom Night (click for larger image)

Prom Night (Unrated) [Blu-ray] Reviews:
This is horror?
2008-10-04 - This is by far the worst movie I've ever seen in the genre. There are many low budget films that have much more suspense and creativity.
1. The villain is not scary and is the polar opposite of entertaining.
2. The storyline is summed up by the title of the film.
3. I can fill a shot glass with the amount of blood shown in the whole movie.

THIS IS NOT HORROR

Oh my goodness
2008-09-30 - I saw the unrated version on dvd and it was bad. I cant imagine what the PG-13 version was like. Truthfully, the movie wasnt awful, but it just wasnt good.

Kiddies Can Watch This Walt Disney Flick
2008-09-25 - After I watched this megabomb, I seriously researched to see if Walt Disney had made it. It's so clean and predictable and devoid of any blood, suspense or terror, that even kiddies can view it.

I've always loved the original PROM NIGHT with Jamie Lee Curtis. Although the original had gore and knockout murders, it was still fun and suspenseful.

Switch to 2007 and you've got the latest wretched remake of a classic. You would think that surely today's modern horror film makers could create something juicy and original--like "Jeepers Creepers. But no. When they're not remaking every hideous Asian horror flick like "Mirrors" "The eye", "The Grudge," they're desecrating such classics as "Prom night," "Halloween," "The Fog."

In this anemic mess, we're supposed to believe that the survivor of a mass murder is STILL living in her house and on the anniversary of the slaughter, she goes to the prom. In atrocities like this one, she and her fellow empty-headed buddies do everything stupid you can imagine.

When the prom is suddenly shut down because the police are now aware that the killer has returned, what does the heroine do? She goes back upstairs to retrieve something--while her fellow party-goers are all racing down the steps.

This is a Pure Vanilla movie. It's pretty and bland and boring and the only good thing about is the terrific box cover/poster that shows a screaming victim. When a poster is the best thing you can say about a movie, then it's time the movie-makers of this botched classic should think of making something different--like another Rambo or Rocky flick.

DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY
2008-09-23 - There is an inherent problem when remaking any film. That problem is the fact that the movie has been made once and has fans of the original film who look upon any remake as sacrilege. In some cases this might be worthwhile criticism but in most it's not. The reason is that in some cases, the film is not necessarily a remake but more a retelling. Or it could go the route of tossing out the original altogether and telling it's own story while taking the name from the original. It's these movies that are unjustly criticized before being seen. And the genre with the biggest fan base, as well as the most remakes, is the horror field. Trust me, horror fans are like pit bulls when it comes to defending their original favorites.

So it is we see the release of PROM NIGHT. The original film starred Jamie Lee Curtis, fresh from her scream queen beginnings and about to star in THE FOG and TERROR TRAIN that same year, and revolved around a revenge killing of teens at their senior prom who had been involved in the death of a child earlier. The new release tosses aside that whole story, keeping only two aspects: the prom and a murderer. Had they titled it something different, perhaps it wouldn't have received the drubbing of fans and critics alike when it was released.

This time around we begin with the murder of an entire family, the last of which is the mother who is killed before the eyes of terrified teen Donna (Brittaney Snow) who has sought refuge beneath her bed. The killer is caught and turns out to be one of her teachers, Mr. Fenton (Jonathan Schaech) who has become obsesses with the girl. Off to jail he goes, off to her aunt and uncle heads Donna and years pass.

Donna deals fairly well with the murder of her family through counseling and turns into a nice, normal teen. She gets through high school, has a boyfriend, is dealing with heading off on her own to college and finally, is preparing for that big teen social event, the senior prom. Faced with these changes, she begins having nightmares but as her therapist explains, that's normal when dealing with change.

We meet Donna's friends, boyfriend Bobby (Scott Porter) - the good guy that everyone likes, Lisa (Dana Davis) - the popular cheerleader who has a grudge against rich girl snob Crissy (Brianne Davis) and Ronnie (Collins Pennie) - the star football player. The friends have rented a double room in the hotel that the prom will take place in, a prom paid for by Crissy's wealthy dad. It seems Crissy and Lisa are competing for prom queen and the cattiness between the two is apparent from their first encounter.

Unknown to Donna is one thing that will make her prom night an unforgettable one. Mr. Fenton has escaped from the mental facility he was being kept in. A mental facility instead of jail because he was ruled criminally insane and sent there rather than executed for murder. Isn't it funny that the Hollywood elite decry the use of capital punishment in real life yet always seem to show murderers escaping to wreak havoc when they get life or are ruled criminally insane?

Of course Mr. Fenton tracks down Donna to her new family and head out to discover more about her whereabouts. When he finds out she's at the swank hotel and her prom, he heads that way and with no effort gets a suite on the same floor as Donna and her friends, paid for with the credit card of one of his new victims.

Two steps behind, the police are notified three days after his escape that Fenton is lose. Detective Winn (Idris Elba) blows his top and sets up his force to find Fenton and prevent another massacre. Having been the police officer in charge the first time around, he knows the brutality Fenton is capable of.

So much for the set up. Any fan of horror knows that much bloodletting will follow, sudden pop ups of characters and props will mislead or cause you to jump and that eventually Donna will be forced to confront her tormentor. Along the way characters we come to like or hate will be slaughtered and the murderous ways of Mr. Fenton will be seen by one and all. Sure it's a tried and true formula, but so what? Aren't half of all horror films formulaic?

What we get instead is a new killer with a new way of behaving. Schaech does a great job as Fenton. Not only are we presented with a mad, stalking murderer, we get a tad insight into the motivation of the same. With subtlety and maneuvering, Schaech presents Fenton as a conniving and manipulative villain who can get in unseen and escape the same way.

The rest of the cast does a decent job as well. All of the teens involved look more like teens here than the stars of the original film. And their job is not to reveal depth since victims rarely are given a back story with the exception of the lead. Snow does a fine job as Donna, offering both an innocence and a shattered victim who takes the blame for all things bad in her life, not realizing she is the receiver and not the instigator.

All in all this movie is not the pariah that some would have you believe. Sure, it offers little in the way of new horror or scares. Granted it is using a formula that has been done before. But then again, when you choose to ride a roller coaster and then a second, is it reduced in effect because it is a different one? Does the same coaster lose its effect the second time around? This movie is made for fun. Forget the past, forget the original and enjoy this one on its own merits. It may not be worthy of screening at the Aspen festival, but its fun on its own.


man oh man
2008-09-20 - i didnt go to my high school prom, and i wish i hadnt gone to this one either. this film bores even the pre-teens it was designed to appeal to! id give a critique of the story if there was one. dont get it confused with the 1980 film of the same name thats far superior than this trash that probably started as "hey mr. executive, please let me make a movie and i'll babysit your kids for free this weekend".