| Prom Night | | Cast : | Leslie Nielsen, Jamie Lee Curtis | | Director : | Paul Lynch | | Studio : | Platinum Disc Corp | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | July 18, 1980 | | DVD Released Date : | May 11, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 28, 2005 | | Summary | It's Not Who You Go With Honey... | Content
 | This movie is my all time favorite SECOND only to HALLOWEEN. Why do I love this movie so much? I don't know, I just do. But I'll give it a try. First there's the story. Robin Hammond is tragically killed after being teased by a group of slighty older kids. Mrs. Hammond is a mess given the anniversary of her daughter's death. Mr. Hammond is trying to comfort his wife, is the principle of a high school which is having its yearly prom, which both of his survving children will be attending, and has to deal with his own grief. Kim is dealing with the anniversary of Robin's death and prom night things. On top of that, Wendy (my favorite character) wanters her boyfriend NICK back. Nick is now going with Kim, and dealing with Wendy's obnoxious attempts to win him back. If that's not enough, he's got some guilt over being involved in Robin's death. Alex, is dealing with the anniversary of his twin sister's death, but is also in charge of the music for the Prom. No time to mourn when it's your job to make sure the best disco music is on tap for the prom which is themed DISCO MADDNESS. Next we have Jude. She's like the chubby chick, and doesn't have a date for the prom. That is until Slick nearly runs her over with his tricked out van. Ok so it's not a cool van by today's standards, but in 1980 that van was the best thing going. Kelly, is freaked out by the heavy breather on the phone, while her boyfriend Drew keeps on pressuring her to have sex with him. But Kelly doesn't seem to harbor too much guilt for being involved in Robin's death. Well then again neither does Jude! Well I guess Jude is just too consumed with having to find a prom date to feel guilty, and we know poor Kelly is too busy telling Drew to "Save it" to feel guilt herself. Lou, just wants a piece, but no one takes him seriously, especially when the girls think of him more as an ashtray. Ugh, you'll have to watch the movie to understand that one. I can't give it all away! Anyway, After not being able to get Nick back, Wendy asks Lou to the prom, but they have a little prank up their polyster sleeves. Seems Nick and Kim may have some competition for King and Queen after all. Ugh, what I am trying to say is that these characters are likable. Sure at times they seem stereotypical, but they are like real people with real issues. These are not cookie cutter teens plugged in a movie only to get hacked at while looing for a dumb excuse to get away from their group of friends.
The disco music does date the movie, but all movies get dated in due time. It's just natural. And you know what? That disco music can be cheesey to some, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The disco music is like a character itself. It's a welcome friend.
Ok, the actors look a little old. Yeah so what. The actors look like they are more college students then high school students. Is it really that much of an issue? The characters are well acted, and that's what's important. You can say what you will about them not being the best looking bunch of actors. You can point and laugh at their outfits. You can chuckle at some of their hairstyles. Hell you can make Slick the president of the "FREAK" division of your local traveling carnival, but you CANNOT accuse these actors of overacting or being cheesey. This is well acted.
Ahhh the big disco dance that seems to get so much attention. Get over it already! This disco dance number is a RARITY amoung horror flicks of any decade. you name another horror movie that has a dance number smack-dab in the middle of it! That's what I thought. You can't! You have to have NADS to pull off a disco dancing scene like that! And it's not so bad if you give it a chance. To be honest I get up and do the dance with Nick and Kim and I have the time of my life doing it. I even bought a crown to wear especially for when I do the dance. In my world I am the Prom King.
Hmmm anything else? Well it's not so bloody. Who cares? Does the lack of gallons of blood make you feel any less sympathetic to Kelly after she gets maimed by the killer just moments after Drew walks out on her for not wanting to lose her virginity? Well does it? No. I still get choked up when she falls to the floor in a heap. Does the lack of blood have any less impact on one of the longest chase scenes in scary movie history? Yeah you know the chase scene in which the killer chases Wendy to and fro and to again. And while he chases her to and fro and to again, you can't help but side with Wendy for a moment, because her life is in mortal danger, but then you side with the killer beacuse she was the one who convinced the other kids to keep Robin's "accident" a secret. Then she starts to cry and you feel sympathetic for her again. And then you think of the prank she planned with Lou and you hate her all over yet once more. How many chase scenes caused YOU to feel so emotional for a character? I don't know, but I still dab at my eyes with a Kleenex when Wendy finally gets it.
And what about Slick? You know you gotta feel for him. His life was tragic the moment his parents named him Seymore. It really didn't get any better in later years even when he gave himself the nick name "Slick" beacuse he wanted to be cool. Is he cool? Not so much. But he has a tricked out van. Alas, 25 years later reviewers are dowing his van simply beacuse it doesn't compare with what is cool now, but you know the other kids envied his shaggin waggon. Hell he and Jude sent the shaggin waggon in motion, while getting to know each other in the biblical sense. And even though he wasn't one of the in crowd, when the killer came for him, he faught as valiently as the all star quarter back would have. How can you not admire that effort. And if all else fails? Man he wore white athletic socks with his black tuxedo! Now that is class!
Oh I could go on and on as to why I love this movie so much. I say put in on, slap on your parent's old polyester clothing and platform shoes and have a DISCO MADNESS night. This wasn't supposed to be the best movie ever made, but as far as slasher flicks go. It's very realistic. The characters are at times very endearing and the plot believeable. And last but certainly not leat. When Wendy crashes in on Kim testing out the new dance floor, the greatest of all movie lines is born. Kim knows Wendy wants Nick, but of course Nick is going to the prom with Kim. So Kim tries a jab at Wendy by asking, "And who are you going to the prom with?" Wendy, never one to miss a beat, coyly replies, "It's not who you go with honey, it's who bring you home." Now that alone is worth the price of admission! I SIMPLY LOVE IT PLAIN AND SIMPLE!
NOW PAY ATTENTION!!! This is important. I know many of you will be tempted to saves some money and buy the $6.00 version, but don't ok. That version is horrible. The print is so dark you'll miss a lot of the action. Fact of the matter is that this DARKER print was the printwe were all acclimated to on tv and VHS until the firt DVD came out. When the DVD came out and I first saw it, I was amazed. I could make out things I hadn't before. Fact of the matter is that the first DVD was so clean and crisp that it was like watching a whole new movie. SO YOU WANT THE DVD VERSION: That has the mask of the killer on the cover. There's also a big blade of cracked glass with a prom attendant hanging upside down from it. It's the ANCHOR BAY version. It's now out of print, BUT WORTH PAYING WHAT EVER AMOUNT TO OWN IT!
Ok now I'm done. I am going to go listen to the soundtrack of this movie which I am lucky enough to have on CD! "Love me til I die, and keep me satisfied. Love me, love me, love me til I die...." |
| Rating | | | Date | July 18, 2005 | | Summary | IT AIN'T NO HALLOWEEN | Content
| ..but one has to give credit to PROM NIGHT for being one of the first teen slasher flicks to also attempt to be a compelling mystery. 70s scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis followed up her HALLOWEEN, THE FOG and TERROR TRAIN as the heroine of the film, whose biggest scene is a laughably non-erotic disco dance at the prom. Leslie Nielsen is around as Jamie's principal dad, but he's hardly in the film at all. Annemarie (Eddy) Benton takes on one of her many slutty roles as the bitchy vixen out to spoil the prom for Jamie and her date, who happens to be Benton's ex. The mystery is pretty easy to solve, and the pace is a little slow by today's standards, but PROM NIGHT is representative of what we could expect in the coming years of teen slashers. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 12, 2005 | | Summary | Sequell Is Better. | Content
| Prom night is about a group of kids who accidently kill another kid and swear they will never tell anyone. Then years later at there prom strange things happen and people start to be killed off.
Quite frankly, I like the sequel ALOT better (part 2, hello Mary Lou) fans of Jamie Lee Curtis will probably enjoy this film, or fans of Leslie Neilson or maybe someone who wants to see Leslie doing a serios acting role instead of his trademark slapstick routines. But I just cant accept Jamie Lee Curtin in a teen role. I dont have anything agasint her or anything, it's just she looks the same then as she does now... it's like she doesnt fit in as a teen ager when I see her as someone much more mature.
There isnt much to say about gore and blood, it's pretty tame. The sequel is a little more satasfying in that department. But the sequel has nothing to do with this film.
It's a pretty average thriller. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 08, 2005 | | Summary | The disco music is enough to kill you!! | Content
| Lets cash in on Jamie Lee Curtis and also hire 30 year olds to play teenagers, and a fat dork in a van, who couldn't get lucky if his life depended on it. Need some crackers with this cheese? The killers identity is hidden quite well, but seeing Leslie Nielsen serious is just not normal, and seeing Jamie Lee Curtis shake her thing on the disco floor is the only bright spot of this trash, her dancing is actually pretty hot for disco. Chase scenes drag, gore is minimal, dvd transfer sucks, mono....SUCKS. Jamie was only 19 at the time of this, the scream queen needed a paycheck, Jamie does fine.....I've seen second graders in a school play act better then these people, skip it, watch Halloween, The Fog, Trading Places, much better, Jamie is a young 80's goddess. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 29, 2005 | | Summary | fairly pleased | Content
| I thought this movie was actually suprising. I purchased it and don't regret it. It was decent better than a lot of 80's horror movies. I mostly liked it because i was right about who the killer was its someone you really weren't sure of but then you were. Just make sure you get a used one because it's not awesome enough for 15$. This movie showed the essence of revenge and yes it had great dancing. |
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