In 1978, "Halloween" was released, and it turned Jamie Lee Curtis into a star of the horror genre. This 1980 film was her second shot in films, and it has been a hit since its release. While critics didn't love it, fans of the genre have raved it, and it has become one of the most popular slasher flicks of all time.
The beginning of this film was done very well. I really love the cinematography as it flies around the brick buildings, because it gets a very tense feeling. The chants of the children are also very chilling, and it gives a unique feeling to the movie. The scene basically portrays children terrorizing a young girl by following her saying "the killers are coming." This scares the girl very much, and she ends up walking out a window by accident. It is extremely sad to see the death of this girl, and the reaction of the kids that were only try to joke around is heartbreaking.
The movie then skips forward six years, as the family of this girl are shown visiting her grave. One of the members of the family is Kim Hammond, played by Jamie Lee Curtis. The family is obviously still very torn up about the death, and they leave reluctantly. As things go on, we see a bunch of teens being called by a mysterious man that is using a list to keep track of people to stalk. We also meet Kim's boyfriend Nick, whom is ignoring these calls. In his mind, he thought it was another girl he was seeing named Wendy trying to take him to prom. This whole beginning sequence of the film is very interesting, because it has a lot of mystery, and it gives a great build up in introducing all of the characters.
One of the things I particularly like about this film is the blurry vision that we see. It gives a very eerie tone to the movie, and almost makes it feel like a nightmare. In fact, I feel that the style was actually used later in "A Nightmare on Elm Street" during the dreams sequences.
The acting in this film was quite satisfying in my opinion. Jamie Lee Curtis gives her usual performance, which is awesome, and I feel that she was a pretty safe pick for the film. Leslie Nielsen was great as her father, because he was good at portraying a stern but fair man. Kim's brother Alex(Micahel Tough) was another great character, because he had a great chemistry with Curtis. I feel this was extremely necessary for their relationship, because in reality, this is how they should be. The death of their sister would in real life make the two of them closer, and this was shown so well. The rest of the teens do a great job, because they make the high school experience very real. Some of them are the nicest people in the world, and others are complete jerks. Nick(Casey Stevens) was an example of a likable character, because he was very good to Kim, and was kind to everyone else around him. Some examples of characters that were the opposite would be Lou(David Mucci) and Wendy(Eddie Benton). They are absolute scum, and have no redeeming qualities at all. They hate the fact that Nick and Kim can be happy, and because of this they do whatever they possibly can to make them miserable.
It takes about an hour for the first kill to happen in this movie, but I think that this strategy was very appropriate for the film. Things built up to this one moment piece by piece, and by the time it was here, it just made things even crazier. I love the way this film was shot, because it was very grainy slow motion, and the killer was in a black costume which made it even more intense. I love how just before the throat of the victim was slit, they cut to her face, because it showed the fear at the moment. The noises used for this kill were absolutely brutal, and they were perfect. After the kill, the whole movie really amps up, and a rampage of murder begins. I love how this was done, because the tone of the film was a little dry to begin, but you could tell that everything became more energetic, whether it was the chasing, or it was the music at prom.
The scenes at prom were very well done, they made the dance look quite fun, and the disco soundtrack was pretty cool. The lighting in the school looked great, and it made me feel like I was watching a "Soul Train" type of thing. I also like the way that the teens are shown out of the gym. When the girls are in the restroom, their banter is very realistic as to what girls would be talking about in real life, and some of the occasional pressure is extremely genuine.
The violence and gore in this film is lighter than others I've seen, but it is so proficiently done that I enjoyed it greatly. Rather than just being the usual lighthearted slice and dice movie, there is a lot of tensity that comes about these scenes, and they really get the adrenaline going. It almost reminds me of a "Halloween" type of thing, because they don't make it graphic, but it's just as intense. My personal favorite of the whole film is the killing of Wendy, because it is a long and horrifying chase scene that builds up more and more, and then turns into a black screen as we hear the brutalities occur.
The ending of this film was absolutely shocking. I was not expecting the killer to be who he was at all, and once it was revealed, the feeling of the movie became heartbroken. Thankfully, it ended right at this, because it didn't add any stupid fluff to ruin the vibe. It honestly may be one of my favorite horror movie endings ever.
"Prom Night" is a fantastic slasher film. It was one of the first, being released in 1980, and it's one of the best. There is so much intensity and terror in this film, and while it's not scary, it's still gets the adrenaline going well. I highly recommend this film to any fans of the genre, because it is not one to miss.
