Prom Night
Rated PG-13 for violence and terror, some sexual material, underage drinking, and language.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
Does anyone make original horror films, anymore? Seriously, I'm asking. The only recent ones I can think of are either remakes of successful Japanese horror movies or sequels to mediocre American horror movies. This one borrows the idea (but not much else) from a 1980 Jamie Lee Curtis screamer. I didn't see that one, and I've almost forgotten this one already.
The Story
Donna (Brittany Snow) has had a rough high school experience. Three years ago, a teacher (Johnathon Schaech) got a crush on her and killed her whole family -- including stabbing her mom to death while Donna watched from under a bed. Now a senior, she still struggles with nightmares, though that bad man is locked up and gone forever, right? Right?
Nope, he's escaped just in time for the senior prom. Donna and her friends are all sharing a limo and a hotel suite for the big event. Of the three couples, she and Bobby (Scott Porter, "Friday Night Lights") are the sweetest. Lisa (Dana Davis, "Heroes") and Ronnie (Collins Pennie) are tight, but Lisa seems really bitter toward Crissy (Brianne Davis), her rival for prom queen. Claire (Jessica Stroup) and Michael (Kelly Blatz) are always arguing.
Just as the prom is kicking off, Detective Winn (Idris Elba) gets a fax at police HQ alerting him to the bad man's escape from the maximum security mental hospital -- three days ago! Winn and Donna's uncle agree not to tell Donna or bring her home from the party so as not to upset her. Natch.
So while the detective and several other plain-clothes cops hang around the hotel where prom is being held, the killer is already slicing his way through various hotel staff and nicely dressed teenagers. It's only a matter of time before he corners Donna.
The Verdict"Prom Night" might be one of the lamest horror movies ever, no matter what you think of the genre. The only thing TV director Nelsom McCormick seems to care about is trying to make us jump in our seats by having unsuspecting victims walk around while we wait for the killer to jump out from behind something and start stabbing. That's it. About a dozen times in a row.
No plot twists. No character surprises. No hidden agenda. No real comic relief. Just an uncomplicated psychotic killer working his way through a mostly uninteresting and surprisingly powerless group of victims.
The only unique element is that McCormick has created a PG-13 slasher film. Somehow, the killer is able to use his mean-looking knife to kill one person after another without ever making any noticeable holes in them or their clothing. We watch him raise and lower the knife to each mid section, but somehow very little blood comes out. Any episode of "CSI" or "24" is far more grisly.
Honestly, it's a little disturbing. The film feels like it's aimed right at younger teens just graduating from their Disney years. By removing much blood and any gore, it's perfectly built to create an appetite in tweens for more graphic slasher action.
And it's not like it's "about" something deeper, as far as I can tell. None of the characters are particularly good or honorable -- and none are especially bad. Nobody is overly heroic or redemptive. The police detective cares a lot, but he's so ineffective at saving anyone that it's almost a joke. In the end, it's just a series of senseless murders and mind-blowingly silly character choices in a clumsy story that's always bound to wrap up in just one way.
The film's rating comes with all the tidy killing, some rough language, and lots of cleavage. Lisa and Ronnie make out in the hotel suite, maybe with sex in mind, but they stop before any disrobing. A few students drink alcohol on the sly.
Worldview
Donna's high school is pretty much just like yours -- if yours had a casting agent to keep out any unattractive people and nobody graduated until well into their 20s. And if your parents and school were just fine with holding prom at a hotel where students were openly reserving rooms for the night.
Maybe your school is like that; I don't know. I do know lots of students seem to have the same attitude about sex and prom as the characters in this film do. The romance and importance of the event are an excuse to lower their sexual standards. Some set out to get more physical after prom. Others just allow themselves to get swept up in the excitement of the night.
Here's a secret: Nobody is going to come and stab you to death if you have sex on prom night. (As far as I know.) And it might just be awesome; sex is fun. But especially for Christians who claim to follow the teaching of the Bible, it's also wrong. And you will regret it. At some point, it will feel like cheating, borrowing the romance and thrill from a future event where guys rent tuxes and girls spend a fortune on their dresses, usually white ones.
If you believe that Ephesians 5:3 is God's Word to you as you're reading this, make a plan to be able to practice it on prom night.
Questions
- How do you feel about slasher movies? How does "Prom Night" stack up?
- Is it just me, or is there something disturbing about watching all those nearly bloodless stabbings, like they were trying to make mass murder family friendly? Is there such a thing as a "safe" slasher film?
- Also, what's the deal with the twenty-somethings playing high school students? The actor who plays Donna's boyfriend is 28!
- Have you noticed any friends willing to compromise their convictions on sexual activity because of prom night or some other big event?
- What's your plan to avoid "even a hint" of sexual immorality?