Prom Night (2008)

I try not to put spoilers in, but always check the box in case I slip up. The original Prom Night was a classic--early dead teenager movie that helped set the standard. And sure, this is not so much a remake as a re-imagining, so there can be some leeway. But 45 minutes in, you will find yourself strongly disliking Brittany Snow. By the hour point, Gandhi would be hitting her in the head with buckets of salt. You really, really start to root for the killer. And not just because of how irritating she is. Inept police, friends with no clue, boyfriend who feels so strongly about protecting his girlfriend that he decides to do so by sleeping. It is not the worst movie ever made. The music is good, and the cast is pretty. But if you are looking for a quality horror flick, you might as well rent one of the Herbie The Love Bug movies. Really.

I can honestly say that I actually really enjoyed watching this movie. I honestly don't care that this movie was 100% full of clichés but I actually like movies that are like that. Yeah it may not be good, but its at least very enjoyable, well to me at least. its a movie, like the remake of Black Christmas, thats usually watched for more entertainment than actually being watched intently and carefully for a storyline or whatever. Once again, its a movie that I actually really liked, and i can say there were some few times that I actually saw some pretty good acting and ideas but were just executed terribly. I'd say its decent, not amazing, but not horrible in my opinion.

Gifted director Nelson McCormick has simply done an inspired job of bringing J.S. Cordone's brilliant screenplay to the screen. The shocks and thrills come fast and furiously from the very opening scene to the shattering climax. However, it is the sensitively observed portrait of a traumatized young girl going through a profound life transition that makes this motion picture so much more than a horror film. The film has its share of blood and gore but it never diminishes the development of the central character. A superb performance by Brittany Snow brings depth and humanity to her role of Donna Keppel and it is a deeply moving portrayal. Certainly a unique genre film as it departs from the expected and will surprise audiences in many ways.

This watered-down, PG-13 "horror" film is so tame it could almost be shown in Sunday school, especially given how chaste the main couple is. I referred to it as a "slasher" film in my Summary, but that's misleading as no actual violence occurs on screen. Nor any sex or nudity, the other staples of the genre. What we mostly get is a lot of dumb, clichéd teen dialogue about how much fun prom night is (unless a serial killer shows up, I guess). In recent years, Hollywood has started releasing R-Rated horror films again after a brief spate of PG-13 drivel that wouldn't scare a five-year-old. Producers thought the PG-13 rating would bring in more money, but the fact that junk like Prom Night didn't bring in the big bucks as expected apparently led them to change course.